Hi,
I have spent a great deal of time reading this forum over the last couple of years. This year I made the jump to Al's gritty mix. Thanks to all that share your information. I have a handful of dwarf citrus plants (key lime, improved meyer, moro orange). My question is on subject, I know I have read information on this before and I believe it was from Mike. My plants are in pots larger than I can accommodate in my living room this winter. I would like to winter them over in my attached garage. I am in zone 5, the garage door is west facing and only has a small window to allow light in. Will my citrus survive the cold and lack of light? If so how often should I water them? I hope this is not considered a hijacking of this thread. Thanks in advance.
John Brookfield, Ohio

John

that doesnt seem to good. Obviously the wont go dormant but some people have had good luck with keeping them in a semi dormant state by keeping the temps in the 50-60F range, cutting back on water and providing just enough light to survive. Meyer Mike had a similar way of doing this before he got his greenhouse. Im sure he will help you out soon.

Meyer Mike

here is my greenhouse this year. Im so jealous of yours right now its killing me. I did manage to find room for everything with some room to spare for me, LOl. This summer I dug down the ground a foot and remove one shelf to add more room and it really helped out. The tree with all the yellow leaves is a President hibiscus im trying to save. I have no idea why it yellowing.

{{gwi:634975}}

bob, nice setup, your trees should do just fine.

john, your trees should be ok in the garage, but might require some artificial lighting. cheap and easy way is to build a simple pvc stand and put two clamp on brooder lamps with large CFL bulbs. plug them into a timer.

Mike:

Congrats on your fruit buddy! Must of tasted real good! By the way, you have a beautiful setup Mike. In fact, they will be much happier there than in your house I am sure. Look at all that light! Very nice job.
Keep a sharp eye for pest and keep using your FE.:-)

Bob:

That is a very nice setup. I love it. Just remember to keep your leaves cleaned quite frequently. With just those two, it wouldn't hurt to take them to the shower and keep them free of any dust and possible pest.
Just make sure you do not over or underwater and your trees should be just fine.

Hi John:

How often you water will depend on what kind of mix you use. In any event, I would make sure your mix dries out between waterings and make sure that the mix does not take more than at least 4 or more days to dry out.
Your tress wil be able to handle chillier temps at lower light levels, but how low the light is I do not know.
I may not have many of mine in full sun all winter in my cold room, but they at least get 5 or more hours of a bright lit room.

You might want to consider Houstons advice if you start to see leaves yellow or fall which can be a tell tale sign of inadequate light. If they are happy with that much, they will not grow if at all, but the leaves will stay green and not drop. Fruit will just hang on. They may flower too.

With my direction, my sister had hers facing a west window and they only got about 2 hours of sun, the rest just light in front of a small window, and hers just froze in time and then started to grow bcak when the days got warmer and longer in the month of March.
You should of seen it grow after that, as if it appreciated the rest and a pest free enviroment! It is loaded with blooms and fruit now.

Mike

Thanks, Houston and Mike!

Mike, are you saying I should bring them into the bathroom when I shower? Is that to steam clean them?

Hello Everyone,

Yes, its close to 3 am and i just finisned bringing n all of my tropicals here in VB. LOL....The temps have really fallen here and they are forcasting lows into the mid 40's, so i decided to bring in some of the more special trees and plants. I brought in the Jades, some little Plumerias that I'm going to keep growing all winter and some other citrus that need extra special care!! : )

Im sure my neighbors think im nuts, but im so afraid to leave them outside tonight. They are under a T-5 setup and im going to put the other remaing Plumies that i want to keep growing out in the greenhouse. The other 40+ will go dormant and hang in one of the backrooms with the heat off and the blinds drawn for the winter.

OK...Mike..I think that im ready!!!

LOL..I had to tell you what in the world im doing at this time of night!!! LOL...We do what we have to do when we have the time right? LMAO!!!

Hope all is well with you!!

How is the foot?

Tell Sissy hello from me and that i hope she is enjoying that jam!!! : )

Hugs to you both!!!

