Got my first Moro Blood Oranges of the season in the grocery store today. Both the peel and the inside are very dark purple red. Delicious! They are tiny though. That's ok. I just eat two.

Cory

Hello everyone glad to hear everyone made it through the coldest night of the year probably hopefully . That's great Maggy your GH stayed so warm . Maggy it sure was cold last night it went down to minus 26 Fbrrrrr. It was so cold my thermometer in the GH stopped working ??. Last time that I checked last night it was minus 20 F and it was 44 F in the GH . Hoping everything is OK darling . Mikey my GH looks like a big freezer kind of scary looking it is so frosted up . Wow you still have plants on your porch incredible . Glad your GH is staying warm . I can't believe how mild it is tonight 15 F must be a Bermuda high moving in right lol . Sugar hates his boots but he knows no boots equals no walk . Tried to put his boots on tonight to go in the backyard that was a fight , he growled so much and at time's it sounded like he was trying to speak hilarious . He has very short legs so his belly hair gets coated in snow now that can't be nice . So does Bo go outside or is he a total inside cat ? So glad to hear your mom is in good spirits excellent hugs hugs hugs . I have been making a healthy cocktail myself to try to get rid of this darn cold and it seems to be working . There are lots of greens , spinach etc lots of different fruit it taste great but looks like sludge . Trace glad your GH stayed nice and toasty . Steve how did yours make out last night ? Cory how cold did it get in New Jersey last night ? I am sure your GH was nice and toasty after all the insulating you did . Hi Evan you must be so glad you do not have to deal with all this subzero weather like us , lucky!!!! . Everyone have a great night and hugs to all .

Brian

Brian, it got down to 8°F. Right now it is 13°F at 10:47 pm. No minuses thank goodness. Glad to hear your greenhouse is fine so far. That is so cold by you. I have never experienced temperatures that cold.

So funny about the boots!

Cory

My greenhouse got down to 40 last night and into morning. at 1130 I closed the window and when I got back home the GH was down to 33. I opened the window and use a small fan to put enough positive pressure so cold air doesn't leach in and very little blows out. This seems to work well. We had no sun to warm the GH today 1-8-15. My wife doesn't like the window open but the plants will die if I close it. All but one citrus tree is in a growth spurt with very tender shoots. I have got my final plans completed now for next year. It will be self sufficient to close to 0 F. Not this year though.

The picture below is accurate to measurement but not so graphically

Steve

This post was edited by poncirusguy on Fri, Jan 9, 15 at 10:41

I harvested these little Xie Shan mandarins from my little tree today. I think they may be keeping the tree from growing. They tasted good even though the tree is really just a seedling yet. The larger fruits are navels for comparison.

Cory

**********They tasted good even though the tree is really just a seedling yet.*********

Does the word seedling mean you grew it from seed or that the grafted tree is still small. They look very good.

Steve

Steve, they are from a grafted tree but the stem is less than a pencil width so I think of it as a seedling. Maybe sapling is a better word? I'll have to look that up. I have a lot of seedling trees I have grown from seed though. They seem to grow very slowly compared to yours. Most are different blood oranges or Fukushu kumquats.

Cory

Cory, those mandarins look so good. I have blossoms but no fruit on my mandarin trees . We are still in a deep freeze here and I see you have similar temperatures. We are not near as cold as poor Brian. He must be frozen.
Steve, how is your greenhouse holding up?
Like Mike, I am starting to dream of warm sunny days and having my trees outside.
Brian, how are you doing? Hope all is well.
Have a great day. Maggy

Cory, those mandarins look so good. I have blossoms but no fruit on my mandarin trees . We are still in a deep freeze here and I see you have similar temperatures. We are not near as cold as poor Brian. He must be frozen.
Steve, how is your greenhouse holding up?
Like Mike, I am starting to dream of warm sunny days and having my trees outside.
Brian, how are you doing? Hope all is well.
Have a great day. Maggy

Hi gang . What a busy weekend between snow blowing and taking down the Christmas decorations I don't have much time to relax . Maggy how is it going are you spending any time in your GH . With all those trees in bloom I would be sitting in that nice chair you have in there with a nice ice cold margarita and enjoy all the beautiful scents . Maggy I have to get in my GH to water tomorrow I'm so not looking forward to that . My GH is so frozen I don't even know if I will be able to get in there and even if I am able to get in will the door come off the track . I think next year no choice but buying a new GH . Mikey how are you doing buddy? How are your trees making out on the porch . OK Mikey I am with you guys in that I am ready for spring its just so cold . Mikey how old is your GH and do you know how long they last ? I still have ice over everything from the last ice storm it has not melted . I was looking at the long range forecast they are calling for lots of snow and even ice for the next few weeks . We bought the old Batman tv series on blue ray were going to watch a few episodes tonight . Did they ever do a great job the quality and color and clarity is amazing . Cory Xie Shan mandarins look very tasty indeed . Probably about the same size as Kishu's . Are there lots of seeds in the fruit ? How are you making out from the cold and how warm is it in your GH ? Steve so glad everything is working out for you !!! . That's a nice size GH . Your Sweetlee looks amazing for being only a couple of years old . How long to you can expect it to flower ? Does that variety flower at a young age from seed? Trace hope your getting your energy level back . I am still holding on to my cold from Christmas drains the life out of you . Evan so how badly were your trees injured from the cold ? Hoping they are starting to make a comeback !! . Everybody have a great weekend lots of hugs . Here is a pic of the GH look at all the ice hoping I will be able to get in tomorrow . How cold does that look ?

