Hi Mike,

Most all of my plants are in the basement. The bulk of my collection is clivias. Those that I'm promoting bloom on, 16 plants, are in the root cellar where the temperature will hold between 40 and 50 degrees. I'll leave them in there for 45-60 days. I have about 50, too young to bloom plants, under lights and on heat. The additional seedlings (20 pots) are in the kitchen where I can keep a close eye on them. The plumeria and desert roses are in the main part of the basement where they're resting.

There are few hoyas, jade and succulents here and there, also. My CC (TC) is in bloom, too.

Everything is in the fabulous gritty mix except for one huge dracena that needs to be moved to Al's 5-1-1 mix. (Although, it's perked up quite well after a late season root trim.) Oh, the clivia seedlings are in CHCs.

All is well so far, but I'm keeping a watchful eye as the winter season can be hard on indoor plants.

I'd so love to have a greenhouse. Could you post a picture of yours? I'd be tempted to break it down now. That first snow storm could be a doozy and the temperatures could just get more and more frigid. How do you keep the plants warm in the trek from the greenhouse to the house?

Gail

What do you think? I was hoping to keep it up until the first big snowfall..What would you do?

Everybody knows that snow can offer some form of insulation but just to toss a wrench in your final decisions also remember that an iced up cooler on a hot summers beach has insulating properties too.

The outside containers:
What I do is determine if the plant it's self can handle the zone,if not then I bring them in to a cool area and let it rest as it should.

If the plant can handle the zone and if I leave them out side I might want to at least consider winter protecting the container by the use of various manners: Container in a bigger plastic insulation filled container containers can be bubble wrapped there are a few ways to do this.

The goal is to save the container from winter cracking and or breaking It's not a question of will a container break during the freezing season or not the question is when will a container break. Answer for Mike a poorly insulated outside container will break. The plant might live and continue to grow but not often enough for me to chance it.

Forcing a plant to go dormant isn't my thing.... me and plants have an agreement what happens happens as long as I give an effort into helping it grow then that's what it does, if it wants to rest then it rest YEAH there are times and if I want to I have a few plants that I do push to bloom. African violet, Jasmine and some other plant like flowering things that might upset others if I mention them so I wont.

Inside containers: If it isn't dormant yet then it's south windows to west windows for the sunnier days some additional lighting and water if needed If the day happens to be warm enough the plants that should be dormant does go outside for brief moments as a root cant freeze either this days are pretty much gone for outside times. It's not to hard to manage but to get a late plant to go dormant is a work in it's own.

Hang in there, after all it's all we can do.

Now that cold weather is here, the one word I'd use to describe my plant situation is... crowded!

Not only is the garage crowded with various potted dormant plants, but my apartment is crowded with all the tropicals that required lugging back inside for the cold weather... and that's in addition to the myriad plants I already keep indoors! Yes... it's a little crowded!

I don't mind, though... it's green! :-)

Everything I have lives outdoors, going out as soon as temperatures allow and staying there as long as temperatures allow. When fall comes, the tropicals and subtropicals come indoors to over-winter in the basement under lights & where I can control humidity, and temperature to some degree. The temperate plants over-winter in the (unheated) garage. The soil often freezes solid, but since actual soil temperatures hardly ever drop below 25*, things there don't seem to mind much.

It's early to be seeing any signs of mites or scale. Occasionally, I'll see some evidence of one or both, more toward spring, but more often than not I'll go the whole winter with no insects apparent.

I guess everything is doing swell. No problems I can see. Most of the plants slow down in thew winter, even under lights, but using fast soils relieves me of any over-watering worries, not that I'm prone to that habit anyway, and pretty much eliminates the salt accumulation associated with heavy soils.

I should mention that what many hobby growers see as a plant's natural progression from the store to the trash or compost pile over a period of a year or two is often due to salt accumulation, that, resultant of unhealthy watering habits and a heavy soil. It's pretty much an imperative that you either use a soil that allows you to eliminate the issue of accumulating salts before it occurs, or that you go proactive, on the offensive, and take steps to address the issue by flushing/purging the soil regularly, if your plants are to grow to their potential. If you choose NOT to address it, it will automatically become a potentially limiting factor.