ALl of my other Plumies have been trimmed and look so bare...sad times when we have to prepare for winter...

have you trimmed your Plumies yet Mike?

Take care,

Laura in VB

Laura

that is some serious dedication to be doing that at 3am. But you know what, I think most of us would do the same. Im sure your are asking Meyer Mike about his plumeria but Ill share what i have done with mine. I put mine in the greenhouse also but I only have 4 with the biggest being about 2 feet tall. I wont trim them, just let them do their thing. I have one NOID that decided to put out its first inflo back at the first of October. Im trying desperately to get it to bloom. Its still growing so I have my fingers crossed.

I cant wait to see your plants again this next spring!

Okie Mike.

I still haven't brought my two inside yet. They seem quite happy and just as I think they're going to get a frosting the temp picks back up again.

The grapefruit hasn't really done much since I had to change the soil and I assume most of anything will be under the soil but at least it not dropping leaves and it's had a few buds set.

The lime has got a few blooms and a couple have set, plenty of leafy growth though.

Regards
Nick

37F this morning, but I still haven't put my cold-frame together.
Gettin' close, though....

Josh

Hello Everyone,

Hi Mike,

Nice to aee you!!!

I always love to hear of youu Trees!!

Congratualtions on the inflo. I hope it will open for you. I have about three that have inflos at this time too!

All of the Plumies are inside except the ones that i trimmed and will be storing in the back room. I have about 20 that will keep growing this winter and about > 40 going dormant. MY Citrus are still outside tho. But I did bring in my DR's and C & S. Good luck on you trees Mike!!!

Thanks for sharing !!!

Josh,

I cant believe you still have some things outside at 37* You are a brave man!!!! LOL... I was worried at 45* LOL!!!

Hope all is well out in beautiful CA!

Take Care,

Laura in VB

WEll, guess what I was doing this am Laura?

I was in and out of the house for about an hour carrying in all my Camellias and Clivia from the pouring rain. I am drenched and cold! Of all the weeks I had to work all day everyday, it was this one. I totally for got about those all summer. I left those under my shrubs.

They are talking snow before the night is over and we have not even had a frost yet, but almost there,
I never got to treat them with FE or anything. I pray I didn't carry in a bunch of pest besides.

They will all go into the cellar over the weekend into the dark abyss. You know, my foot is killing me at times but I have to do it.
I wish I could say it was normal, but far from it. They say I still have weeks of therapy, exercises, and healing to do.

Look at you even getting cold. Lol. 45 is a heatwave for us. I would leave most of my plants out at those temps in the mix we use. I won't even tell you what I did with my plumies in public.

Thanks for asking about me and my foot. You are truly a genuine human being and a caring one at that along with many here.

Mom sends you a big hug as well as Jodi and Jodik if they are seeing this.

How have you been and Mom? We miss you guys!

Josh: 37? That is about what we are at. I swear your weather is in sinc with ours at times.

Nick: What are the temps now? I wish I could still keep mines out. They are pretty happy in the greenhouse though. I wish I could keep that going all winter though,:-(

Mike: You don't want to know what I did with mine...Ouch! So good to see you taking good care of yours though:)

Have a great day all. I wish I had more time this am.

Mike:-)

Good morning, Laura and Mike!
California is beautiful right now...cool mornings, warm afternoons, with a smokiness in the evening air.
Our maples are beginning to change color, and the leaves make a great display on the lawn (which is green
again due to the October rains). All of my plants are still outside, save for my Desert Rose and my Orchid.

Josh

It's been 2C today but that's as cold as it's got all month and temps are expected to rise to around 10C again even at nights it'll be 5C+.

My indoor plants (Calamondim and Lemon) have little fruits and some of the Calamondims are ripe which is nice. It has also started to put out a new flush of buds and leaves. I'm really amazed at it's almost constant flowering.

I hope the foot gets better Mike.

Regards
Nick,

Well, that's nice, for skiers that is!

I woke up to 3 inches of snow on everything this morning, and frozen might I add! Everything was encased in ice, except my indoors plants thank goodness!