Brian

Brian, it looks and is so cold where you are. I don't know how you can take those really cold days. I hope everything is ok in your greenhouse. Do you cover up the door track to keep the snow off? I have to keep slatted old greenhouse bench tops over my air vents near the furnaces at the base so they don't get blocked by snow or the gas will automatically shut off. I wrap a plastic bag over my door handle and lock so the catch doesn't freeze and I make sure I keep all snow and ice away from the door opening because I have been frozen out in the past. My door opens outward. I usually lean something along the door so it can't accumulate there when I am sleeping. Sometimes I forget though and I can't get in. You made me think about how old my greenhouse is. I will have to look it up. I've probably had it 10 or 15 tears now. I'm on my second pair of natural gas furnaces. Anything steel or metal, besides aluminum rusts, including the stainless steel furnace parts, but the rest has held up well. Even the cedar benches succombed to rot eventually but they held up better than the metal ones. I think the plastic/acrylic is probably more opaque and the seals may be loosening a little but it is still very clear. The Xie Shan mandarins are seedless. I found Moro Blood Oranges in the grocery store this week. They are so good. Nicely colored this year as a result of the early cold weather I guess. I hope everything works out tomorrow. The trees will probably be fine even if you can't get in tomorrow because it is so cold.

Cory

Brian. OMG that greenhouse looks cold. Now if you had a solar cover you would not have ice around the door. I have not been in the greenhouse since last week. I will likely go tomorrow and you are right ,the blossoms smell so good. And maybe I will take a marguarita with me.
I am doing well Brian, thanks for asking.
Will you replace your greenhouse with a bigger one.? I suppose no matter the size you will always fill it.
Today the supermarket was selling cara cara oranges. Oh! They taste so sweet and delicious. Do you have a cara cars tree.? Not a seed in the fruit. I would love to have one but I have never seen them for sad here.
It is not as cold tonight. It is 15F going to 7 . We do not have as much snow as you .
Hope you get you greenhouse open tomorrow . I watered by hand last week end. I need to find a better system. It is brutal caring water for 19 trees.
Have a good night. Maggy

Went to see greenhouse today it was good made it threw 8 degrees without major damage. Just some cold burn on new growth on one orange tree other than that no damages. Most trees blooming like crazy omg Brains place looks cold. Maggys place looks cold to hope everyone's greenhouse keeps doing well. Steve I am amazed at how hard you work to keep your greenhouse.
Trae

This post was edited by Tcamp30144 on Sat, Jan 10, 15 at 23:43

Hello everyone, been held up by issues by doing better today thanks to some awesome caring friends here!!
It's bitter today again, 10 and yet the greenhouse is doing fantastic...I am amazed at how cold citrus trees can take for weeks on end without damage at all...As long as we don't over water and temps are pretty much stable..It amazes me at how cold they can get in pot!! I am going to have to rethink my advice..lol
I have to say they are not growing at all, but all budding out!
Nice and green and bug free....The leaves have all stayed on despite lower light levels and even though they don't actively grow new leaves, I am very satisfied with the lack of effort it takes to keep them happy until spring!! I am so excited...

Brian, your place looks so pretty and yet so depressing...lol I can't believe how cold it looks there..Thus far, we are way below normal both in the snow and temp catagory.What a weird winter..I am just happy that we lost a whole month of winter to the warmth in December and now the sun is starting to stay out longer..I am so excited about the sun most. In another only one month, we will start to feel the effects of the sun with warmth and the trees will react also..I can't wait! From there on out, it will be a piece of cake to get through this cold.
Brian, my greenhouse is going on 4 years and still looks as new as ever...I was told they are good for up to over 30 years...We shall see...
I gave my Mom hugs for you, You are so kind) I suppose Sugar has yet to learn that in order to take a pee in the wild outdoors, he has to wear boots so his feet won't freeze..lol
I can envision little ice pellets and pieces of little ice balls hanging from his fur after a stroll.
Man, thanks for letting us know how cold your trees get!!! I had no idea mine would do so well so cold until I have seen yours! Thank you.
Brian, to be honest, I would rather look at your summer yard pics and trees than that pic you posted above..Arg.
How's the bug population going? I suppose not to bad since temps are low and moisture exists with fans?
To me that is a very hospitable environment that not even a spider mite would like.
I love your idea with the door..Not bad. Now you don't have to worry about the handles freezing up..I can only imagine what a pain that was...
Iv'e thought of watching the old Batman movies! I think I should..Did you see the Hobbit in 3D yet? Wow, but so depressing..lol
Take care for now, I must run and take a shower.

