What have you got in your winter quarters?

Two nights ago we had our first frost here. So for the previous few days, I have been arranging winter quarters for the tender plants. Do show us what provisions you have made and what you are protecting over winter and why.

The first job was to identify all my tender plants and to sort them into groups.


1) Frost free and poor light - plants happy with this will stay in a 8' x 10' summerhouse, shown above) with an electric heater to just keep it frost free. There is a glass front but further back the light level is very low. I am putting tender bulbs and tubers, and plants that do dormant in here. Such as Canna, Eucomis, Ensete, tuberous Salvias - such as patens, atrocyanea etc. Also Iochroma and some of my Brugmansias, which will lose all their leaves, as well as my Geraniums (ie zonal Pelargoniums). At the front, by the window, will be stuff that likes some light. My giant Dandelion, that you can see, with the yellow flower, likes some light but is too big for my greenhouse. When I have finished, it will be packed with plants.


2) Frost free and light - plants that need this will stay in my greenhouse (above) which is also heated to keep it frost free. Unfortunately it is so small there is not much room. Anything that is evergreen goes in here, and anything that I am not sure will survive the dark. I will put Regal pelargoniums and their relatives here. Unlike zonals which go dormant, regals still grow very slowly at 0C and so need light. If I have two or more of the same plant, I will sometimes put them in different places - as an experiment. Also in here will be Justicia, Duranta, Streptosolen, Tibouchina, Echiums etc. Plus some Brugmansias to stand on the floor.

3) Warm with some light. This is for plants that like to be more than just frost free - they are bought into the house.


The larger plants are kept in my hall, which is at a temperature of 10C to 15C. At this temperature they will keep growing, albeit slowly, and so will need light. This is provided by a single 4 foot fluorescent tube. It only uses 40 watts and is very cheap to run, but it will just keep the plants ticking over. Some of the stuff inside the house needs the extra temperature like Hibiscus and Fuchsia triphylla, but I also have several Brugmansias inside. These will survive outside but I find they come back into growth much quicker in the following spring than those that were kept just frost free. Last winters Brugs, that were kept frost free outside, never flowered till very late in the season because it was such a cold summer. But the ones kept inside flowered well all season.


I also use a third bedroom, with a couple of 4 feet fluorescent tubes on a time switch. This is essentially the same conditions as the hall, but it gives me more space - so I keep the shorter plants here. More Brugmansias, Echiums, Colocasia, Geranium maderense, Impatiens niamniamensis and Hibiscus etc.


Just to prove that the plants are happy, this is Brugmansia "Pink Perfection" flowering inside the bedroom. This is another reason for taking some plants inside, even though they would survive outside.


And B. Bergkonigin.

There is yet another place - which is the windowsill in the house. Here you can get a good level of light and keep plants in full growth.

 

Amazing Peter .....I'd never get away with that amount of plants in the house , I'm allowed the kitchen windowsill and at a push our bedroom windowsill which is a large, bright and warm position.

So far all my stuff is in the greenhouse (which has been insulated), we still haven't had what I'd call a proper frost; 0 degrees or below so I've still got some time to sort through my plants and wrap them as best I can.

I have several Cannas in there which haven't been watered since they went in there, in the hope they will gradually dry out and go dormant or semi-dormant themselves. My Red Ensete Banana is in there but I've done nothing more than tie the leaves up a little just to get it in there. Others include Erythrinas, young Tetrapanex, Brugmansias, Hibiscus etc

First to get my attention will be the Red Banana, still undecided whether to completely remove all the leaves and roots and dry it out or just chop some back and put it in a smaller pot of almost completely dry compost; seen both methods recommended on the internet.... ??

 

It must be like a mini kew in your house Peter
Like bilbo I'd never get away with that many plants in the house
The fuchsia triphylla coralle caught my eye at kew

 

I wish I was as prepared as you Peter.

My main problem at the moment is drying out the roots, most have been outside until recently.
Once the roots are dryish I dont mind cutting most things back, I then put the really dormant stuff in in the garage where there is no heat but stays above zero on most nights, but even slightly below is not that bad if things are dry and dormant.

Greenhouses are full, but condensation is a problem with the damp weather, anything small or really tender is now in the conservatory.

I've rebuilt my framework around the strelitzia, protea, bougainvillea and agave, a few other pots tend to get put under there also. This just gets frost protection but no wet protection.

 

PeterS, that is impressive as is your range of plants. I'm nowhere near as organised as you. My small greenhouse is packed with tender things.....don't need to heat or bubble wrap etc down here....and a small conservatory. I will erect a temporary small poly tunnel too for cannas, etc

 

Worryingly the conservatory is getting stuffed already, and I need at least half of it to raise plants next spring. This was last week, I'll take a picture tomorrow to show all the brugs and Musa now in.



To give the photo some scale the pseudostem on the (Red) Ensete Maurelii on the left is 1M (from soil to top of pseudostem), the Musa sikkimensis (right) it is 1.8M, , and from soil-to-leaf-tip 3.1M. The Ensete was a 1L pot back in May and the Musa was grown from seed in Spring last year.

 

I'm in awe Peter! I would never get away with that and my OH doesn't even live with me!
I moved a few into the shed last week for a few nights. Bit of a trial run and also a little caution as the overnight temps were looking dodgy..................



That is about half of the full winter guest list, but I feel happier now that I know they'll all fit in.

 

More recent photos of my own particular madness

 

I've got plants scattered all over, plus still some to move under cover, as I said my main worry is drying things out.

Not here though this is the framework over the Strelitzia, etc.


I need a bigger greenhouse, at least something that has a bit more height.




the garage allows for drying out but is a bit dark.

 

I've got my electric greenhouse fan heater blowing on the plants, with the heater element turned off. Signs of mould on the leaves of some plants in the conservatory though - but they aren't in the air-stream from the fan.

 

I have a couple of old Parwin heaters, but one I have been using via a remote thermostat had been kept in the "full on" position for over a year now.
Outcome was the contacts had corroded together, so I bypassed it, but that means I cant use it on "fan only".
I'm not actually having much mould problem as such, I just want the rootballs to dry out, and its been so damp the fan, although keeping the air moving, is not actually drying anything out, its basically just moving very damp air around.

I guess a dehumidifier is the real answer, but not sure I want the extra cost of running one of those.

 

Brugmansia sanguinea has just started to flower inside the house.

Pete - I know what you mean about condensation. For a long time I thought it was due to the weather, until I realised that it was all the moisture coming out of the pots, which are usually sodden after the autumn rains. By January or February the weather can be the same but there is very little condensation. I love your Strelitizia frame. But then I would love to be able to grow mine outside too.

Kristen - those bananas are lovely, especially that Musa. And I really envy your conservatory. It would be so much better than having a hall and bedroom with white polythene over the windows, so that when the police drive by at midnight they wouldn't see the silhouette of all those plants under growlights.

 

I agree Peter, it is the moisture coming from the pots that makes the condensation so bad, but the humidity is so high that even opening all the vents hardly makes a difference.
B. sanguinea looks good.

 

I was having a problem too with condensation but I put 3 of those cheap moisture traps with the crystals in the greenhouse and they're working a treat, all full of water now after 3 weeks and will need renewing but at least they're cheap. It is noticeably drier in there now and there's no more mould than there was 2 weeks ago

I'm just trying to be vigilant and clear away any fallen/dead/mouldy foliage, found a few HUGE aphids in there today, all of which got squished

 

The sanginea looks good Peter! Mine is still out doors................