? I've read several places on the web that Cloud Cover is not considered Organic. That Cloud cover is too strong in its original form for roses...dilute 12 to 1. And that anti-transpirants must be reapplied often for weather protection. That you may get 2-3 degrees of safety. That its mostly used on tree seedlings and citrus. I'd like to learn more, but I've spent an hour getting all of the above mostly negative informatiion.
~tom

djonathang

What kind of GH plants are you spraying with it? Not orchids or tropicals?!?!?!

Our nights here can reach 0 so I have 3 small electric heaters spaced around the GH.

tom_n_6bzone & greenhouser,

Thanks for the replies.

ton_n_6bzone - I do dilute my Cloud Cover at 10:1. I've used it for about 5 years on plants outside the greenhouse. Last year we had some pretty chilly days (for my region) below freezing. I only lost 1 plant out of a thousand - mostly perennials. I attribute that to the early application of this product. In years where I spaced out and got to it too late, I lost many more. It always upsets me when I do that, as walking around with a sprayer is a lot easier, less expensive, and less work than buying plants and digging holes. As far as organic is concerned, that is very interesting. I don't apply any herbacides or pestacides in my yard. I wonder how nasty this stuff is?

Greenhouser - I have quite an assortment of plants ranging from lavendar to sage to succulants, hydrangia (sp?), Euphorbia, etc. Everyone got sprayed, and everyone is happy.

DG

Sounds like an interesting product to try. I have a bunch of Aloes in the yard that get lose their tips every year to freezes...they look quite ugly till mid summer as a result. I wonder if this would help lessen the tip damage? I have a whole bunch of these thanks to a generous neighbor, so I could easily pick out a few to be my sacrificial guinea pigs. :-)

Thanks for the idea.
Sheri

Sounded interesting, so I did a web search...sounds like Cloud Cover is an anti-dessicant, similar to Wilt Pruf. They coat the leaves to reduce water-loss through the leaves, which is a problem with cold winter winds. That shouldn't be a problem in a greenhouse, though. Interesting that it seems to help your plants. Do you have really dry air in your greenhouse?

Hello Mark,

I wouldn't say that the air in the greenhouse is dry. It does become the same temperature as the outside air, and when it dips below freezing outside, the same holds true inside. I don't know anything about the technical side of anti-dessicants or the release of water through plants. I do know that I've had tremendous success as indicated in an earlier post. Whether it's due to Cloud Cover entirely, I can't be sure. But anecdotedly, the stuff seems to have worked - and for a few bucks and 15 minutes, what the heck!

On a seperate but related note, I understand the stuff works (for the same reason you mentioned) during the hot summers (keeps moisture in the plants).

DG

Thanks for the feedback! Evidently, the wind really causes the leaves to lose a lot of water. When it is too cold, however, a plant can't transport water to the leaves to replace that lost water, and the leaves get damaged.
So, from my understanding, an anti-dessicant doesn't protect from cold weather itself, just the damage leaves can get if they lose water (when it's too cold). If the plant is in a humid greenhouse with no wind, the leaves shouldn't be losing much water.