Hello everyone else. Happy Sunday. I will be back soon to see what you all had to say. Hugs to you all

Mike

Hello everyone . Hoping you all had a great Sunday . I was able to get into my GH with not to much effort ya hoo. I used my blow torch to melt the ice on the door track . The door held up but I can tell it is loose and is going to be a problem in the future . Mikey how is it going buddy? We are having a heat wave it is 26 F degrees outside very pleasant . Glad to hear your citrus are doing fine in the cool . It is amazing the cool temperatures they can take . Last year it was so cold the temps stayed in the mid 30's to mid 40's all winter except when the sun was out then it went warmer . I only have one heater in there and when the temps are in the minus 20 's at night poor heater can only heat the GH into the mid to upper 30's but they made it through last year just fine . What plants do you have on your protected porch ? Sugar didn't have to put his boots on today with this mild weather a big treat for him . Sometimes the snow gets so tangled in his hair that I have to throw him in the tube and melt the snow with warm water . Mikey I haven't seen the new Hobbit but we have the one before that one in 3d looking forward to seeing the new one . Mikey it was the old Batman tv series from the 1960s we bought , I Love that series . Give your mom a gigantic hug for me glad she is doing great . Your right Mike I can really start to see the days getting longer the worst is behind us now . Cory the blood orange looks really tasty . I don't seem to have any luck with blood orange trees I can't figure it out . They grow great but never flower. You GH is about as old as mine 10 years . My GH is not doing that bad it's just the door . There are a few small patches of rust beginning to form on the aluminum . Cory I only partially cover the GH track . Next year I am going to take Mikey and Maggy's advice with the pool cover and maybe a slightly larger new GH . I also lean a shovel and a folding chair against the door of the GH so the plastic doesn't come flying off . Trace that's to bad about your trees . How cold did it get in your GH . Sounds like you will have to insulate your GH for next winter . Maggy glad you are doing much better did you go in the GH today ? I picked lots of lemons and limes and murcott mandarin's today yum. I am having a nice fresh lime in my beer right now .Maggy we were at a local hardware store this morning and they had a red navel which I am sure is a cara cara I took a pic . We relaxed this afternoon and watched a movie . Cooked a roast pork it smells amazing in the house. Have a great night my friend . Hi Steve hope you are going to enjoy your upcoming weekend .

Brian

It only got down to 50 in greenhouse when it was 11 but most of the time it stays so warm in there I have lots of new growth and blooms. And thank you for your condolences but its not a bad thing it was maybe 3 or 4 leafs on the new growth that got burned nothing to really worry about. All trees are doing really good orange tree is blooming if all blossoms make oranges will have over 200 oranges this next year. I always get new growth burn in the winter so no big deal lost 6 leafs off 4 ft tree it will be fine. This next week will be warming up to the sixties so trees will start hyper growth again. The greenhouse was the best investment I have made trees are so much happier now.
Trace

Brian, that most likely is Cara Cara. Do you have it and/or did you buy it, Amazing to find a citrus tree in a hardware store in your neck of the woods at this time of the year, especially when it is so cold. I wish I had a hardware store like that around me. I am lucky if I can even find one in the spring at a nursery. Our Lowe's and HD don't even get them in anytime and I have been looking. I usually have to get mine on line and shipped. I haven't had any blood oranges yet because my trees are too young, but right now my trees are full of flowers. I have 2 Tarrocos, although they are not blooming, a Smith Red Valencia, a Sanguinelli Blood, a Cara Cara, and at least 20 Moro from seed (not blooming size yet). I love to eat the blood oranges that is why I am trying to grow them. I see Harris Citrus has a Bud Blood that I may order. Speaking of W. Murcott Afourers, mine went flying last night. It is high up in my center aisle. When I went into the greenhouse this pm I found it laying on the floor and it had knocked over and broken my new Desert Rose and the plant stand it was on, my Stephanotis growing on a hoop, and several cattleyas. All and all not too bad, but still a mess. It gave me a chance to check the roots. The tree was not top heavy because that is one that suffered the heat stroke last fall and died all the way back to the graft. Fortunately the new branch that has sprouted did not get damaged. The roots look good and healthy. I hope they didn't dry out as they were out of the soil and in front of the furnace. Fortunately it was enough away from the flame that it didn't catch on fire, but it was close. Just goes to shiw you have to keep checking on things. I wonder if we got one of those ice quakes that caused it too fall. It seemed pretty secure where it was. I would have never expected it would fall off on its own. Fortunately it didn't knock down the others on the same shelf as they are pot-to-pot. This one was on the end. I wired the broken branch on the Adenia. It lost quite a few leaves but it will be ok. I need to replant it anyway. It is potted in peat moss! It surely will rot in that if I don't change it out soon. How did it get so bulbous growing in peat moss? I'm still finding outbreaks of scale everyday even after the systemic treatments. I don't know why it is not working and killing off the scale for me like it does for everyone else. I must be doing something wrong but I am following the directions. I have tried the spray, the drench, and the granules and I never get results. I am back to the oil, soap and alcohol again as I have hit the instruction dosage limits now. Everything looks a bit dried out in there even though the humidity is high. I guess it is because the heat is on so steadily. I hope it is not the imidicloprid.