Al

Wes..You gotta love living in our area...

I have taken away a whole lot of idea's from you both here and at other places.Thank you very much...I hope that I can at least keep my pop up going until the first snow storm..
It was 65 degrees in there this am when it was 25 outside..
What concerns me is if we ever loose electricity..I was at HD last night looking at propane powered little space heaters and I think they are really nice...Ready for another game of tug a war? lol

Don't worry, I have something in mind for you in the future.

Al: Everything you post has something I we can take from it..Thank you for this and for the time to expalin what your system is..I like it all...
One can only hope for a short winter. I can't wait to put my plants back out again..
I must note that your comment about salts is spot on as ALWAYS...That is exactly the problem my sisters had with their plants every year, until this fall..They have switched to the gritty mix and this is the first time they haven't lost plant by the winter.
Thank you so much for the key to success from me and all of them!

Jodik: You are way too funny! I hear you about crowded plants....How many got the choice seats in the house? You know, the sunny window sills? lol..
Thank God for the plants that go dormant, right? They get the darkest and dingiest places where nothing else resides..
Gotta love the winter, right?
Maybe if you take up snow baording with me, the winter will fly by!

Gail? Wow
What is this priveledge that I have of your presence? I love it..
I am so use to seeing you over at the "very" slow moving Clivia side...I am so glad to here the updates on your plants..I told you that you would love the gritty mix...lol..
Have you seen the roots to one of your plants yet?..Nice and big and clean and white!
Gail, did your plant collection grow by leaps and bounds since I first met you? Unbelievable.I am thrilled you have so many..Thank God you can store them anywhere but in the sunniest spots, right?
I will have take recent pictures for you so you can see my plants still in there..
You make a VERY good point. How will I track them to the house in frigid temps? I never thought of that..It is a very short trek..I think I will have to wrap each one in a blankie when I do...Is that good? Thanks for that..
Please post a few pics yourself so I can see your plants progress.. I would love to see just a few..Good to see you very much..

Take care everyone...

We are mssing a few friends from here..I hope to hear from you all soon...

Where are you? lol

Mike

Mike!

If you really want to keep the pop-up going, maybe a backup battery could be purchased...
just something to buy you those extra hours to get home and get your plants somewhere warm in the
case of an electrical outage?

It's hard for me to give real cold weather advice, since I live in such a pleasant area.

My house is crowded this time of year, especially now that I'm wintering my sister's collection
while she transitions to a new house - the Jades I don't mind, but the cactus, the lucky bamboo,
and the spider plants (blech!) I could do without! They're taking up prime real-estate! ;)

Jugs of warm water - or jugs of water warmed throughout the day - will help regulate temperature
to some degree (pardon the pun) in your pop-up. I'm doing the same in my small cold-frame.


Josh

January in Waltham you have got to see them Mike. Keep in mind and chances are you'll make room that you don't have for them too.

Hi Everyone,
I didn't have much to bring in this year. Which I guess is good, the room is already crowded. :)

We had a hard freeze last week and I just covered the Cactus and succutlents with sheets.
The rest of the yard was on it's own! LOL!

Josh,
Now what's wrong with Cactus?! lol..;)
I've heard about the jugs of water.
Do they need a lid or not? does it matter? I was going to try that around a few plants in the yard, and my small greenhouse to get a jump on spring.

(Which I wish was here yesterday!)lol!
Yes, i'm just like Jodi. ;) Hi Jodi. :)

JoJo

What's wrong with a Cactus? Other than the fact that it's not a Jade...?! ;)
Just kidding. This one's a Mammillaria elongata, and it gets in the way...
not to mention the spines and hairs that cover its elongated length!