I did forget to bring a couple in and I hope they make it. Their leaves were frozen.

Get this! Tomorrow calls for 6-8 more inches of the nice white stuff! Can we ever get a break around these parts? Cold definately favors my area since we never even got a hot summer thanks to Canada and the North Pole!

Mike:-)

Oh wow Mike. is snow this early normal for you guys. Rarely do we get snow before Thanksgiving and usually not till after the new year.

Hey MeyerMike:

Why only container plants? I hate to be the bearer of bad weather news but I have been monitoring the latest long term forecasts for the winter and it seems that this winter will be very similar to the last one (at least here in the Southwest). For the past two nights here in the desert it has been 45 and 47 degrees.

So, today I started version 2 of my citrus protection. There will be several improvements over last year (which I think you remember). The first is how I wrap the frost covers and install the halogen lamps (for heat). Today, I finished droving in 28 (4 per citrus tree) 2 foot pieces of rebar (12" in the ground and 12" above ground). These will be the base of the new PVC frame. I am using 3/4" PVC which will be vertical over the rebar and then have elbows to form a rectangular frame. This should eliminate the "ghetto" way of using big rocks holding down the PVC/wood that was on the ground forming the base last year which held up to the winds only so-so. Also, I can extend the PVC frames from this year by simply using PVC couplers and additional pipe so I won't need to start over each year. Also, I spray painted the rebar sticking up neon orange so people won't trip over the rebar when I take down the PVC next spring.

I also discovered over the summer that there are these cool (hahaha) new kind of clamps called "PVC snap clamps" which are designed to hold any kind of fabric over a PVC pipe. So tomorrow I will measure for the amount of PVC pipe that I will need to buy at Home Depot and start installation. Unfortunately, I didn't order the snap clamps until this morning so they won't be here until late next week. But, the clamps should allow me to bring the frost cloth all the way to ground level and not need rocks to hold the cloth in place at the base.

I also ordered in the off-season (and got a great deal) frost cloth in rolls, rather than in the rectangular pieces.

Finally, I installed a new 20-AMP electrical circuit and weatherproof outlets to run my halogen light/C7 light protection. This should eliminate tripping the circuit breakers in the cold of the night.

Will post some pictures as I get things built. Perhaps someday, the desert will return to "normal" winters. The llink I have provided below is a good clear English explanation of the issues surrounding the forecast for this winter.

For those of us in the Tucson/Phoenix area, now is the time to stock up on things for frost protection like Styrofoam pipe protectors, etc. Keeping in mind that this winter is supposed to very very similar to last winter, now is the time to prepare (and at normal not inflated prices).

Happy Halloween!!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: 2011-12 Winter Climate Projection

Hello Everyone,

Hi Mike and Josh!!!

LOL...Mike, you would have laughed your butt off seeing me at 3 am bringing everything inside....Im glad i did.

We are having gust up to 30 mph and temps here are now 38* Thats cold for VB this time of the year!!!

I cant beieve what i am seeing on the weather channel for all of you guys up in the northeast!! YIKES!!!

The snow totals are unbelievable... I m so glad im not working!! LOL..Id be stuck somewhere im sure!!!

OK...im dying to know what happened to your Plumiess...especially since you wont say in public!!! LMAO!! I hope they are still on the property? LOL!!!

Glad to hear that you brought everything inside. I wasnt prepared to bring all of my things inside...

All is well here, thanks for asking!!! K is doing great!! SHe has found a new love for cows now... : )

I have told her that life comes from all different places and that we all need to appreciate all living things....

Mom is doing great...Thanks..

I have my DH making faces at me as i bring in all of the trees..LMAO!!! The eye rolling has begun!!! He does well with all of the plants/trees...but is worried of all of the little extra critters that maybe hiding and may come out to visit at night!!! LOL!!! : )

The last time this happened, was during the hurricane. We had crickets making all sorts of nice noises all night long. LOL!! Its to funny... Im the one who catches them and releases them too!

He will adjust..LOL Then once spring rolls around and i bring out all of the plants, he thinks it looks bare in the house!!! He does pretty well with all of my things!!!