Maggy and Mike, I am glad you both are feeling a little better. This weather can get us all run down. You too Brian. You just can't seem to get rid of that cold/flu this year.

Steve and Trace. Glad your greenhouses are both so successful. I agree, having a greenhouse is a great investment in money and effort. It is so nice to be in there and experience a little bit of spring when it is cold out. The snow and ice are coming again tonight. They are predicting that it may eventually turn to rain, but that is hard to understand if the temperature stays 20°F and below.

Enjoy these slightly warmer temps. My car battery keeps dying everyday and I need to give it a charge to get my car to start. I guess it is time for a new battery. It is cold, but I wouldn't think it was cold enough to affect my battery so I guess it is getting old and needs replacement.

I didn't have my phone with me to take a picture of the new yellow cattleya that is opening. I expected it to be dark red as the buds are deep burgundy color but it is opening a golden yellow with a tinge of reddish-bronze. No scent yet, but I expect it will have one. I forget the name....Maxima something...

Cory

Hi Cory that is strange that it would fall all on it's own , life's little surprise's . Glad that there was not to much damage done . Was the murcott near a fan ? I love my Murcott it is such an aggressive grower and is always producing amazing tasting fruit with little to no seeds and I thought they were supposed to be seedy . The store I where I saw the red navel is just a couple of blocks down the street from me . I did not buy the tree as I have way to many now as it is . The trees seem to be doing fine in the GH but definitely not as green as in October and November. Mine also have some scale I don't think there is to much out there that can totally get rid of them . Speaking of bugs there were mosquitos in the GH this is a first I have never seen them in the GH in the dead of winter , life's little mysteries . The little bugger bit me in the ear lol .Cory do you have any snow on the ground or am I the only one , I think Maggy might have a little
. I know the frozen GH pictures are ugly but I just want to show no matter what kind of adversity's you might have were you live citrus can be grown if i can do it where I live anyone can do it . Here is a pic of inside today have a great night Cory .

Brian

Hi everyone It, nice to hear that the greenhouses are working well. My trees made it past the -4 and -1 that passed I am taking note of the problems to fine tune them out of existence. Next year I should be able to complete the full length of the GH to 33 Feet long from east to west and 6-7 feet wide from south to north and 14 tall with the top 8 feet being above ground in sunlight.

I will have a new furnace (I am inheriting) along the south house wall. The exhast vent will go into the GH at ground level and pass through the 33 foot length of the the GH and exit. My cold water heater vent already empties into the GH. This warms and humidifies the air. I plan to put in air holes through my basement into the GH 4 feet below soil level to pump 70 F air into the root zone. The garage wall is insulate to R-19 so I will provide very little other than to keep the soil well oxygenated. The colder it is outside, the more the furnace runs. This provide more heat to satisfy the GH glass heat loss. It should work out real well and decrease my actual annual house heating bill while spending nothing on heating the GH.

I plan to plant my 3rd sweetlee and both Meyer lemons in the ground. The cover over my kumquats blew off in the -4 F and are dead. The final details involve designing a GH that can be disassemble in 4 Hour in the spring and put up in 8 hours in the fall. I want the trees in the breeze all frost free season.

Best of grow luck to all you Greenhouse club'ers

Here I a pic of underneath the tropical canopy .

Brian

And here is a pic of some lemons that I can barely reach .

Brian

Hi Steve it sounds like you have every possible angle covered . Your doing an amazing job , love it . Trace so glad to hear your trees were not damaged . We put so much attention and love into these trees would hate to see things destroyed in 10 minutes from the cold

Brian

I'm so sorry about kumquats Steve it's such a battle to grow citrus in the north. Glad everyone's greenhouse is holding up well. Really nice pics orangelime and others hope all goes well.
Trace

Brian Fantastic pictures. You and I were posting about the same time when we posted our responses.

Trace I guess we have found out that kumquats have a very hard time with insects, otherwise they grow well from seed.

Mike Cory and Maggy good to hear from you all.

Just think 2015 is now 3% used up. It is amazing how fast time flies.

Steve

Brian, the fan was not blowing on the tree or any near it. Ghosts I guess or the others on that shelf decided they wanted more room and kicked it off the shelf.

Last year my W Murcott didn't have seeds either. I read that as long as it is not pollinated with a compatible citrus tree it will be seedless. I have a Tango which is its Seedless progeny. That one also got the heat and water stress while I was away too, but it has not recovered yet and is recently turning brown. It tried to send out rootstock growth a couple of times but I removed it in hopes of stimulating growth above the graft. Nothing yet, and it is looking near death.

Funny, I had mosquitos in the middle of the winter last year. Those little bugs kept biting me for several weeks. At first I thought I was imagining it, but I had the bites as evidence. They always got me between my pants bottoms and socks.

