Plants for the conservatory

Can anyone recommend some good plants which will cope with the extreme temperatures in our new conservatory?

Anthony

 

Extreme temperatures,
Best plants I know are cacti and succulents, but not a lot of people like them.

 

I have a boughanvillia in mine and it loves it! Just keep it well watered cos it dries out so quick
I also have my lemon tree in there over the winter......an Aloe vera and a cacti of course!

 

I don't know how well these will tolerate extremes of heat, but it might be worth trying Passion Flower (which should be OK over winter) and maybe some annuals like Morning Glory - a tub and a obelisk climbing frame would do the trick. Haven't got to worry about overwintering that.

 

There are quite a few palms which will take the conditions, some dont mind the lows as long as kept on the dry side. But as Pete said succulents may be your best bet. Some aloes will grow quite big and take reasonably low temperatures. And the flowers can be amazing

 

We used to have a bourgainvilla in our Wintergarten (conservatory) but it made such a mess with the paper-like petals that we finally got rid of it. But it grew like mad and we had to cut it back every year!

Now we have a grape vine, a passion flower (it's gotten out of hand, the roots need to he contained and not let loose in the soil as ours was permitted to), a fig tree (too big and has to be cut back drastically every year too). Plus our lemon tree and all the things that live outside in the summer and come in for the winter months.

Our Wintergarten has two heaters that come on automatically when the temperature drops below 4°C, just enough to keep everything from freezing.

We have two beds in there too where the larger things are planted. The summer things are obviously in pots so as to be carried in and out, but we are not too keen on pots really.

 

We do keep the conservatory heated in Winter, as we use it as the breakfast room for our guesthouse, tho' it still drops a wee bit chilly overnight - its the roasting hot Summer temperatures that were my major concern.

Anthony

 

Thanks for some good ideas! I think we will probably try a few cacti / succulents, tho I do like the idea of something a bit more showy like the Hibiscus or Bouganvillea. Next time we have a chance to get to a garden centre I'll have a nosey and see what I come home with!

Anthony

 

I have a saxifraga that is growing in my conservatory.
5ft 7 tall and in a very small pot.
Been resident for sveral years now.
The only reason it does not fall over is because its supported by the TV and furniture!
Consevatory has only a small 300W heater timed for the early hours during winter.
I brutely trimmed last year, but as you can see it has come back with a vengence.

Capney

 

Few years ago I grew a sented Jasmine in my conservatory.
It ended up so large I was training it across the ceiling,
The scent while it was flowering was amazing and could be sensed thru the whole house.
Capney

 

Crassula ovata or jade plant dead easy.
chlorophytum comosom or spider plant .
Kalanchoe several species will thrive there's about 125 to choose from