Please keep warm!!! I hope you have power still...how much snow have you all received?

Give your mom a huge hug from me and tell her hello!

Josh,

I bet its beautiful right now in your part of the country!! I really like to hear how you describe the beauty of the mountains and the fall colors!!

We have had some beautiful fall colors here in the area. Especialky in the mountains of Virginia. We have lots of tourist visiting the Blue Ridge Parkway and seeing the Shenandoah Valley. Beautiful views!! : )

I love this time of year, but i miss the heat and the beauty of all things blooming during the summer. Its nice to have all four seasons here though. It makes us all take a much needed break.

Now, its time to focus on other things!!! : ) Maybe i can start a new collection of something else!! LOL!!!

I keep saying that this is better than collecting shoes, purses etc!!! LOL!!!

Take care everyone,

Stay warm!!!!

Laura in VB

Thank goodness my plants are inside! This greeted me this am and I was not to please being that the start of winter is December 21st and not today;

{{gwi:105792}}

{{gwi:634977}}

{{gwi:634979}}

{{gwi:634982}}

{{gwi:634987}}

Mike

I hope you didnt/wont loose power so your greenhouse will stay nice and warm. Everything inside looks nice and happy.

mike

Thanks Mike

I really appreciate your concern and time as always.

They did ok and are very happy. I have a back up propane heater just incase.

Hey, Mike and Mike! ;-)

Well, last night was our first freeze, and so I had to do something to protect my citrus.
When I got home around 9:30 last night, I watered my trees thoroughly and then tucked them
against the firewood stacked beneath my deck. I haven't checked on them yet, but I think
they'll be fine...other than some damage to the new growth, of course.

My Pomelo seedlings and my Ponderosa lemon I brought inside.

Josh

Well do I have some interesting information to share today. Friday night at about 2am I was woke up to a 4.7 magnitude earthquake and Saturday at about 10:30 pm I was at a local gas station and experienced a 5.6. Those both set records for the largest earthquakes in Oklahoma history. It was a strange and exciting thing to go through. We had no damage but the whole house and the store was shaking like mad. Here is what mother nature has done to us this year alone.

with all the unusual nature events it has me wondering what is next.

here is a pic of some of my trees that survived the great oklahoma earthquake, LOL

{{gwi:634988}}

Wow, that was a close one, Mike ;-0
Pretty exciting, though. Here in California, we're spoiled with earthquakes.....
although I don't feel them in the foothills.

Nice ripening fruit!

Josh

Well guys! Now that the snow has melted I have been raking, pruning, sweeping, and washing the entire backyard and driveway since 7am! I also worked at my cleaning business since 430 am. Now the foot is swollen and time to update you on my plants:-0)

First off Mike: What is up with your area? HOT, then DRY, then WINDY, then HAIL, then EARTHQUAKES? Your poor trees and yet they still look so nice. Look at that fruit in a container. Did your plants fall off the shelves?
Make sure you bring in your plants clean of dead leaves, weeds, any annuals you might of planted in them and debris. Goodness forbid you have spider mites hiding out which is exactly what happened to my tree 'Rosa'! I had to brutally give her a haircut and spray with Neem oil and FE to make sure she was clean yesterday. What I pain!

Josh: Thank goodness the earth doesn't move to much for you!

Mine are all doing ok except for Rosa, but she is looking much better today. I shall have to treat her one more time before I bring it in. I already pulled the infested marigolds plants I should of never brought in! It is going to be in the 70's tomorrow and the 60's the rest of the week. I should be able to leave it outside for a while before it gets cold again. Strange, it is warm this week and last week we had a snow storm.

Mike

Geez mike you need to slow down, your foot will never heal.

