On 24/10/08 16:37, in article
, "Judith
in France" wrote:

On Oct 22, 11:15 pm, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
Friend has asked what conservatory plant she should buy. South facing, and
gets rather hot in summer but no specific heating in winter, only heat from
the house. Not gardeners but will follow instructions.
I suggested a Tahiti lime or Brugmansia, provided it spent the summer
outside. There are children though so the last one might be off limits.
Suggestions welcome please.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Bob I had a similarly situated conservatory when I lived in the City
about 10 years ago. I grew a mature Mimosa, straight into a planting
bed, which was put in when the footings were put in. The Mimosa was
magnificient and always flowered at Christmas with little yellow
balls. I remember that Sacha identified it years ago but I have now
forgotten the name. It was wonderful in summer as the canopy shaded a
lot of the sun.

Judith

It occurs to me too that you can get blinds for a conservatory roof but that
won't stop the heat build up, of course.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

On Oct 24, 5:27 pm, Sacha wrote:
On 24/10/08 16:37, in article
, "Judith



in France" wrote:
On Oct 22, 11:15 pm, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
Friend has asked what conservatory plant she should buy. South facing, and
gets rather hot in summer but no specific heating in winter, only heat from
the house. Not gardeners but will follow instructions.
I suggested a Tahiti lime or Brugmansia, provided it spent the summer
outside. There are children though so the last one might be off limits.
Suggestions welcome please.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

Bob I had a similarly situated conservatory when I lived in the City
about 10 years ago. I grew a mature Mimosa, straight into a planting
bed, which was put in when the footings were put in. The Mimosa was
magnificient and always flowered at Christmas with little yellow
balls. I remember that Sacha identified it years ago but I have now
forgotten the name. It was wonderful in summer as the canopy shaded a
lot of the sun.

Judith

It occurs to me too that you can get blinds for a conservatory roof but that
won't stop the heat build up, of course.

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

We had roof windows that opened Sacha and they were effective, not
vents but windows on a metal ratchet thing operated by a pulley, that
opened them up and the heat just tunneled out at the top.

Judith

Charlie Pridham wrote:
In article ,
says...
In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote:
(snip)

There are many Australian plants which will stand 50°C in summer
and barely above freezing in winter.

And no doubt many S. African plants, too, come to think of it.

Strelitzia regina can.

As well as many from Asia Minor. One of the extreme is Punica
granatum, the pomegranate - that can take a range of at least -10
to 60! It might well die if its roots stayed at -10 for long, but
is hardy to -15 in the USA.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Its a personal view but I can not see the point of plant stuff that
will take 50c, who an earth would want to be in that conservatory?!!
Shade it, mine is SSW facing and is pleasant all year around thanks
to the Wisteria

Well, the day you go out forgetting to close the shading, and come home to
some nice cooked plants will be one you won't forget in a hurry! But 50°
would only be a possibility in high summer, and why would you want to be in
a conservatory at that time when it's much nicer on the patio outside?

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote:
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Its a personal view but I can not see the point of plant stuff that
will take 50c, who an earth would want to be in that conservatory?!!
Shade it, mine is SSW facing and is pleasant all year around thanks
to the Wisteria

Well, the day you go out forgetting to close the shading, and come home to
some nice cooked plants will be one you won't forget in a hurry! But 50°
would only be a possibility in high summer, and why would you want to be in
a conservatory at that time when it's much nicer on the patio outside?

Assuming that you have one (we do - I built it). The big problem is
what you say and, worse, holidays. The temperature inside a south
facing conservatory is roughly ambient after a week of overcast and
rain - down to about 10 Celsius. A week of still, hot, sunny days
takes it right up.

Ours faces SSW and is unshaded but, as I say, we did the ventilation
properly. On a still, hot, sunny day, we open the French windows to
cool it off, and sit outside anyway! At other times, there isn't a
problem.

ALL decent designs should have roof vents and low level air entrance,
to get the air flowing properly. Whether they are shaded or not.