We do have about 2-3" of snow and another inch or so is predicted for tomorrow. Your frozen ground photos are not ugly, it is just that I love looking at the pictures of your summer garden plants better. Now everything is covered by the snow and it looks so cold. Your trees look so lush and full of fruit even though they are all squashed in together in your greenhouse. I don't know how you do it. I hope mine will be like that soon too.

Cory

Steve, that sounds like you will really have a nice large winterized growing space next year. I have a couple questions. You say you are venting your new furnace, I am assuming it is gas or oil fired, through the greenhouse and out the other end. How will you do this? Through an exhaust pipe? Will the heat come from the exhaust pipe being warm? I see in many commercial greenhouses they blow heated air through bag like piping. But that is not exhaust air and it has holes to let the air out into the greenhouse so you wouldn't be able to do this with the exhaust air with carbon monoxide from a furnace or gas dryer. My new energy efficient furnace vents out the side of my house now and not the chimney anymore. I am wondering if that is keeping the garden on that side of my house warmer now. The extra wastewater flows back through a plastic tube and into a drain. I don't think it is hot. Some is vented as water vapor. I guess the water is too acid to use for plants? I keep wondering about if there is enough heat to reuse somehow, but maybe since the furnace is so efficient maybe there isn't much heat being exhasted? I can see the water vapor coming out though but it is not hot like sream. Also, I am wondering about your plan to drill holes through your house's foundation. I have a brick foundation and when the pointing erodes around the bricks, water comes in until I repoint them up again. I would be afraid water might come in the drilled holes. When I ran my water and gas pipes through the foundation and then uderground out to the greenhouse I had to make sure the holes were sealed around the pipe so water wouldn't seep in. I would be wary of drilling holes through my foundation for the water and also the strength integrity of the walls. I guess I am not understanding. How would you make these air spaces? With pipes sent out through the holes in the foundation? How will you do that underground....with a long drill and then stick a pipe through somehow... or dig a trench in the soil first and lay the piping? I can't picture what you are planning. It makes sense to try and heat the soil though. Maybe the furnace exhaust pipe could be under the ground? Not sure what the code would allow though. Also, how are you making it easy and fast to put the greenhouse up and take it down? Will you have a basic frame there all the time that the windows will fit into some type of slot or have somthing that locks them into place quickly like a turn buckle? Which makes me think about how do you keep the air from seeping in between the windows with your current setup? Do you seal them with caulking or use some type of weatherstripping? Is it tight just because there are four layers of windows? Anyway, it sounds great to have a huge greenhouse like that with basically free heat. Good luck with it. I'd like to expand mine too, so that I have a better place for keeping cold growing or dormant plants that are not quite hardy in my area.

Cory

The wall in my house are insulated to R-35. My basement walls are up around R-100 to R-150. If I heat my basement to about 80 F when it is 0 F outside. my living space stay at about 70 F and the bedrooms Run about 60 F I have disconnected all the furnace duct work. It is no longer necessary.

My furnace is a plastic pipe vented 90 plus furnace. Once the furnace pipe gets outside I will branch is int 4 pipes and send it one way down hill so the water drains outside the green house and is disposed of properly. These pipes will run at ground level just under the insulating mulch. The hole through the basement wall will care air only from my warm (heat sink) basement, The garage wall is very well insulated so the heat pumped into the soil does't leach on out side. This will be very low volume to ensure the roots get fresh air in a fairly tightly sealed greenhouse. My cold water heater vent pipe vents out into the greenhouse. This give humidity and CO-2 to the trees. This helps a little. I set the flame on my cold water heater at about half. It produces no yellow flame and very little carbon monoxide. I have a CO tester in my house and plants don't have hemoglobin that attracts CO.

A friend is moving and sold her house to a developer. Since the developer is going to demolish the house he gave us permission to take anything out of the house we want. That includes furnaces, cold water heater and 20 double glass not low-E windows at 3 feet by 3 feet.

The windows are in their frames and I screw each one through their corners to a wooden perimeter frame. The frame will be left standing permanently and the windows will be put up and taken down fall then spring. I have a friend in the lumber businesses whom I will ask to keep his eyes out for black locust, Osage orange, Chinese elm, or Blue ash All I have to is bide my time and good thing just seem to come as needed.

Steve

Just wanted to add that my meiwa kumquat tree whose cover blew of the night of -4 F and -1 F has survived and is looking great

LOLOLOL

This post was edited by poncirusguy on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 12:30

Steve,
Thanks for the additional info about your greenhouse expansion plans and heating plan. Very interesting. Great to get all your supplies for free also and that it is being reused rather than discarded. I am glad your Meiwa has nine lives! Mine was not so lucky. Almost instant death. I never really figured out what caused it's demise as it was in 511 mix and appeared bug free. It had been doing so well all summer and was loaded with fruit. It was my favorite tree for looks. It had the best spot in my greenhouse too. Roots looked fine too but it never resprouted, even below the graft. I had about 30 other trees that were not affected at all and growing with the same conditions, soil, location, water, etc. It just couldn't make the transition going back in the greenhouse like the others did. I hoped it might revive when I put it outside in the spring, but it never did. I have a Fukushu kumquat that has always done well and provides lots of seedy fruit. I have several small seedlings from the seeds growing, but they are growing very slowly and after 2 years are still only about 4 inches tall. Good luck with your comeback Meiwa.