No plants fell it was just enough to shake the doors and walls. I think the most we noticed was some crooked pictures. After what we have been through might as well add earthquakes. So far i havent noticed any pest so Im keeping my fingers crossed. I have one NOID plumeria that is just about to open the flowers down at the bottom of the picture. They are white so thats kind of a bummer since I already have 2. Oh well 3 whites is better than none i guess. I still have one other NOID so maybe next year it will surprise me. {{gwi:634990}}

Josh i figured you may have been through your far share of quakes. In fact the clerk at the store didnt miss a beat when it happened. When it was done he said he was from California so it was no surprise to him.

the fruit i have is one washington orange and 2 meyer lemons. I already ate the mandarins i had and one lemon. All tasted great.

Mike

Hello Everyone,

Hi Mike!!

Great looking Plumie!!

Just remember that the color of those beauties can change with the heat and the maturity of the tree. So, you may have a different color than white. It just may look white now, then next year once you have more growth and better heat when you have an inflo during the summer it could change a little in color..

Great looking inflo!!!

Congratulations!!!

Looking good!!! : )

If you want one of my cuttings this spring, i would be more than happy to send one to you so you can have a named colored Plumeria!!! : )

Laura in VB

Well just thought I would share what's going on right now. We just had another 4.6 quake and on top of that we are dodging tornadoes. Mother nature is not happy with oklahoma right now.
Thanks for the info laura!

Lol

Mike hopefully at least Santa won't stay away and give you a plumie with name this year! Stay safe.Congrats buddy!

Laura! Hello, hello! I just picked my Dad up from the airport and now I am all wide eyed and perky!lol
You should see my plumie! It flowered in my dark room.lol
Not that you have not done enough for me , in fact much! But I love a certain plumie that you have posted at the houseplant forum! Meet you there:-)
Mom says hello and I wonder if you got our last e-mil?

Mike:-)

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are doing alright with that earthquake!! Yikes...i cant believe what you all are going through...

Be safe Mike!!!

Mike,

So glad to hear that up picked up your dad at the airport!!! Enjoy the time together!!! : )

Congratulations on the inflo blooming!!! What a great feeling to finally see that lovely bloom. What color is it? Love to see a pic...

I sent u an email... i guess that i never rec the other..

: ( sorry!!!

Tell Sissy that i said "hello" and that i hope she is enjoying all of the company...LOL Im still chuckling over that joke... Way too funny!! LMAO!!!

Enjoy the fall..i hope the weather is finally adjusting back to normal conditions..

Take care everyone,

Laura in VB

Not yet.

Rob

Hey everyone

thought Id share a few of my blooming plants.

The NOID plumeria finally showed its face.
{{gwi:634992}}
And my 'rosa-sinensis' hibiscus is still going strong. its just too bad the flowers only last a day or two
{{gwi:634993}}

Hi Mike,

Beautiful blooms..

Congratulations !!! : )

Does the White Noid have any fragrance?

Great job!!!

Laura in VB

Mike: Those are so beautiful! Very big flowers and what color! Even though a NOID, still magically delicious.

Laura: Hello, how are you? How's the weather down there? The weather here has been very weird! Last month it was too cold to keep anything outdoors, and now this month we get many days of warmth, then sharply colder. What a waste of nice sunny warm days to keep them all indoors..lol
We are suppose to get over an inch of warm rain tonight and I wish I had the foot to let me bring them all out for that.

Mike

Thanks you 2, you have both been an inspiration to me and my plants.

Now if I can just talk that finicky gardenia into blooming. It does have some buds that I hope will do their thing.

mike

Hey Mike!

Thanks and you have been a joy to work with!

Are you still around since I have another suggestion for you?:-00)

Mike

Hello Mike,

You have some beautiful blooms there!!!

I think i can smell that Noid Plumeria!!!

What a nice thing to say...Thank You!!! : )

Keep up the great job!!! You can see the wonderful results of you labor in the way you take care of your plants and trees!!!

Mike,

We are waiting for this front to push through our area in a hour or so..Today we had temps of high 70's ...yesterday it hit 81* Yes, the temps have been crazy here!!!

Tomorrow the low is expected to be around 37* What is this?

:)

I have everything inside, i cant be bringing them in and out to enjoy these beautiful temps..to many to bring in and out. Plus i think it will confuse the ones im trying to make rest right now..

