When I grew outside, Feb to Oct, the plants actually only had direct sun for a few hours a day from late June until mid Aug and grew just fine. This was due to placing them in the ground on the north side of an obstruction, so only when the sun was directly overhead (summer) did they get to bask. The more direct light they get, the faster and better they grow. If mine were able to be placed on the south side, they would've been 15+ foot tall trees instead of 7 foot bushes.