Josh

LOL!
I know your not a big cactus fan. ;)

May your sis get settled quick. ;)

I got you all flustered about cactus, and you missed my question. :)

So what about the water jugs for heat? Do you have lids on them, does it matter?
JoJo

Jojo..Hi!!!! I can just see all these little ghosts around your yard..lol
At least you can keep your yard looking like Halloween and have a good excuse for it..lol Good to see you!
Love you doggie group pictures too...Especially my mother..She wants you to ship one up..lol

Josh...I hear you about plain ordinary looking plants that take up prime real-state. loll
Your pop up house is looking mighty fine man..Jojo..Take a look at this..What a plan..I think if the tops are left off the jugs, you would get some humidity too, right? What a good idea..

Hi Wes..:-)Getting cold isn't it? You are right about room..

Have a great day all!

Here is a link that might be useful: Josh's pop up temporary warm house

Small but still a nice sized grow hut you got Mike. Have you thought about air and ventilation as you review a propane heater ?

Whoops, JoJo, I did miss your question!

I would never let a glochid-bearing cactus frazzle me....ha!
And to prove that I have no ill-will toward these monsters, a couple of pics:

Click for a larger view!

{{gwi:55664}}
{{gwi:55666}}

Now, to answer that question that I missed:
I leave the caps on (if I have the caps), but I don't know if there's a "right way."
Another trick is to use dark colored jugs or paint them a dark color to absorb light/heat.
Since my cold-frame is sited directly atop a concrete slab, the slab regulates temps, too.

Mike, thanks for linking to the Thread!
I'll hurry on over to provide an update there, too!

Prime real-estate...I keep shuffling my "good plants" into the best spots, giving them all
a turn in the sun. The ordinary plants have to take a backseat.

You'll have to forgive my intolerance...just yesterday, a Spider Plant hooked onto one of
my Christmas Cactus cuttings and toppled the container. Bark everywhere.

Made the Greenman see Red!


Josh

That's a really pretty cactus, Josh... how big is that pot?

The prime real estate, as you call it, was already in use by my amaryllid collection and the few orchids I have. Everything that comes in for winter gets a back seat. That's just the way it is. I try to shove everyone as close to a window or light source as I possibly can.

I do have some supplemental lighting, for all the good it does. It's just enough to keep everyone going until spring gets here again. And like JoJo, I want it to get here yesterday! Hi, JoJo! :-)

I'm in the process of slowly getting everyone either re-potted, or leached well if they don't require a re-pot, and getting everyone organized. I really need to weed out my bulb collection... I have way too many! I'd like to concentrate more on the species and the rarer types, and maybe get rid of a few hybrids.

Most of my collection consists of hybrid Hippeastrums, which are fun and gorgeous, and easy to pollinate and grow if you like to play around with that sort of thing. But what I'd really like is a more varied bulb collection. Hippeastrums are wonderful bulbs, but there are tons of other bulb types I'd love to grow. And in order to do that, I have to pare down my current collection.

It's cold and windy outside today, and the snow we did get is drifting across the sidewalk. I'd give anything... well, almost anything... to be enjoying a warmer climate somewhere.

Aside from the ugly bug I found eating the inside of my Eucharis, nothing much to report. No sign of spider mites as of yet, although there are a few Asian Lady Beetles crawling around the plant area. I don't think they do any harm. Since switching to a more inorganic medium, there has been no sign of fungus gnats.

So, if the plants can tolerate a little less light, they'll all make it to enjoy another spring and summer growing season outdoors.

Hurry spring! :-)

Hey, Jodi!

The cactus in the top pic is in a 10 inch wide pot.

The cactus in the bottom pic is in a 6 inch by 6 inch pot.

Josh

Winter never really comes around here, only some occasional frosts. The annual herbs are through (harvested last basil at the end of November), and now the citrus just has to be protected from freezing temps. The sugarcane is still alive and growing, and things are still growing in the greenhouse (going to read about indoor lighting come winter break to keep some growth up). A few fungus gnats, but nothing serious (I use bagged mixes extensively).