Take care,

I hope all is well with you and Sissy!!!

Give her a hug for me!!

: )

Laura in VB

Mike, whats on your mind? Also do you grow any bananas. I got into them this summer also and they are pretty easy to grow.

Laura sounds like you are having some of our crazy weather. We hit 28 this morning.

stay warm
Mike

I still haven't put mine inside were getting a very dry period with 12C temps droppin to about 5-6C at night.

The Grapefruit is looking a bit like it's not happy, but the lime seems to be still growing.

Regards
Nick

Mike: Keep a very close eye on your citrus buddy.

Let's talk about the citrus right to the right of your plumeria. I don't want you to loose all those leaves buddy!
I see yellowing coming on maybe due to too much water?

And just a friend onto friend. I suggest you spray the leaves on your Hibiscus every two weeks all summer with anything that will keep pest invasion away. One slip up for more than a couple of weeks without anything will bring them on like a fire storm, especially mites. Hope this helps you:-0)

Laura:

Mom says to send her love and thank you for thinking of her. She just adores your plants! HUG right back she says.
I can't believe that your weather is colder than mine here is today!lol
Ok, well we are going to be back into the 60's again by Sunday! Lots of raking and pruning to do then.
Last weekend it was in the 70's and I stripped my greenhouse apart and sprayed down all my plants with FE.
Then I washed the inside of it and placed everything back in.
It looks so nice and cozy in there now, ready for the winter! I am deabating if I should keep them all in there all winter?
I must consider the fear of an power outage and the heating bill costs..hummmm

Nick: Wow. I am happy for you. I hope you can keep them going as nice as you are. Deep winter will be everyone's true test!

Mike

Thanks Mike

that one is a lemon seedling that I started a few years back. No matter what I do it always has leaves like that. Ive always been afraid of over fertilizing so i think I need to increase my amounts because I have others that are showing some yellow also. Im pretty good about watering and all of them are in the gritty so I think its just not enough food.

mike

Hi Mike!!!

I cant believe our temps either!! We had a 30 degree difference in one day..talk about cold!! BRRR!!!!

My greenhouse has been frustrating to say the least...trying to keep the temps regulated is very difficult right now. Im going to place shadecloth on top and see if i can keep the afternoon sun from making the temps rise to high. I really need to get this under control..UGGGG!!!

Right back at SIssy!! Give her my best and tell her thank you for the nice comments on my plants and trees!!

I wanted to post some pics of the Mock Orange that you gave me as well as the "Little Rosa" She is doing great and i wanted to show you how much she has grown since Sept!!!

Here they are...

Thanks again for all of the goodies!!! : )

After the beautiful blooms and the wonderful fragrance...here is what is shing now!!!

Looks like little oranges, but i think they are the cute little seedpods.. : )

{{gwi:3223}}
{{gwi:634996}}
{{gwi:634998}}

"Litte Rosa" : )

{{gwi:635000}}
{{gwi:3224}}

Take care,

Laura in VB

Oh btw the hibiscus yellowing leaves. Try cutting down on direct light. I had one that bloomed like mad but the leaves kept turning yellow and dropping. It's now sat in a North facing window, needing very little care at all.

Regards
Nick

Hey, guys and gals! ;-)

I finally started working on this year's cold-frame....
I doubled the dimensions, so now I have a four-foot by four-foot working space on the inside.
Plenty of room for jugs of water and possibly a small heater if the need should arise this Winter.
I haven't finished the door or the vents yet, but I'm close. The edges are sewn and will be sealed
inside and out. Anyhow, here it is in a partially completed state...

{{gwi:635002}}

{{gwi:635004}}

And these little guys are inside with me where it's nice and warm! Pomelo seedlings.
They really appreciated the re-potting...as can be seen in the vibrant green of the leaves.

{{gwi:635007}}

And this here's an update on the Ponderosa Lemon.

{{gwi:635010}}

{{gwi:635014}}

Josh

Hey Josh!

