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 Hobden" wrote in message
...
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



My late father put grape vines in his they need keeping in check but supply
welcome shade and of course quite a few tasty grapes and vine leaves for
cooking. They survived quite happily without extra heat in winter.
Derek

Tahiti lime or one of the lemon varieties would do well. Even kept in the conservatory all year they would thrive, as long as the root temp didnt go above 96 fahrenheit or below 60 degrees F

In article ,
danny22 wrote:

Tahiti lime or one of the lemon varieties would do well. Even kept in
the conservatory all year they would thrive, as long as the root temp
didnt go above 96 fahrenheit or below 60 degrees F

Er, even in the UK, a south facing conservatory is likely to get
to 50 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) on a hot, sunny, still day - we had
one just a year or so back :-)

Also, no citrus is worried too much by temperatures that approach
freezing (but don't reach it), provided that they are fairly dry at
the root and semi-dormant. Or at least, none that I have heard of
(including "key lime", which is one of the most tender). A minimum
of 40 Fahrenheit is fine for them, and most can take less, often
quite a lot less.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 23/10/08 11:07, in article ,
" wrote:

In article ,
danny22 wrote:

Tahiti lime or one of the lemon varieties would do well. Even kept in
the conservatory all year they would thrive, as long as the root temp
didnt go above 96 fahrenheit or below 60 degrees F

Er, even in the UK, a south facing conservatory is likely to get
to 50 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) on a hot, sunny, still day - we had
one just a year or so back :-)

Also, no citrus is worried too much by temperatures that approach
freezing (but don't reach it), provided that they are fairly dry at
the root and semi-dormant. Or at least, none that I have heard of
(including "key lime", which is one of the most tender). A minimum
of 40 Fahrenheit is fine for them, and most can take less, often
quite a lot less.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

It depends on what's wanted - is it ornamental, fruit, scent, colour? I
would suggest Thunbergia greggii for a climber or one of the Passifloras.
For scent, there's Daturas or Araujia sericifera or Impatiens tinctoria or
Hedychium Samsheri. She could grow a Meyer's lemon or some lovely Muscat
grapes.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

In article ,
Sacha wrote:

It depends on what's wanted - is it ornamental, fruit, scent, colour? I
would suggest Thunbergia greggii for a climber or one of the Passifloras.
For scent, there's Daturas or Araujia sericifera or Impatiens tinctoria or
Hedychium Samsheri. She could grow a Meyer's lemon or some lovely Muscat
grapes.

Few of those will like 50 Celsius, though, if they are to live inside
in the summer in pots. Quite a few plants are happy with air
temperatures of 50, but not many are with soil ones of that.

Our conservatory does better, but we put a LOT of effort into its
ventilation (blowing the minds of the conservatory people and
builders). I looked at both Cambridge botanic garden and Kew to
see what the Victorians did about the problem :-)


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

It depends on what's wanted - is it ornamental, fruit, scent, colour? I
would suggest Thunbergia greggii for a climber or one of the Passifloras.
For scent, there's Daturas or Araujia sericifera or Impatiens tinctoria or
Hedychium Samsheri. She could grow a Meyer's lemon or some lovely Muscat
grapes.

Children?

Datura?

Does not compute!

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Nick wrote
after danny22 wrote:

Tahiti lime or one of the lemon varieties would do well. Even kept in
the conservatory all year they would thrive, as long as the root temp
didnt go above 96 fahrenheit or below 60 degrees F

Er, even in the UK, a south facing conservatory is likely to get
to 50 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) on a hot, sunny, still day - we had
one just a year or so back :-)

Also, no citrus is worried too much by temperatures that approach
freezing (but don't reach it), provided that they are fairly dry at
the root and semi-dormant. Or at least, none that I have heard of
(including "key lime", which is one of the most tender). A minimum
of 40 Fahrenheit is fine for them, and most can take less, often
quite a lot less.

That's one of the problems, very high summer temperatures in the
conservatory which is why I've already said unless they have cacti they will
need to move the plants out for the summer.

