Growing roses indoors in winter with very little light
braverichard (6a, North MO)
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
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jacqueline9CA
9 years agoRelated Discussions
What do you grow indoors in winter?
Comments (21)Sorry to all you northerners(minus Jay), but I love winter growing -- certainly helps save on the water bill. I don't ever have to have frost/freeze protection( I let my maters and peppers go till the first frost. Right now I have napa cabbage, broccoli, cauli, brussels sprouts, kale, collards, spinach, lettuces, red onions, leeks, swiss chard, bok choy, parsley, cilantro, french thyme, and marjoram. I also have about 10 lbs of tomatoes ripening on my kitchen table and ghost and thai chile plants(containers) that I bring in the garage every night. I just wish I had the SPACE Jay has. Kevin...See MoreGrowing honeydew melons indoors over the winter
Comments (5)I've thought about growing melons indoors but have never done it. The main problem is space. Mature melon vines are large, typically around 6-8' square. The cost of electricity to light that large an area is considerable. You would have to run a 250W halide bulb for around 12 hours a day, which would cost $10 a month where I live. You would then hope to get 4-6 fruit. Melons also require heat and do best with daytime temperatures in the high 70s or higher. I would suggest taking a look at the hydroponic places for lights. The majority of their customers grow, um, tomatoes, yeah, tomatoes, and the cultural requirements of a tomato plant are very similar to those of a melon (Some hydroponic setups are intended for growing lettuce and culinary herbs like thyme and basil, which require less light and a somewhat different spectrum, so avoid those). The vines are delicate so you should get some friends to help with the move if possible. You should be aware that most storebought melons in the USA are hybrids that don't grow true from seed. You will get a melon, but it may not be a honeydew and may not grow especially large. For next year, you can purchase F1 hybrids like the growers use. I would recommend Athena as being the most reliable of the cantaloupe types, or Earlidew being a good honeydew type. There are also some open-pollinated "heirloom" types that are quite good though perhaps not as easy to grow as the hybrids. Melons are among the most difficult garden crops to grow. They require a relatively long growing season, warm temperatures, consistent watering, fertile soil, and protection from insects....See MoreGrowing Roses Indoors?
Comments (51)After growing roses indoors I will provide my experience. First I live in Portland, Oregon zone 5 but also lived in Vancouver which may be the same zone or one over or under. Anyway, because of our humidity and seasonal temps, roses grow well here in e, w, s, or north areas but two of those divisions work better. For example, southeast or Western southern, etc. Obviously you wouldn't be able to manipulate their growth patterns but they'll live. Outside on my balcony at least. I grew miniatures and regular sized roses. The regular in the long run are just too big of monsters to love adequately in a house overall. However, miniatures in zone 5 do well provided you have a humidifier or spray on the soil everyday, and water them every night. I open my window everyday to prevent mildew. The light from my studio is eastern so it's not great but I think my florescents contribute to an extra 4-6 hours of indoor light as well. Being a barista, my lights are on at random times but mostly very early or very late. Either way, my roses bloom, but not as fast as they do outside. They are in 2 gallon containers, they don't need 5 but I prune and snip them very often so they don't bush. I get powdery mildew but I spend time with all the leaves and clean them it's not bad. Aphids see another story. They don't leave. My solution? I bought a plant they RATHER eat and they leave my other plants alone for me to manage. Sometimes I'll have to deadhead blooms early if I noticed lots of aphids developing on a particular part(usually the flower :( ) but it get to live on and will produce more blooms. That's it really! People saying it's difficult probably don't live in the right zone. It's very risky in the right zone and is an everyday chore if you don't love tending and mending plants as an everyday hobby so just keep that in mind and you can grow anything :) btw I grow them close to my carnivorous plants;)...See MoreJournal of Growing My Gemini Tree Rose Indoors
Comments (7)Thanks Krista, Karl, HoovB, Petaloid, John and Jim for all your thoughts and input...Karl yes, I am hoping that Gemini will deepen in its colors at least with the leaves, but ugh, Gemini has about as much wisdom and common sense as I have. Instead of storing up chlorophyll in its leaves and tender stems, being patient, strengthening and taking its time to develop and mature, Gemini is trying to send up another flush immediately. 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve: A baby blossom bud emerged 3/4" above its sheath of leaves (fully extended "neck"). I predicted 4 other buds as well, because I started seeing the tell-tale signs of the 2 5-leaflet tender enclosed "prongs". As soon as I see a split 2 5-leaflet stem fork outwards, usually a baby bud is nested within the "sheath". New Year's Day Another 4 flower buds emerged. I give Gemini its 2nd Gardenville feeding (got delayed by a few days). January 2nd I have another one flower bud nested and emerging, and 6 very suspicious pronged stems to deal with. Total count will be 12 flower buds so far (6 definite). Sadly my house is way too large and drafty for me to do any humidity control via Karl's suggestion so all I can do is cross my fingers and shake my head at this craziness. I am expecting blackspot to strike any moment because it is a pattern of Gemini to get sick whenever it goes through a spurt of blooms. I dare not decrease the h. oil/Greencure at this point like I originally intended. Predicted survival of buds into mature blooms is only 20% at this time. Leaves and stems are way too soft and pale to support blooms!!! Why Gemini is trying to send up another flush is beyond me! Gemini is as kooky and insane as me (sigh-I think it is a "mind-reader" LOL). Jim, still no problems with spider mites... John, I have a fragrance-sport Gemini that consistently had a wonderful scent while growing outside and that is the one HUGE thing that I miss terribly. But my sport Gemini is also a BS magnet-Sport as well. Gemini is supposed to be known for its health and beauty, but mine flunks the BS test whenever it goes through a flush...It gets extremely sick and ugly, but it is also a fighter rose as well and a few weeks after the flush it will make another comeback. Tomorrow I will post a sample photo of the baby flower buds. P.S. Eluane gives everyone a puppy kiss. She is glad HoovB and Petaloid are mentioning her instead of stupid Mama fussing over some messy rose, LOL!...See Morebraverichard (6a, North MO)
9 years agoKippy
9 years agobraverichard (6a, North MO)
9 years agobraverichard (6a, North MO)
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agoallaboutrosegardening
9 years agoBuford_NE_GA_7A
9 years agojjpeace (zone 5b Canada)
9 years ago
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seil zone 6b MI