I am sure most of us are scrambling to move and protect our plants from the cold weather on its way. I have begun the process. If you want to know what a true plant addict is, then you can follow along the next few weeks as I try to get all my plants situated. I have started on my orchids and begonias. I have 219 orchids and I did not count the begonias as I am still working on them. I got most of the rhiz. begonias in the GH and now am working on the canes and other tropical plants.
Here is my orchids in the GH. Already packed and a couple hundred more plants to go...
Protecting my plants...
Heres the picture....it wouldn't let me add it to the above
That's a sizeable GH! You've certainly got your work cut out for you. I don't think I'd cope with having to move so many plants around.
Its a 12x36 and I have two others 8x16. I need one about 40x100. LOL
You must have a ton of energy.
I wouldn't be able to cope either - the only "tropical" plant I had that I had to baby was a plumeria that I would move to the front porch - forgot to do it one year and it was gone. I live in zone 9 and a some tender plants will survive if I have them next to the house, or along a fence with other plants. We get about 10 days of just at freezing or slightly below, and those that survive gets to stay. Luckily, there are many perennials that will overwinter just fine in my zone. I have xmas lights on my Meyer Lemon tree in case there is a rare extended frost.
WOW, that's really nice! Is there another citrus planted in there? I see some small clusters of something else on the left.
No, there is only one tree. The nice thing about this variety, or this tree at least, is that there are minor blooms throughout the year, so that small clusters are young lemons that will ripen in about 4 months. I get 2 large crops plus a few here and there throughout the year. That photo above was probably taken in Jan or Feb.
Well here is a follow up. It is supposed to be 35 here this weekend and of course I have been dragging my feet on getting the plants in. So today I have been dragging my plants in. Still a work in progress. I hope by tomorrow or Thursday at the latest, I will have them all where they need to be.
GH #1 It is about full LOL
GH#2 These are mostly hibiscus and clerodendrons and a few others
GH #3 Trying to keep this one open a little so I can try some cuttings.
Here is my back deck, which I will enclose in plastic in the next day or so.
I also have them in the garage and inside the house. I will try to take some close ups tomorrow.
Well, I'll be doing the same thing on a smaller scale. Supposed to drop into the low 40's so will be putting at least the Hoya's, some tropicals, the Red Jade vine, some other things in also. Some orchids will go in the greenhouse and some in the house
Hopefully I'll be able to kick them back outside in a few days tho..
GAgirl1066, bottom left in that last photo looks like Arundina bambusifolia. Had what must have been the coldest day for the past 3 or 4 years. Drizzling rain most of the day. The plants would have been loving it, compared to the usual very hot and drier conditions we get. This is normally our hottest time of year.
Dawn this morning chasing away the monsoonal cloud.
Tropic, you would be correct, good eye! It is just beginning to bloom for me. Last year, it bloomed quite a bit, but this year has only had a few blooms. Not the prettiest plant, but I love the blooms. I need to break off all the offshoots and pot them up and repot the mother plant. It is getting out of control.
It does look a bit like a pot having a "bad hair day", LOL.
I got a small one not long ago, even though I'd heard it has a tendency to become a bit of a weed.
GA Gal.......Lovely spaces to overwinter in....
what's the top curved roof members made of in #1 what's the covering materal on it..
very pretty orchids... the few I had were beat up by my hail.. and lost all the leaves.. do you think they will put out new ones from the roots... or it it a lost cause to try and keep them with the center so battered
and your clerodendrums.. I see the what looks like the [ and this spelling is approximate..asLogees has stopped selling it and I check my spellings there ] Quadracallura..the one with the green leaves with the purple reverse... does yours flower there inside... outside... and when does it happen..... mine has never bloomed... maybe being tore up by the hail will confuse it into a bloom cycle..
Gordon, the roof and sides are polycarbonate. I would think the orchids will put out new ones. I had them chewed up by the dog, burnt by the sun, and just broken off, and they always seem to rebound. I would hang on to them for another month or so. But then, I am not one to throw a plant away unless I know it is dead. I would have to look up the name of the clero..but I do know it is the shooting star. Mine has NOT bloomed yet...lol...I keep holding out hope that it will. This is my second year having it and keeping it in the GH, so it does not die back. If it does'nt bloom next year, I am going to be so disappointed. But it is one of those plants that just the foliage is enough to keep it around.
Thanks..I'll give the orchids some time... already these are rescue plants... I get them from a building that has them n the lobby..till they start to expire... every few weeks they are gathered up and given to me..
Yes... that's the clero... it's an understory plant in the Philippines... I've had mine for a long long time.. it's both a success in that it's such a great lookng plant.. very strong and always looking good... and a failure.. in that in all this time it has never set a bud... I've heard it flowers when the day cycle gets shorter... when it gets cold enough for that I'm bringing them in.. where it's warm and the daycycle is even longer.. good luck with it there.. keep me posted as to how and when it blooms for you..
Will do, I keep checking for buds, but so far none.
GAgirl......wish i could help you out on the g'house.......mine is 30x64.......BUT.......I have the capability of making it 30x120!!!!!!!! Mine is full too, but not all mine. I overwinter large tropicals for other people. wish I could get enough so the Spousal Unit and I could finish off the last half.
Orchids........I always said I wouldn't get "involved" with orchids.....I love my huge brugs........but am thinking maybe a few would be cool. Presently I have 1......a Vanda. I guess I'd perhaps buy some at HD or someplace like that where I wouldn't have to spend a fortune. Bad idea????
No, go for it! They are easy to care for and provide a long bloom period.
Might just do that.
GA Girl, in greenhouse 3 is that something you made for hanging baskets? My GHouse is on cement, but I need something to hang baskets. The frame is not strong enough for that. Did you anchor your rack down into the ground?
That GH was already here when I moved here and that was already there. Basically it is metal pipe in the shape of a "U" and they did put it down in the ground. I assume it is cemented, but not sure.
Probably the best way for you would be to get a 4x4 and brace it on the bottom so it will stand up, then drill holes on each side approx 1-2 ft apart and by some metal pipe for hanging. You should be able to hang at least 8 pots on a 4 x 4 stand. How tall is your GH? If you don't understand that, dmail me and I will try to draw you a picture.
I would say my GH is 7' tall at the side walls and about 10' at the peak. It is only a 10 X 12, but I need space for the large plants 6' and taller that I have.