Hardy Tropicals UK

Greenhouse is perfect, lots of light and cold so nothing will grow falsely.
I agree with Ade about the treatment of individual plants, but I always had problems with Red Spider Mite , maybe the coffee keeps them at bay.
You probably only get 2 or 3 events a year that warrant protection, so its not like they will be in and out all winter.

I brought two Cycads through last year's severe winter -13 by triple bagging.

I am inclined to re-pot anything that comes in my house over winter. Might wake up bugs in the warmth of the home enviroment and old compost.

HTH

Nige we did a lot on coffee grinds on the EPS a couple of years ago, think it was Andy and Tony who used them to good effect.
I picked up bag loads for nothing from a pub and put a good think layer in the indoor pots.
I scraped away a several inches of compost and put the coffee layer in before covering again.
I expected a smell but it didnt at all.
We really dont know how long they effectively last so every now and again I make a good strong Espresso and water it on.
I have not had a meally, a scale insect nor a covering of Red Spider Mite since so there might be something in it
Of course Im talking about big pots with big palms in them in my conservatory, I havent tried coffee on seedlings or small palms.

Ade I think it really does work , I have heard this several times, just need a good supply of spent grounds. Keeps the soil acid too.

I've bought some really old railway sleepers & am making a 5ftx4ft raised bed for a feather palm. What i plan to do tommorow is do all the prep work, fill with soil & because its to late to plant out bury the pot, then come feb or march dig the palm into the soil. The area will have part sun/part shade although theres about 2 hours a day where it will roast. I have a jubea chilensis & a butia capitata about the same size in 45/50 litre pots. Which is the most suited to this location .karl.

Capitata are happy with partial shade Karl, it gives them a more lilting habit which I personally think makes them look more attractive. Jubaea fare better in full sun.

I would go for the butia.

Many thanks, so i now have to decide whether to sink the pot into soil in the railway sleepers or leave on the patio against the wall. I would still need to throw a blanket over them in severe cold anyway, so if i do bury the pot its one less to bubble wrap?. As re- greenhouse at the moment its not practical as we have a family of football players next door . karl.

With the Jubaea it's more the wet than the cold you need to be concerned about. If you bury the pot in a raised bed you may find it harder to stop the soil getting wet than if you kept it in a pot and used an umbrella as a canopy.

Dry soil does far less damage to roots at lower temps that wet soil, especially with potted plants where the pot can freeze solid.

When I was thinking about protection for my large trough I had the idea to buy some thick, clear builders membrane and fix it by syiiting the trough on top then running the plastic sheet up behind and over the top of the trough.

I thought if I fix a piece of2x2 wood to the eend of the sheet which can be screwed into the blocks supporting the trough it would create an 'up and over' waterproof canopy which could be unscrewed and tucked away behind out of sight when spring arrived. A couple of thin bendy canes would add some strength and make a polytunnel-like cover.

As it happened, I ended up planting the trough with stuff that is either hardy or is removed for winter so there was no need but this would be easy to do on a sleeper bed and would keep the soil dry for you.

GoggleboxUK wrote:With the Jubaea it's more the wet than the cold you need to be concerned about. If you bury the pot in a raised bed you may find it harder to stop the soil getting wet than if you kept it in a pot and used an umbrella as a canopy.

Dry soil does far less damage to roots at lower temps that wet soil, especially with potted plants where the pot can freeze solid.

When I was thinking about protection for my large trough I had the idea to buy some thick, clear builders membrane and fix it by syiiting the trough on top then running the plastic sheet up behind and over the top of the trough.

I thought if I fix a piece of2x2 wood to the eend of the sheet which can be screwed into the blocks supporting the trough it would create an 'up and over' waterproof canopy which could be unscrewed and tucked away behind out of sight when spring arrived. A couple of thin bendy canes would add some strength and make a polytunnel-like cover.

As it happened, I ended up planting the trough with stuff that is either hardy or is removed for winter so there was no need but this would be easy to do on a sleeper bed and would keep the soil dry for you.

Thanks Goggle, i'll post a pic later, but i've planted the pot slightly higher to try to avoid water logging this winter. Got to be honest i was tempted to whip it out the pot and soak it in palmbooster, with all this sun!. I've put the parasol frame deep in the ground so come heavy rain the umbrella will be over it. karl.

karl66 wrote:

GoggleboxUK wrote:With the Jubaea it's more the wet than the cold you need to be concerned about. If you bury the pot in a raised bed you may find it harder to stop the soil getting wet than if you kept it in a pot and used an umbrella as a canopy.

Dry soil does far less damage to roots at lower temps that wet soil, especially with potted plants where the pot can freeze solid.

When I was thinking about protection for my large trough I had the idea to buy some thick, clear builders membrane and fix it by syiiting the trough on top then running the plastic sheet up behind and over the top of the trough.

I thought if I fix a piece of2x2 wood to the eend of the sheet which can be screwed into the blocks supporting the trough it would create an 'up and over' waterproof canopy which could be unscrewed and tucked away behind out of sight when spring arrived. A couple of thin bendy canes would add some strength and make a polytunnel-like cover.

As it happened, I ended up planting the trough with stuff that is either hardy or is removed for winter so there was no need but this would be easy to do on a sleeper bed and would keep the soil dry for you.

Thanks Goggle, i'll post a pic later, but i've planted the pot slightly higher to try to avoid water logging this winter. Got to be honest i was tempted to whip it out the pot and soak it in palmbooster, with all this sun!. I've put the parasol frame deep in the ground so come heavy rain the umbrella will be over it. karl.

Heres a couple of pics.

Good work Karl, looks good

I'd stick a flexxible cane into each corner, tie them off at the top and make a fleece wigwam with a large clear brolly over the top.

When you plant for real next spring you could add some large rocks to the sleeper bed and dig down a couple of feet and backfill with gravel. This should provide a nice little heatsink beneath the plant which will absorb the summer heat and release it slowly over the colder months. If you add a fleece wigwam this will capture the heat and hold it around the palm.

I did this purely by accident on my water feature and my planted Vulcano came through completely unscathed with no protection at all.

GoggleboxUK wrote:Good work Karl, looks good

I'd stick a flexxible cane into each corner, tie them off at the top and make a fleece wigwam with a large clear brolly over the top.

When you plant for real next spring you could add some large rocks to the sleeper bed and dig down a couple of feet and backfill with gravel. This should provide a nice little heatsink beneath the plant which will absorb the summer heat and release it slowly over the colder months. If you add a fleece wigwam this will capture the heat and hold it around the palm.

I did this purely by accident on my water feature and my planted Vulcano came through completely unscathed with no protection at all.

Thanks. I'm trying to locate some clear parasols or something similar?.

karl66 wrote:

GoggleboxUK wrote:Good work Karl, looks good

I'd stick a flexxible cane into each corner, tie them off at the top and make a fleece wigwam with a large clear brolly over the top.

When you plant for real next spring you could add some large rocks to the sleeper bed and dig down a couple of feet and backfill with gravel. This should provide a nice little heatsink beneath the plant which will absorb the summer heat and release it slowly over the colder months. If you add a fleece wigwam this will capture the heat and hold it around the palm.

I did this purely by accident on my water feature and my planted Vulcano came through completely unscathed with no protection at all.

Thanks. I'm trying to locate some clear parasols or something similar?.

I cant handle this again..........now don't start GB

http://www.amazon.co.uk/See-Through-PVC ... 14&sr=8-27

Biggest "waterproof" clear plastic brolley I could find!