Oh, and I actually LIKE 50 Celsius - if wearing the right clothing,
the air's dry, and I can get a drink whenever I want :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 24/10/08 19:03, in article
, "Judith
in France" wrote:

On Oct 24, 5:27 pm, Sacha wrote:
snip

It occurs to me too that you can get blinds for a conservatory roof but that
won't stop the heat build up, of course.

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

We had roof windows that opened Sacha and they were effective, not
vents but windows on a metal ratchet thing operated by a pulley, that
opened them up and the heat just tunneled out at the top.

Judith

This sounds a similar idea to Nick's lantern arrangement
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

In article ,
danny22 wrote:

Depends on the conservatory. Mine is southwest facing and hasn't topped
100F yet - it tends to stay in the low 90's.

How long have you had it? We didn't have ANY hot, still, sunny days
this year, and not really last year, either.

The 96 and 60 isn't a
survival guide for citrus - thats a root growth guide. Citrus survive
far far hotter conditions in other countries - my friend grows them in
texas, and our scorching days are like his cool ones They might wilt
if above 100F and stop growing when below 55F, but it won't kill them.

That is true, but you will find that citrus doesn't grow well even
in the hotter and drier parts of Texas - and, despite what Texans
claim, their climate is not particularly extreme.

As you say, the lower bound (which varies with species) is when they
stop growing. The bound for damage (which also varies) is in the
20-40 Fahrenheit range, with flowers the most sensitive as usual.

If the citrus is to stay in the conservatory in winter, temps cannot go
below 55F, or 60 to be safe, or the leaves will drop because of the high
light levels

You mean low, and not really, anyway. Mine are still outside (with
nighttime temperatures down to 40), and lots of people overwinter
them just above freezing. The important thing is to keep them
fairly dry when they are semi-dormant - in fact, HIGH temperatures,
wet soil and low light levels are bad for almost all plants, citrus
definitely not excepted.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
says...
In article ,
Jeff Layman wrote:
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Its a personal view but I can not see the point of plant stuff that
will take 50c, who an earth would want to be in that conservatory?!!
Shade it, mine is SSW facing and is pleasant all year around thanks
to the Wisteria

Well, the day you go out forgetting to close the shading, and come home to
some nice cooked plants will be one you won't forget in a hurry! But 50°
would only be a possibility in high summer, and why would you want to be in
a conservatory at that time when it's much nicer on the patio outside?

Assuming that you have one (we do - I built it). The big problem is
what you say and, worse, holidays. The temperature inside a south
facing conservatory is roughly ambient after a week of overcast and
rain - down to about 10 Celsius. A week of still, hot, sunny days
takes it right up.

Ours faces SSW and is unshaded but, as I say, we did the ventilation
properly. On a still, hot, sunny day, we open the French windows to
cool it off, and sit outside anyway! At other times, there isn't a
problem.

ALL decent designs should have roof vents and low level air entrance,
to get the air flowing properly. Whether they are shaded or not.

Oh, and I actually LIKE 50 Celsius - if wearing the right clothing,
the air's dry, and I can get a drink whenever I want :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick, You may like it (I have a vision of Gin and tonic in hand!) but the
plants you can grow are limited.

Jeff I do not have to remember the shading it grows outside! and if you
lived in a windy place you would realise the value of a conservatory :~)
As Nick says roof vents are a great asset too
While the children were young we abandoned the lounge for the
conservatory as it was without TV therefore a child free zone!!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Nick, You may like it (I have a vision of Gin and tonic in hand!) but the
plants you can grow are limited.

Actually, not as much as you might think, but they will require
a border in the conservatory, so that they can get their roots down
to the cool and damp. I agree that there is little except some
cacti that will grow in pots if the temperature gets to 50. Our
conservatory has a border that is open down the subsoil, too :-)
Very traditional ....

We are fully agreed that south-facing conservatories need either
shading or excellent ventilation or both, and that almost all
worthwhile plants grown in pots do better when moved out.

I don't like gin and tonic, but you get the idea :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.