Cory

Good afternoon , I can't believe I missed so many posts. Normally they come to my mail box but I had not received anything.
My greenhouse went to the lowest of 45 F during the cold temperatures. Today it is at 65. I do think the solar cover makes a big difference. No frozen doors and the soil under the cover( that is on the ground) is not even frozen.
We have some snow today . It looks like everyone has to deal with the cold.
Trace, hi there. Glad your trees survived . It is challenging to grow citrus in our climate but so rewarding .It would be difficult without the greenhouse I think.
Mike, yes I too see the days getting longer. For some reason I find Feb. March the most difficult. Maybe it is just me being impatient for spring to arrive. I am giving the trees less water because it has been so cold but the don't seem to mind. Can't wait until I can put them outside.
Brian, yes I was in the greenhouse yesterday. It is so nice in there in the winter. Your pictures are amazing. Nice fruit. My lemons are still not ripe .i just ate a Jaffa tangerine I got at the grocery store. It is from Isreal and seedless and sooooo sweet. Then I had a cara cars orange. They are most definitely my favourite . It is now in my most wanted list and I really want a tree . They are sweet as well but almost taste like berries. Such a nice flavour. Like the orchids I am now getting more specific about what I buy.
Getting a solar cover will solve your problem with the freezing door. I know you can't put one in your present greenhouse but if you get a new kind it is well worth it. Also it is easier to put on than bubble wrap. I can thank Mike for that. He keep telling me how great it is. I will need a shade cloth this spring but haven't looked into that yet.
I started cleaning out all my kitchen cupboards this morning . Got half done and decided I will finish tomorrow. My husband will have a fit when he sees the state of the kitchen. LOL! Good thing he is good natured.
Cory your tree falling in the greenhouse is very bizarre. Something must have caused it to move position . Maybe it was a ghost as you say. Ha ha.
Cory, I can't believe all you know about furnaces , exhausts , basement walls etc.. I am afraid I am lost me with the technical stuff. But you seem to understand what he is trying to accomplish.
Steve, it sounds like you have it all worked out . Good for you for getting the free materials. That is fantastic. As I said above I understand little of your plans but I do admire you for all that you do.,neither my husband or myself are the least bit technical. Makes for problems sometimes. We have to hire someone to do even minor jobs .Glad your tree survived. The citrus can be resilient. Just like us humans at times.
Take care all. Maggy

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This post was edited by maggyby on Mon, Jan 12, 15 at 15:51

Maggy glad to see you back missed you . Love that picture you have such a beautiful backyard and your GH looks so protected . I am glad to see someone else here has snow , it does look beautiful . I am going to try the pool cover next year but I think I am still going to need to put up one layer of bubble wrap it's just way to cold here . It's going down to minus 23 C or minus 10 F for the next 2 nights . If I just did the pool wrap I am sure the foliage touching the GH would get freezer burnt . Last year I only did one layer of bubble wrap and anything that touched the GH walls froze and died not the actual plant just branches . Glad to hear you enjoyed your time in the GH . Do you get attacked by any mosquito's , I did yesterday right on my big ear darn things . I had left the snow on the north side roof of the greenhouse for extra insulation for that big cold spell we had last week I removed it today I could tell my . plants weren't liking that to much just to dark in there . Take care Maggy have a great night my friend . Steve what a shocker minus 4 and you kumquat was still alive that really is amazing very happy for you . . That tree would make great rootstock . Cory that's to bad about your Miewa . I had a centennial kumquat and it suffered the same fate . One week healthy and loaded with fruit the next week totally dead all the wood had gone black . I am wondering Cory could it have been that my tree had to many fruits when I brought it in the GH ? Did yours have a heavy crop of fruit on it when you brought it in ? Hi Mikey and Trace and Evan I hope you all enjoyed your Monday .

Brian

Hi Brian, good to be back. I missed you too. I love the back yard in the summer when the trees are full. It is like being in the country. I lie in bed and look out the window and I think I am at a cottage.
I enjoy being in the greenhouse, I wish I had fruit like you do, maybe next year.
I probably should remove the snow in my greenhouse. Maybe tomorrow.
That solar cover wraps the greenhouse up like a present.
With your temps being so cold you might need both the cover and bubble wrap.
Poor sugar ,freezing his little paws. Glad he got boots. My dogs hate cold feet . They go out and right back in.
Have a nice evening Brian. Maggy

Brian, I think maybe you are right that our kumquats were so heavy with fruit when we brought them in that it was just too hard for them to adapt to the lower light conditions of the greenhouses.

Maggy, your greenhouse looks cute in that big snowy backyard. What is that in the background? A fountain?