The orchids all 28 of them are in the sunroom half of them either flowering or in bud, the NOID citrus is currently carrying eight good size fruits that should be ready in three weeks, my tropical hibiscus that gets aggressively trimmed back each fall has put out new leaves. Everything else is going through its winter thing. Geraniums in the cellar with a couple of banana plants. All is well. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.

Donald,
have you posted pics of the No ID at the Citrus Forum?
Sounds like an interesting challenge! Hope to see you there.


Josh

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[IMG]http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd492/barkingspaniel/DSC04889.jpg[/IMG]

I have other pics I can post on the Citrus forum.
{{gwi:55667}}

Hey Josh!
Your sister's plant looks great! Your a good sport to post it. ;) Mine has some growing to do.. it's only in a 3" pot. lol! But does have about 5 arms. ;)

Peeked at citrus.. The pop up looks great! I haven't put any of mine together yet. As you know, it's warm. Plants are growing again.

Mike,
It took me a minute to figure out what you meant by "ghosts" in the yard. But no, no ghosts. Everything in the yard is on it's own. I only covered a few things up under the patio.

Jodi~
Is there such a thing as a spring dance? Kinda like Rain dance? Hmm??? If so, lets get busy! ROFL!
I know i'm alot warmer than all of you, but am a BIG baby when it drops below 70* !

We had a hard freeze over Thanksgiving.. all the leaves on my trees bit the dust..
But..
This fig decided to send out new growth! Look what I found yesterday. lol..

Al~ are you here? Hubby said I needed to tell you to come have a talk with our tree's they're not behaving and going dormant. LOL!

{{gwi:55669}}

Below 70, JoJo? Try below 0! Yes, that's zero! :-) Two coats, a goofy hat, and warm glove weather! We haven't had any yet this winter... but it's early. I hear it's coming soon. :-(

If there is a dance to hurry spring along, I haven't found it... yet! I wish! :-) But, that's why I spend so much time indoors... I'm not a cold weather and snow kind of person!

Maybe we should be looking for a dormancy dance? ;-)

How are my plants ? Hmmm which one ? LOL just kidding but if yah wanna see something really cool....

{{gwi:55670}}

These nine are Okay but if you wanna see something REALLY cool then keep an eye on Jodix

Hi Jodi!
Well.. 65* maybe but not much lower. LOL! I like it warm. ;-) No ZERO for me! I would die. lol!

A dormancy dance, now that's an idea! As you can see in my picture, my tree's are not behaving!
Another one is sprouting new growth! All the top leaves are gone from frost, and new growth starting. We are unusually warm right now.

If I hear of one for spring i'll let you know. ;-)

I spent part of today, deadheading and gathering some seeds.

Josh~
Is green soda bottles considered dark? You can kinda see through them, but not as much as the clear. (Mountian dew bottles.)

JoJo

It's been the norm for me to add a few new bulbs to my collection every winter, so I usually have some gorgeous blooms to share... but this year, I'm afraid I won't be adding any ready-to-bloom bulbs. I simply don't have the room for more hybrid varieties.

However, spring should bring a few blooms, at least, from some of my older bulbs. I'm actually in the process of weeding out the collection and figuring out which ones to keep. I'm just overloaded with potted plants, and I only have so much window space.

I recently lost an orchid, and a second one looks to be on its way out, too. It's just too dry of an environment, and not very conducive to growing orchids. We live and learn.

Most of my plants are holding up pretty good, but I'm quickly learning that orchids are simply not something I can adapt my environment to grow.

We're supposed to get hit with lots of snow and falling temperatures... winter is definitely here! I wish it would go away... I've had enough already! ;-)

Good morning, everyone!

JoJo, green bottles should work reasonably well...a bit of black spray-paint wouldn't hurt ;)

Jodi, I hope you don't lose any more orchids!

