Suitable greenhouse?

[Neko Bazu]

Bought one of these recently, to keep my cucumber plants and seedlings in, and I've ended up with a spare shelf at the top.

I was just wondering whether it'd be worth keeping my cacti in there, at least over summer? At the moment, they're on a south-facing windowsill, so they get plenty of sun and are reasonably warm, but obviously the light's more even outdoors. They'd also probably get more light, since where the greenhouse is, they'd get sun from around 10am as opposed to about 1-2pm where they are. Maybe the overnight temperature drop would be better for them too? (I'm a little vague on this aspect.)

There's plenty of ventilation in there, but if they're not likely to see any notable improvement I'd rather have them indoors where I can enjoy them more constantly!

(I'd particularly value input from other UK posters, since you know better what the weather's like!)

[adrianyoung2009]

Im interested in this subject also, im pretty much north as you can get in this country and as im sure you know the weather is so unpredictable, las week we had temps of +28 deg Celsius and today a mere 10. I would like to have my cacti outdoors for maximum sunlight but protected from the rain but as you say i too am worried about the cold nights. What about over winter would all the plants have to come back indoors?

[adrianyoung2009]

This http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GARDMAN-WOODEN-CO ... 7C294%3A50 is what i was thinking of getting (sorry i dont know how to tidy up the links yet!!)

[Neko Bazu]

Im interested in this subject also, im pretty much north as you can get in this country and as im sure you know the weather is so unpredictable, las week we had temps of +28 deg Celsius and today a mere 10. I would like to have my cacti outdoors for maximum sunlight but protected from the rain but as you say i too am worried about the cold nights. What about over winter would all the plants have to come back indoors?

I would assume that they would have to come in over winter, save for any hardy species you have, simply because the weather can get so cold (especially up in the highlands! ).

Over summer, nights don't get too cold (in Luton, at least!), but then that's by my personal standards, not cactus standards. I'm just unsure as to whether they prefer constant warmth, or a warm-cold daily cycle.

Also, as for tidying up urls; just type this:

Code: Select all

[url=insert-url-here]Link text here[/url]

So, for my first link, the code was:

Code: Select all

[url=http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380121637862]these[/url]

which came out thusly: these

Hope that helps

[iann]

I have a greenhouse. Just a simple aluminium and glass thing, one step up from the flimsy B&Q type. Godsend! Even on a mostly cloudy day like today it reached over 90F. Most days during summer it is a case of dial in any temperature you want. The solar heating also reduces relative humidity which again is good for most species. Relative humidity drops well below the lowest my thermometer will read which is 20%. I calculated it gets down to about 5% some days although higher later in summer when humidity rises.

Pretty much every cactus there is will benefit from extra heat. Our 70F summers just aren't good enough for them, even the occasional 80F is just a pleasantly cool day for most of them. For many species, cool nights of 50F-60F are also better than indoors closer to 70F. This is certainly true of the Lithops and hardy species that I grow. Many species won't flower well at indoor temperatures.

In winter you have a choice. Many cacti and succulents will do fine in an unheated greenhouse. Some can't take more than a few degrees of frost and some can't take any at all. The Scottish Highlands might restrict that list even further. So you have to decide whether to heat your greenhouse or bring everything (or just some) inside. The extra light in a greenhouse should be good and it may be difficult to keep your plants dormant indoors. Heating can get expensive even with added insulation.

I also have a cold frame, similar to the linked one but about twice as big. It is fairly flimsy although not in danger of blowing away once it is fastened down. One thing to remember is that the smaller the enclosure, the quicker it will heat up and cool down. A small cold frame left closed can get blistering hot. Strangely enough I think a cold frame stays warmer in winter, possibly because the ground here never really freezes. A large greenhouse will also retain heat well and stay a few degrees warmer than outside even without heating.

[Neko Bazu]

Sounds like mine may well be better off out in the greenhouse, then - which is a bit of a shame really; I enjoy being able to just glance over at them!

[iann]

I enjoy being able to potter in the greenhouse for half an hour and soak up some heat

[CoronaCactus]

I must say that after having our greenhouse for a little over 8 months now, it's part of my daily routine to just hang out and look at the plants. I can spend hours in there until i collapse from the heat

[Neko Bazu]

Mine being the tiny thing it is, there's not a lot of pottering room! You can only potter so much around the strawberries outside too

Evidently, I need to expand my collection, thus warranting the need for a potter-able greenhouse...

[hob]

Evidently, I need to expand my collection, thus warranting the need for a potter-able greenhouse...

be very very careful what you wish for i bought this house 3 years ago with 11 plants.........................

now a conservatory and 2 greenhouses later .............. and about 800 plants ...............