Date Palm (Phoenix), Cultivation In Conservatories And Loggias

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Winter garden in extreme conditions

People at all times and in all eras kept houseplants at home. The use of plants in the interior of an apartment or private residential building is especially important in our cold climate. I hope this article will help you understand many issues of indoor gardening and the selection of indoor plants. Everyone knows the situation when a newly acquired houseplant begins to fade after a while, its leaves fall off, and in the end the plant dies. What is the reason for the death of the plant? The main reason is the inconsistency of the conditions of your premises with the conditions of its maintenance. Let's try to figure it out from the very beginning. And you need to start with determining the belonging of a plant to a certain climatic zone. All indoor plants can be roughly divided into plants

tropical zone and plants of the subtropical zone.

What is the difference between these major groups?

Plants of the tropical zone do not have a pronounced dormant period, and the temperature of their maintenance during the year ranges from +18 to + 27 ° C. Plants of the subtropical zone (we are talking about typical representatives, excluding mountain plants) have a pronounced period of winter dormancy, during which deciduous subtropical plants are in a leafless state. The temperature of the content of such plants during the year differs sharply and is +15 … + 27 ° С in the warm period (March - October), and +3 … + 12 ° С during the cold period (November - February). Now, I think, everyone understands why the "subtropical" azalea dries up for a month in winter in a room with central heating and a temperature of + 23 ° C. The same thing happens with the "tropical" croton,which is placed on a cold windowsill (with the expectation of compensating for the lack of light in winter). But the temperature on it can drop to + 10 ° C, which is completely destructive for such a "sissy". Further we will focus only on subtropical plants and, first of all, this article is addressed to the owners of balconies, loggias and cold verandas. Of course, all of the information listed below can be applied to much smaller areas (for example, to ordinary window sills). The question is not in form, but in content! Someone wants to create a winter garden in their own home just to make the interior of their home more interesting and beautiful, while someone will get involved in this business on a professional level and begin to collect interesting and rare subtropical plants. Here, as they say, - to each his own! How to transform your balcony or loggia into a winter greenhouse,I will not tell you, because there are many companies and organizations that will install any window systems (conventional or metal-plastic) and insulate your loggia or balcony. Or perhaps you yourself can cope with this not very difficult task. I can only notice one thing: on an ordinary loggia, it is enough to put wooden frames in one glass, and this will already be enough to accommodate a collection of the most resistant subtropical plants. Of course, on the coldest winter days, additional heating may be required. From my own experience, I will say that over the past winter (2003-2004) I turned on the oil radiator on my loggia only seven times.you yourself will cope with this not very difficult task. I can only notice one thing: on an ordinary loggia, it is enough to put wooden frames in one glass, and this will already be enough to accommodate a collection of the most resistant subtropical plants. Of course, on the coldest winter days, additional heating may be required. From my own experience, I will say that over the past winter (2003-2004) I turned on the oil radiator on my loggia only seven times.you yourself will cope with this not very difficult task. I can only notice one thing: on an ordinary loggia, it is enough to put wooden frames in one glass, and this will already be enough to accommodate a collection of the most resistant subtropical plants. Of course, on the coldest winter days, additional heating may be required. From my own experience, I will say that over the past winter (2003-2004) I turned on the oil radiator on my loggia only seven times.) turned on the oil cooler on his loggia only seven times.) turned on the oil cooler on his loggia only seven times.

Orientation to the cardinal points

Most favorable: east and west. The southern side is the warmest, but in spring (March - May) the plants may experience sunburn, so it is necessary to provide for the creation of "screens", for example, from gauze. The north side is the least favorable, as it is the darkest and coldest. You may need more thorough insulation of the room.

Temperature mode (winter). The most resistant plants of the subtropics thrive at a temperature of + 3 … + 12 ° C and can even withstand nighttime temperature drops to -3 … -5 ° C, and deciduous representatives of the subtropical flora - even lower values. However, it is better not to bring it up to this and make sure that the temperature does not fall below zero.

Lighting and humidity(for the winter period). At low positive temperatures, there is no need to artificially humidify the air and do additional lighting. It is advisable to arrange the plants in groups and use common wide pallets with small expanded clay, pebbles or gravel. This solution will significantly reduce the number of irrigations and will solve the problem of optimal air humidity.

Watering and soil mixture. The necessary soil, as well as the features of watering, is best selected individually for each plant. Data for each plant can be found in the reference literature. For the main plant group, the potted soil should be "half dry" during the winter. Don't flood your plants!

Care(general rules). It is advisable to carry out all work on plant transplantation from late February to mid-April (before the start of active growth). It is also possible to carry out these works in the fall, but this period is less favorable, since many plants are still actively growing, and some may even bloom, and, most importantly, winter is ahead, and the plants may not have time to root well. The main formative pruning must also be carried out before the start of active growth (late February - early March). We begin to "feed" the plants from March, from November to February we do not feed the plants. All plant protection measures are carried out only in the warm season (May - September).

Selection of plants

Many gardeners try to grow heat-loving ornamental plants in their garden. Unfortunately, in our climate, many of them hibernate "every other time", not every year. This is where a cold greenhouse can help out. A small example from my own practice. Everyone knows well the holly Mahonia, which tolerates our climate quite well, but its relative, Japanese Mahonia, is not entirely stable in our climate. On a cold loggia, Japanese Mahonia blooms from November to January. A similar picture is observed with such plants as holly, lavender, magnolia and others. Below I give for those who are interested in keeping plants in the winter garden, lists of the most common and relatively easy to care for plants.

Deciduous plants: first of all, these are fruit plants: figs (fig tree) and pomegranate, as well as decorative Japanese maples and bush magnolias.

Evergreens blooming in winter: first of all, these are azaleas (subject to the correct temperature regime, azaleas can bloom from 2 to 4 months without a break), camellia, osmanthus, pittosporum, Japanese mahonia, fatsia, cyclamen (tuber plant).

Evergreens blooming in summer: oleander (with proper care, blooms from May to October), has many varieties with different flower colors (from pure white to dark red), and there is also a variegated form. Do not forget that the plant sap is poisonous!

Evergreen "useful" plants: laurel, eucalyptus, citrus fruits, lavender, rosemary, salvia.

Conifers: cypress, araucaria, cryptomeria, cypress, caputis.

Ferns: centipede asplenium, common centipede, pharmacy comb.

Lianas: common ivy, large periwinkle. Variegated forms are more decorative than ordinary ones, but less resistant.

Palms: The most resistant species are Fortune's trachicarpus, squat hamerops and date palm. Unfortunately, they take up a lot of space, so it's worth considering before purchasing a plant!

Plants with decorative leaves: aucuba, boxwood, Japanese euonymus, holly, osmanthus, yucca, cycad turned down. All plants, except for the cycad, have varieties and forms with variegated leaves. If you are in doubt about the stability of the variegated form, then try to start your collection with the usual forms (not variegated).

Succulents and cacti: American agave, Gasteria, Haworthia, young and others. More detailed information on specific plants in this category is best obtained from specialized literature. All these lists are very short, they only set the main directions in the selection of plants. Supplement the lists of plants yourself with your favorite plants and share your growing experience on the pages of the magazine. I wish you all success in this exciting and noble endeavor!