Inside Jungle overwintering!

[nige pook]

We could run another topic,who has the most temporary indoor plants compared to the size of their house. By this I mean tropicals overwintered indoors that then spend the summer outdoors. Not really including house plants,BOPs or Kentias etc. I guess then you could argue what does qualify? What also qualifies as indoors,guess conservatories don't strictly count because for for some they are for the plants and not really part of the house that isn't designed for plants. Believe me if I could have one it would be huge and I would certainly overwinter alot more inside!I havn't taken many pics yet but to give you an idea,considering I live in a two bedroom first floor flat,I have about30 in the lounge,9 in bedroom two,2 in kitchen,12 in hall. Approximately 53 in total,ie colocasias,alocasias,xsanthos,palm seedlings etc. How supportive and understanding are your partners,another very relevant factor,I get away with murder!! Just thought of another point,who has the leggiest plant? I do have a few particularly a col.sunguray going mental against the glass. Unfortunately I have a huge oustanding leccy bill so cant really employ more growing lights! Nige

[Scott Radford]

I don't have that many indoors at the moment. All my bananas and bops are still in the garden (even the albas, though when we had our really chilly spell last week they came into the kitchn overnight alongside the Typhonodorums. Up in the spare room are my rarest swamp plants, my Cyrtosperma and some juvenile Alocasia/Colocasia and al my Colocasia Black magic. At my parents house in their conservatory, I have Colocasia mojito and my rarest Colocasia heterochroma dark shadows, the latter being virtually irreplacable, hence it has never yet been outside in the 18 months I've had it. It has recenntly shown signs of producing pups, which I am extremely excited about. Mojito has a pup too and it and its pup are still growing nicely.

In the dining room with me as I write are my prize specimens, one Alocasia, the magnificent Borneo giant alongside Ravenala madagascariensis. They go outside on days like today that are nice and sunny.

All the rest of my Colocasia, Alocasia and Xanthosoma are in the greenhouse. I will be putting the heater in there this weekend and testing it out to make sure it's working. Then I'll be bubblewrapping the glass and possibly making it a bubble sandwich between two layers with polycarbonate underneath the bubblewrap. That will be obviously temperature and heat loss dependent. The aim will be to maintain 8 degrees C over winter as then I'll have no problems with dormancy.

I will have my wireless thermometer/hygrometer in there to keep an eye on things

[Adrian]

If conservatory's don't count then lets see.........
........
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NONE and thats how it stays I push my luck with the conservatory but for the house then an odd pot plant or two but they are house plants anyway.

Unless you have very light rooms then most plants arent happy indoors.

[nige pook]

Thanks Scott,my others like yours are still outside too like the strelitzias and musas. I have just built a 13 foot polltunnel this year but cant afford to heat it. I will be bubblewrapping it this wekend and it will be used or keeping the worst weather ie severe frosts off my more delicates washies,butias etc.
Ade,I didn't include conservatories as I believe these are really the ideal place to keep plants overwinter ,believe me I would kill for one! :twisted:Trust me,having kindly been allowed to see your setup I know which one I would choose! Obviously you have many more years experience growing these types of plants too compared to my 3or4 and know what works well for you in your situation. Just wondered how chocked full peoples window sills become in the house if they are anything like mine! Guess I've just got too many,no,just a house and garden thats way too small! Nige

[sanatic1234]

I have my new storage room, I have the choice also to use my lobby which could hold a good 40-50 plants but then i would not be able to move in there, not sure my partner would like that either, she may let me have 30 in there? then i can use my cupboard under my stairs to store my canna's that will not require light, and other that fall into that category of not needing light. and that is me done. I could fit about 20 plants in to the cupboard under the stairs, even more if they were really small plants.

Respect to your partner nige. how lucky are you! my partner was fine with me overwintering in all windows for the past couple of years, i think it was when i got these compost flies last year she got really p***ed off with them. I did too.

[Adrian]

Nige, if you cant heat the whole of your tunnel then why not section a bit off for the real tenders and maybe put a rope light or small electric heater in there on a low setting.

[GoggleboxUK]

I could be a contender

Tiny house, no conservatory, lots of plants!

[nige pook]

Think you could be right there Goggle! My you do have alot inside,guess with the palms and yuccas being much more slow growing they wont show the effects of low light quite so quickly,unlike some of my colocasias that have gone mental! Double length petioles are not good but I hope they will be fine once outside again in the spring. Apart from wind damage to leggy stems! Ahhhh the joys of good light levels in a conservatory-I WISH!! Nige

[sanatic1234]

GB, if my partner see all that in the kitchen, guess what she would do. straight outside the door step if it didn't fit in my storage rooms. you must have a very good wife.

[derrick]

I have a Conservatory some in the loft and a small amount in the house. I hate clutter ornaments and plates clothing hanging crappe in hall ways and to much junk in windows

[derrick]

San i think your plants is a cover up its a rub you have that calendar on the back wall did you fit a lock.

[Adrian]

Hey Google, have you got Lara in you house ? I want a Lara Croft.

[Kristen]

Gutted that Conservatory not eligible ... I have over 1,000 x 1L pots in mine - mostly Holly and Holm Oak that I want to plant as a labyrinth hedge next Autumn. Not to mention the recent in-the-Sale purchase of Exotics for planting out next Autumn.

I've got 8 plants under a growing light in the house , which is a bit (no, its a LOT!) pathetic compared to you guys.

[flounder]

Derrick, whos that woman in my kitchen?

[derrick]

Hello flounder that a stranger from the other night