Hold tight, folks! We're almost past the Solstice....
then it'll be nothin' but sunshine ;)

Josh

Mrlike: how'd you get the amaryllis/hippeastrum on the left to flower already? It's just the beginning of winter!

Jodi:
I hope you don't loose your mind Jodi! lol
I feel your pain, although what's strange is that the snowy conditions are all around us in every state while just the warm rain storms move in here, even with over 50 mile an hour winds..But before and after that it's frigid..

It was in the teens Friday and today in the 50's..Tuesday, back to the 20's again..I wish this was over already.

Have you seen what our friend "Nancy" is dealing with in Florida? She say's it is going to be in the mid twenties again with the destruction of many tropical plants, including damage to her Mango's last week, let alone again this week. Sheesh, at least her Jades are coloring up fast...Crazy I say..

By the way, please watch your back with shoveling the snow, and please post us some nice picks when your pretty bulbs bloom? It will be a site for sore eyes by the time they do so..:-)

Jojo....How are you? I like the black bottle idea too! That will be a fun hobby..The paints are on sale at Michael's this week and pretty cheal at HD..
I wish I could use this method.
No container dark would warm up for me in full sun around here..The sun only acts like a flashlight until about Feb now..Even if your weather should be colder, I can only imagine the warmth of your sun against any wall, or protected area..I have walked about in your area with snow on the ground with my t-shirt only..I loved it..
I wonder how your jades are doing this time of the year? You must be getting some cooler temps to turn them color..
Dormancy dance? lol...
I finished that dance weeks ago when the leaves to my fig tree fell off due to frost..Now they are being stored in the dark and in my shed, where the temps hover in the mid thirties or higher until the spring..I guess I can finally say I have an advantage with the cold this time around..It makes winter a bit more bareable knowing that some of my plants will benefit from it..:-)

Josh...That is the best news I have heard all day in regards to this dreay dark weather! Thanks for the reminder, considering that we still have another week or so for the sun to lower even further in the sky. It gives us hope that just as soon as the first day of winter arrives, the sun will start it's climb up hill again, thank God..:-)

Hey Mrlike2u! Good to hear from you...You are right, Jodi's plant are much better, but your's are still nice looking..lol, In all serious, when those decide to bloom, we want to see them. They should do very well in your care..By the way, the tops of some of my Desert Roses just rotted right off on the seedlings..:-(

Donald: Very good looking fruit..Great job there..Congrat's on your Orchids too..Wow.

Ykerzner:Fungus gnats, sugarcane, bagged mixes, and light frost's..Guess which two I like the most? Hint: It can be very sweet when slightly cooled....:-)

Josh: P.s..

What nice looking cactus you have there..

Mike

What type of orchids are you growing, Jodi? Many growers in your zone. Most orchids can tolerate low humidity if light is good and the indoor temps aren't too low.

Jane

ykerzner both right and left tender bulbs (if I may) where in a cooler room (with some others) during Sept and part of Oct with this and some other when to flower time aides extended light times warm rooms there set to bloom for the holidays and into the bleeker later Jan weeks. The leafs wont flower (set scapes) until early/mid summer 2011 some exceptions are there are some XX month old seedling now pup size in the longer container there are some from South Africa (not in the pic seen) that have a habit of making one wait to see the flowering regardless of what one does to them & there a worthy wait and as you may need to know our climates are very different too

Mike LOL when those things decide to bloom I'll be more than happy to post some pics but you can figure the rest of it out cultivations, names etc.. LOL HINT: that's only nine of 25. The pic I posted was or still is a ploy, meant to tease Jodix into posting there bulbous tropical and leafy type things. Yeah I know they have enough tropical & soft bulb plants that will still outnumber mine yet even jodix knows it not about quantity it's quality . Ohhh Reminder for you, you and your slightly off growing by sounding DR are both invited to the party in Sudbury this coming Saturday. No worries thou and no shame either as worse things can(and do)happen OR at least private email me a pic of that DR. and I'll send back a DR (or two) of mine.