plants and pots totally wrapped in plastic
hi, i would like to protect from the cold two potted plants at the rear of the house. (south facing). my plan is to put large clear plastic bags completely over the plants and their pots. I would like advice please on should I block up the six or so small holes originally put in the bag by the manufacturer; to help keep the cold out, or will that interfere with any necessary air flow to the plants? also would it be best to stand the clay pots directly on to the concrete patio slabs or should I insulate the post from the slabs with a piece of wood, please? thanking you for any advice. yours john west |
plants and pots totally wrapped in plastic
"john west++++" wrote in message ... hi, i would like to protect from the cold two potted plants at the rear of the house. (south facing). my plan is to put large clear plastic bags completely over the plants and their pots. I would like advice please on should I block up the six or so small holes originally put in the bag by the manufacturer; to help keep the cold out, or will that interfere with any necessary air flow to the plants? also would it be best to stand the clay pots directly on to the concrete patio slabs or should I insulate the post from the slabs with a piece of wood, please? thanking you for any advice. yours john west I am not sure about the holes in the bags, but I think you should raise the post from the ground slightly so to prevent the ground frost from getting to the roots. |
plants and pots totally wrapped in plastic
|
plants and pots totally wrapped in plastic
"john west++++" wrote in message
... hi, i would like to protect from the cold two potted plants at the rear of the house. (south facing). my plan is to put large clear plastic bags completely over the plants and their pots. I would like advice please on should I block up the six or so small holes originally put in the bag by the manufacturer; to help keep the cold out, or will that interfere with any necessary air flow to the plants? also would it be best to stand the clay pots directly on to the concrete patio slabs or should I insulate the post from the slabs with a piece of wood, please? thanking you for any advice. yours john west I think this will likely kill them due to condensation and then mould. Clear plastic bags will also make no difference to keeping them warm when its coldest, which will generally be at night, except maybe by keeping the wind off. It will cerainly heat them up nicely on a sunny day, thereby encouraging them to break dormancy so the new growth can be killed off by a cold night or two. I suggest you trya better plan, such as bringing them inside into an unheated room, or maybe a garage. What are the plants? -- Tumbleweed Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) |
plants and pots totally wrapped in plastic
The message
from "john west++++" contains these words: hi, i would like to protect from the cold two potted plants at the rear of the house. (south facing). my plan is to put large clear plastic bags completely over the plants and their pots. I would like advice please on should I block up the six or so small holes originally put in the bag by the manufacturer; to help keep the cold out, or will that interfere with any necessary air flow to the plants? also would it be best to stand the clay pots directly on to the concrete patio slabs or should I insulate the post from the slabs with a piece of wood, please? If you're going to wrap them, I'd make tubes up out of two or three layers of wound-round small bubblewrap and tie up the tops, and stand the pots on thick expanded polystyerine. You can usually get both (waste packaging) from white goods and telly shops. -- Rusty Hinge horrid·squeak&zetnet·co·uk http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm |
plants and pots totally wrapped in plastic
"john west++++" wrote in message ... hi, i would like to protect from the cold two potted plants at the rear of the house. (south facing). my plan is to put large clear plastic bags completely over the plants and their pots. I would like advice please on should I block up the six or so small holes originally put in the bag by the manufacturer; to help keep the cold out, or will that interfere with any necessary air flow to the plants? also would it be best to stand the clay pots directly on to the concrete patio slabs or should I insulate the post from the slabs with a piece of wood, please? thanking you for any advice. yours john west Hello! How cold are we talking about here? I've lived in a couple of cold areas (Ohio and Buffalo, NY), one of which would get a lot of snow. In Ohio I got to see some pretty experienced folks use some interesting methods of protecting plants. Some of this may seem a little too *sub-arctic* to you. Other folks may have other ideas. Plastic bags will protect the plants from moisture, but any moisture *inside* the bag could encourage fungus if you get a warming trend. If they're black plastic, then any sun might scorch the plant where the two come in contact, especially if the sun comes out and the temperature rises. I like to make a frame of some stakes at least as tall as the plant around the perimeter of the plant. Then I like to use newspaper (it's plentiful) for insulation. I've never seen it harm the plant, and it breaks down nicely. Shred the stuff and mulch with it around the base of the plant, then wrap the plant (not too tightly) in burlap. I use a few lengths of string wrapped around the burlap to keep it in place. I usually put a layer or two of plastic around the supports as a windscreen, having it be at least as high up as the top of the plant. You could try to staple the layers of plastic together at the top, but the cord-wrapping method is best for keeping it in place If you want to put more newspaper down in there, it's fine, as long as you don't pack it in there too tightly. For drainage, I'd try to raise the pot up slightly off the ground. If you're in an extremely cold area, you might want to try setting it in a cultivated area off the patio. Often areas closer to the structure are more well protected, but you probable know by heart which areas are or are not. Piling mulch around the pot will insulate the roots (and the pot) somewhat. You could raise the pot up off the ground using a support of bricks, sticks, or even gravel. The latter has worked for me. I've found that insulating the pot is often a good investment in getting that plant to survive. Someone I knew in Ohio would use a covered up section of insulation (like you might put up under the rafters in the attic) and tie it around the pot with a length of cord. You'd need to be careful handling anything like that, and it would be best to cover the cut edges of it. Also wear gloves when dealing with it. Another possibility would be to put them in an unheated garage or enclosed area, and I believe someone has already mentioned that. It would be the easiest. Good luck. :-) - Al |
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