I took some pictures of blooms in the greenhouse tonight. Here is the first one that I showed a couple of day a ago. It is fully open now. C. HORACE 'Maxima' x Rhy.Daffodil 'Beeswax'.

Phaiocalanthe Kryptonite 'EFG Orchids' AM/AOS. It is sending up at least two more spikes again this year although I think the plant is smaller.

Cory

Lc. Affect 'Arbec'.

Sorry they are coming out sideways. That is not how they are on the camera. I notice if I click on the photo it turns it around correctly though.

Cory

A nice lemony yellow phal. The phals are blooming despite the scale.

Cory

I have several of these but in varying shades of purple.

Cory

A very branching white phal with light pink lip.

Cory

One of the Wildcats.

Cory

This phal just keeps blooming non stop almost. I tried to get it to rest, but it refuses. The flowers used to be huge though. Sorry it is a little blurry. It is hard to get good pictures with all the fans blowing. It has an interesting shape and bumps, ridges and ruffles.

Cory

Hi Cory, your orchids are beautiful. You always seem to have something blooming. . Most of mine are just finishing or too small still. I just discovered they still have mealy bugs so I started spraying again. Those little critters are hard to eradicate . Sorry you are still having a problem with bugs in the greenhouse. It certaintly hasn't prevented your orchids from blooming.
I can't heat my greenhouse enough to keep orchids in there.I may set up a grow light in the laundry room if I need too. I am fast running out of room in the living room area.
I haven't seen any bugs on the citrus trees but like you and others I have seen Mosquitos in there. So weird. The trees do like the colder temperatures and are setting buds. I have to clean the snow off the roof as it is blocking the light. I am just amazed that we can grow citrus in our climate. This is my first year so I am still learning. So glad I got the greenhouse. I wonder if the big Rosemary plant that is in there is keeping the bugs at bay.
The sun is shining at it lifts one's mood.
Have a nice day everyone. Maggy

Brian, I just read this over at Millet's citrus forum section on the Tropical Fruit Forum. It may support your idea about our kumquat trees that died from too heavy bearing:

Mandarins and Hybrids (Tangelos, Tangors, etc.) C. reticulata, one of the three basic roots of the citrus family tree. Also generally known incorrectly as "tangerines," a term properly reserved as a trade name for 'Dancy' Clementines imported from Tangiers. Mandarins are usually small and basically orange-like, but are almost always very sweet, intensely flavored, and heavy bearing. Gene Lester observes, "There are hundreds of mandarins, and they are almost all very good." The one drawback common to almost all mandarins, allmandarins, is that they will tend to fall into an alternate bearing pattern. One way to handle this is to have two varieties, and strip one tree the first year and the second tree the next. That way you always have one tree with a crushing level of production while the other is saving its strength. With single trees you must thin. Also important is stripping old fruit before next year's flowering because held fruit will strongly inhibit bloom. In its most severe form, known as "Murcott collapse" after the outstanding and extremely heavy bearing 'W. Murcott' variety' that is particularly prone to this malady, the entire tree just dies from carbohydrate exhaustion. It puts everything it has into one fantastic, ultimate, blow-out, mother of a branch-breaking fruit party, then has nothing left, and so dies. Mandarins have a distinctive odor, hard to define, complex, a mix of several critical essences, but variously musky, orangey, wine-like, and often rue or caper-like as well. The varying levels of these aromas are what make them such an interesting group by themselves and for breeding. rev 3/2011

There is more to the post and it is taken from Monterey Bay Nursery descriptions.

Cory

Im so sorry everyone, I have been so emotionaly drained that I even forgot my pass word for a few hours..That's bad!
how are you all...?

Magyy, Cory's orchids are so beautiful I agree, and personally, I think her bugs might as well become her friends instead of foe because they appreciate them as much as we do))) Hey maybe if me make these nugs our friends, they might just stay friends..I suppose they might like the smell of Rosemary!
I think once you find that you get addicted to orchids more than Citrus, oops, did I say that? lol..You will be adding another space heater in there some how.lol
That is the ONLY way I can keep them in there..When temps dip into the teens, then it's time to use the secondary heater to keep temps into the low 60's...You should see all the stuff starting to respond to the sun rising higher in the sky..
I hope the stuff on the posrch holds out until spring now that the sun is heating it up a bit more on the afternoons...Love it!@!

Cory, what the heck kind of Phal is that!!? I think it's quite unusual!! If it makes a Kiki, you know what you can do with it?lol
Once again your orchids are to die for..So pretty despite the bugs as Maggy says..You must be doing a fantastic job at keeping them at bay, because your orchids would not look that nice.)
Cory, you know the one that you have various colors of purple on? Do they have a fragrance? I think they do..If so. I will buy one just like that off of you! My mom is in love with it, and that is quite rare for her)))
I love it myself..In fact, I was looking to get one if it is fragrant.
I must say, that your greenhouse is MUCH busier in the flowering department that mines is((..You lucky thing you!
By the way, I have lots of Dendrobiums that are fragrant starting to flower..Would you like me to take a pic in case you want a cutting?? One is quite amazing and stays rather kept..It smells lovely and has white flowers with lime green coloring about it...I can take a pic for you)
I also have a DEEP purple one if given lots of sunlight which I don't have which has wond frist place at Orchids shows...I would share that with you too)
Both of these don't need a rest period and in fact can grow right amoung the Cattleya and Phals!

