Lath or shade houses are structures built to produce outdoor container grown plants in the summer under reduced light and heat compared to plants grown in full sun.
Traditional lath houses used wooden lath to provide about 50% light reduction.
Woven plastic materials such as Saran can replace traditional wooden lath to provide shade. These shade cloths come in varying densities to reduce light levels and should last up to 15 years.
Shade houses are most often used to grow plants on after propagation, but in mild climates shade houses can completely replace greenhouses and can be used for cutting and seed propagation.
