what can I grow in my conservatory?

I have a north west facing conservatory that's unheated. It gets no sun in winter and probably gets close to 0deg C. In summer it gets overhead and evening sun and gets quite hot. At the moment I just use it for seedlings but I would love to fill it with plants and climbers to make it a nice jungley place to be.

I am having trouble thinking of plants that would cope with the lack of sun and cold winter temperatures - but wouldn't get scorched in summer. I can't have anything from the Lily family because they're poisonous to cats and unfortunatly my over enquisitive cats like to sample everything! :(

Any suggestions you can give are appreciated - thanks in advance

 

I had the same problem and never found a solution though I had many attempts. My husband just labelled me "Bad with house plants" ............. I HEARD YOU LOT!!!!!

Well my solution was to pull the conservatory down and build a double glased extension. I had not realised how difficult the situation was for plants until I see how they thrive now.

 

My conservatory is west facing so gets (to) warm in summer but it is really high so gets COLD in winter, below 0deg I am sure some nights. What I do is have plants that I can 'scatter' round it in summer but then in winter I cluster them all together in the middle.

i have never done it but I am sure I could put garden fleece over them if needbe.

I over winter my standard fucshias in it ok as well (again in the middle)

 

thanks for the suggestion Black Cat. I really like Fucshias so I must grow some!

 

Hello Sparkle

I grow palms in my chilly, northern (Lancashire)north facing conservatory successfully.

How about the Mediterranean Fan Palm or if you want some colour Canna are great with fabulous foliage and pretty flowers.

I also grow Colocasia which are quite tropical looking, but I did lose some foliage last winter, but it came back in the spring.

Ferns are good for shady areas, but will need regular misting or humidifying during hot spells (we do get some), and some of the tropical frens are magnificent.

I hope this is of some help but if you want more specific advice try
contacting one of the following specialist suppliers, all of whom are
willing to help:-
Mulu
Koba-koba
The Palm Centre
They can be found easily on any internet search engine (limit search to uk only).

Good luck
Emie