Brian, you know what I might to grow next??? I grafted Mango and or Papaya...I wonder though if they needs lots of sunlight in the winter too to grow to ripe stage?
You certainly have to get that solar cover next year Brian! How is your heat holding up?

Maggy, wowowowowowo..That looks like one lonely greenhouse out there in the middle of snow where and look, it looks like Santa forgot to put that greenhouse on his sleigh and go back to the North Pole with it.lolol I'll be he would love a place nice and warm up there about now. What a great job gift wrapping it..Don't you just love lifting the front to get inside and having all the little snow and ice chunks ruin your hair...lololo..I alwasy shower after I have been in the greenhouse.Imagine that, other than your own house, many of your prized possessions are hunkered down in there! Happy as a lark though!

Did I miss anything guys???? I didn't have time to go back and read all that I missed, but I will soon..If I missed anything important or questions, please tell me..

Thank you for your support and you are all a great bunch of friends)

Steve..lololo That tree sure is a trooper..That is amazing!! I love how you can have access to all the stuff in that house..Oh boy, you must be like a kid in a candy store and your imagination must be running wild!

Hi Tracy..Hope your trees are holiding up well..Did you notice that you have no bugs this year? Just thought I would share that with you)

Brian, I was just thinking!!!

Is it possible for you to move your greenhouse forward a bit more to allow room between your plum tree and your greenhouse next spring? Just curious buddy...

MIke

Oh Brian...Just amazing pics buddy now that I have made my way up to the top!! I can't believe how wonderful your trees look in there despite the dreaded scale!! What a pain, right?
The only sure thing that will rid those is systemic or natural predators outside, but who has those?

Oh Brian, congrats on your beautiful trees, hugs to you and my hats off too.

Hi Cory love the purple orchid very sharp and the wildcat !!! . Do these one's have a nice scent ? When we were in the hardware store on the weekend they had blue orchids very pale are these orchids dyed with something ? Unfortunately I think we are right Cory I think we brought them in with to many fruits on them . So I guess Murcott collapse just doesn't happen to Murcott's . It's funny to I had a bad feeling bringing the kumquat in the GH coated in fruit like that . I have a picture of my Centennial kumquat coated with fruit somewhere if I can find it I will post it . This year I thinned out most of my tree's fruit except I forgot to thin out the fruit on my Valencia orange the poor thing was just coated in oranges . So far it looks good fingers crossed and only a few fruit not many fell off , should be an interesting sight when I bring it out in the spring . Cory it's so cold here it went down last night to minus 20 degrees without the wind but we had bucket's of sunshine the last couple of days which I am sure will do my trees well . How cold has it been in New Jersey ? Cory have a great night my friend . Hi Maggy , Mikey and Mom , Steve , Trace and Evan hoping things are well . Lots of hugs guy's .

Brian

Cory.....Please, tell me if that Ascocentrum Mona Church has a fragrance??? If so, that is another on my list of wants..lol

Mike

Brian, we are posting at the same time..Look above, I think I talked to you a dozen times..lol I can't believe it reached -20 degrees..What the heck?
You are keeping your greenhouse from freezing with just one space heater????????????

Pray electricity stay on..That is always a fear with me, especially if I am sleeping or at work..Sheesh, if we can just get through this month without a hitch. Keep your fingers crossed..I think February does not get as cold as Januray, or at least the sun heats the greenhouse up a lot better if if we loose heat for a few hours..

Watch, right about February 15, you will see the temps in your greenhouse rising higher and higher and earlier and earlier...By 10 am in March, it will reach 80..By 10 am in April, it will rwach 80 by 9 am..I love it!

Hey Mikey how are you buddy ? Are you mentally drained from figuring out what your going to do with all your money ? Mikey I wish moving the GH would fix the problem but the spa is 2 ft in front of the GH door so I can't move that way .we are thinking of getting a larger GH so I think we will probably have to relocate the plum tree and I love that tree . Mikey those darn scale and in my Kishu which is flowering profusely now is some kind of nest I think it is a spider's nest and it's really gross . I forgot to wash it out so I have to wait 2 weeks before I can destroy it I hope there is no harm done to my Kishu . How is life in your neck of the woods ? How cold has it been ? Has it been sunny ? We have just gone through 3 day's in a row of sunshine really nice and rare here . I can really notice the sun's warmth now as we had a high of 0 F today lol . I watched back to the future 1 and 2 on the weekend love those movies . The second one was set in the year 2015 it's kind of cool what the movie maker's thought 2015 would look like . I hope that your mom is still feeling well . How is your beautiful orange tree making out? Mikey I tried growing a mango it was a dwarf . I had absolutely no luck with it , the poor thing died within 2 months from rotting . It was a real shame it was a beautiful little tree . Take care my friend hugs.

Brian