Looking mighty fine. I just love the vivid colors of yours, always, well not so much of the burnt ones this past summer, that is until you got them back to that nice green again.:-)

I love the cold frame idea! You certainly have a creative mind. I am sure your plants will love it. Now, to keep it from blowing away. What will you do?

I am just happy you are not getting those 100 mph Santa winds.

Great job

Mike

Hey! Thanks, Mike!

The winds are blowing wild out here! Yesterday, the cold-frame started to levitate and then
slide across the deck. Once the cold-frame is finished, I'll put it against the house where I can
fasten it to the wall at two points. I might even stake it to the ground, if need be.

Next, I'll build a separate top with a steeper angle that will shed rain, leaves, and snow.

Josh

I have brought my citrus in the cellar a month ago under grow lights temporarily and hopefully into the lean to when finished. I brought up my Meyers lemons to get real sun light.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Improved Meyers Lemon trees

Hello all,

I am really, really late getting my citrus protected this year. Our weather has been all over the place. I emailed a regional citrus expert and he said my trees should be OK outside down to 32 degrees if covered with sheets. He warned that my lime trees would not fare as well as the Meyer and Kumquat. So far he was right. DH decided he just did not want to move the trees indoors this year so he put up a "cattle panel hoop house" for the trees to stay in over winter. No idea what we will use for heat yet but we were 73 degrees yesterday and right now (2AM) we are 63 degrees - in December!! Talk about climate change! Central Virginia has wild weather. Here are some photos of my citrus "farm". There is a Meyer in back of the lime that can not be seen very well in these photos. The 6mil clear plastic will go on later today when DH gets time. {{gwi:635016}}


{{gwi:635018}}

Cheers,
DL

My citrus could still be outside but I took them in back in October as I was afraid autumn, coastal storms would rip them apart. My big job is protecting the big palms that are still out (big Canary Dates, California fan palms, etc.). Raining today, so it'll have to wait. Sometimes those predictions of cold temps get nudged up as the cold air advances east and the days pass--but definitely getting colder in the extended. Good news though is that it is supposed to be a warmer than normal December from NJ/NYC into the Southeast. Wonder if we will pass any precip records this year though. Must have been one of the wettest years in history but don't think we'll pass the 80" needed to break the record.

DL

nice little set up you have. A 1500 watt electric heater should do pretty good at keeping that greenhouse warm. Be very careful that you watch how hot it gets when the sun hits it. Mine is a lean to on the south side of my house with 6mil plastic. When the sun is out it can easily get 20-30 degrees warmer than outside. On a 70 degree day it can get to a 100 no problem. Rolling up the sides and or opening one end should help that.

Mike

Josh: Did you ever finish the cover? I can only imagine how good it must look and work. A small space heater on timers when you know the nights get cold should do the trick!
Will you have a auto vent opener for the warmer days or will you just create a small opening each day to let the heat out if it should get to warm and to circulate the carbon dioxide out and let in fresh air?
This will also help you avoid the ole SPIDER MITE, disease, and pest issues!

Mike: Same to you. Maybe you can find a way to keep your temps stable, at least into the low 70's for the winter.
You can avoid some major bug issues and extreme temp swings. Sounds like you have yours all set for the winter too. Great!

Dave: I have seen your trees and Palms. Amazing is what I have to say! I hope we keep these warm temps. I would hate to see the Artic cold blasts move through though without giving my plants, the outside ones a chance to rest from all this unusual warmth. Last year it killed a few of my shrubs.

Dl: What can I say but WOW. You sure are prepared this winter. I know you had a rough one last year, but not to be taken of guard this year. Nice job protecting your trees and I hope they all fare well. You have yourself a great set-up and put much thought into that. Very nice for anyone thinking about doing the same. Sheesh, I just heard that Texas has had more snow and cold than us way up here!

Mine are happy now that I have them protected with a Solar Cover. I only need 1 space heater compared to 2 keeping the temps even warmer than before. I am so thrilled about this and the lack of electricity I will be using. I spent almost 275 one month keeping them warm in a greenhouse, but I hope not this year. So far so good:-)

Mike