My Mum had a small S. facing one near the south coast and it got to over
100°F at 8.00 am on a sunny summers day.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 23/10/08 14:50, in article , "Bob
Hobden" wrote:


Nick wrote
after danny22 wrote:

Tahiti lime or one of the lemon varieties would do well. Even kept in
the conservatory all year they would thrive, as long as the root temp
didnt go above 96 fahrenheit or below 60 degrees F

Er, even in the UK, a south facing conservatory is likely to get
to 50 Celsius (120 Fahrenheit) on a hot, sunny, still day - we had
one just a year or so back :-)

Also, no citrus is worried too much by temperatures that approach
freezing (but don't reach it), provided that they are fairly dry at
the root and semi-dormant. Or at least, none that I have heard of
(including "key lime", which is one of the most tender). A minimum
of 40 Fahrenheit is fine for them, and most can take less, often
quite a lot less.

That's one of the problems, very high summer temperatures in the
conservatory which is why I've already said unless they have cacti they will
need to move the plants out for the summer.

My Mum had a small S. facing one near the south coast and it got to over
100°F at 8.00 am on a sunny summers day.

I suppose they could always spray it with whitewash, though it's hardly very
pretty.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

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

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

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 ,
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.

How much space, and will they move the plants out in summer?

If they won't, then I recommend Strelitzia regina, as one of the best
plants for a conservatory that might bake in summer. But even that
benefits from being moved outside.

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.

Damn the children! It's a complete delusion that they rush up to
plants and gnaw on the leaves - it's enough trouble to get them
to eat green vegetables!

Other worthwhile plants include chillis (yes, annual, but attractive
and edible, and useful to teach children not to chew every pretty
berry/fruit - not that most do), other citrus, Tibouchina semidecandra
(which MUST go out in summer) and others I don't grow.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Nick wrote after Bob Hobden asked:

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.

How much space, and will they move the plants out in summer?

She asked me for a recommendation for one plant/tree and is prepoared to
place it outside in summer.

If they won't, then I recommend Strelitzia regina, as one of the best
plants for a conservatory that might bake in summer. But even that
benefits from being moved outside.

I suggested that and she said she didn't like them!

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.

Damn the children! It's a complete delusion that they rush up to
plants and gnaw on the leaves - it's enough trouble to get them
to eat green vegetables!

True, but I have to mention it just in case she didn't know and swallowed
some like my sis-in-law did.(Don't ask)

Other worthwhile plants include chillis (yes, annual, but attractive
and edible, and useful to teach children not to chew every pretty
berry/fruit - not that most do), other citrus, Tibouchina semidecandra
(which MUST go out in summer) and others I don't grow.

Thanks for that, her husband comes from the West Indies so Chillies may well
prove a popular choice but she could have them and an ornamental tree/shrub.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

On 23/10/08 16:53, in article , "Bob
Hobden" wrote:


Nick wrote after Bob Hobden asked:

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.

How much space, and will they move the plants out in summer?

She asked me for a recommendation for one plant/tree and is prepoared to
place it outside in summer.

If they won't, then I recommend Strelitzia regina, as one of the best
plants for a conservatory that might bake in summer. But even that
benefits from being moved outside.

I suggested that and she said she didn't like them!

Try her on Solanum rantonettii, or the variegated version. We have one in a
large pot which spent summer on the lawn but is now tucked up for the
winter.

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.

Damn the children! It's a complete delusion that they rush up to
plants and gnaw on the leaves - it's enough trouble to get them
to eat green vegetables!

True, but I have to mention it just in case she didn't know and swallowed
some like my sis-in-law did.(Don't ask)

I did stop a child here as it was about to take a bite out of a leaf. First
and last time I've ever seen that, though.

Other worthwhile plants include chillis (yes, annual, but attractive
and edible, and useful to teach children not to chew every pretty
berry/fruit - not that most do), other citrus, Tibouchina semidecandra
(which MUST go out in summer) and others I don't grow.

Thanks for that, her husband comes from the West Indies so Chillies may well
prove a popular choice but she could have them and an ornamental tree/shrub.

How about Colocasia?


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

In article , says...
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.


Bob unless its going to be shaded from the outside it will always be to
hot for plants, putting something deciduous and late into leaf on a frame
in front of it will make the space much more usable, Wisteria is ideal as
are grapes. Once you can reduce the summer peak temperatures then
Bougainvillea and Mandevilla are both faily fool proof, and I am rather
fond of Pandorea jasminoides Rosea superba, all climbers I am afraid!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea