Hello to all you members of this great forum, my name is rionmaiden, and I am new to your forum, so if my question has already been asked, i'm sorry.
I live in NSW, on the east coast of Australia, and am wondering if my cactus plants would grow faster if they were in a greenhouse, or is it a bit of overkill.
My lady and I are keen vegie growers, and use a green house for certain plants in the colder months to help them along and it works a treat, so will the cactus plants be better off in a greenhouse or not?
Greenhouse or no greenhouse in Oz...
- RIONMAIDEN
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- Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:05 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia (zone 4)
Greenhouse or no greenhouse in Oz...
OUCH... WHAT A PRICKLY BUGGER!!!
- CoronaCactus
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- Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 6:16 pm
- Location: Corona, California USA [Zone 10]
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Not exactly sure what your climate is, but for me here in So. California (near the Mojave desert) our greenhouse has worked out very well. Lots of ventilation and a cooling fan running 10-12hrs per day. It still hoovers around 100F most of the spring/summer. I think the main key is the constant air movement from the fan.
One thing I've learned living here in Phoenix Arizona, one of the hottest places in North America, is that a greenhouse is still a good idea and can be very useful indeed. There are many reasons but they all boil down to having a controlled environment. I have grown all my plants outside 80% of the year and this has been okay except for feral cats, hungry birds, insect larvae, fierce windstorms, shifting shade patterns, tree debris, unpredictable rainstorms, etc. The weather is indeed very mild here much of the year, but an enclosed space would make the entire enterprise so much easier. In the summer, with days hovering around 115F (46C) and nights not much below 90F (32C), the greenhouse would have to be very well ventilated and fully convertible to a protected shadehouse. But this would be very easy to build. (Even better would be a cooling system, but then the cost and complications go up considerably).
I never understood why growers would even use greenhouses here in central Arizona, but now I certainly do.
peterb
I never understood why growers would even use greenhouses here in central Arizona, but now I certainly do.
peterb
Zone 9
I've lived in sunny California and in Minnesota. I didn't have a greenhouse in CA, but do in MN. While I had good results in CA without one, here in MN, the growing season is way to short to go without one.
Guess this doesn't help much for your situation. Other than in warm climates you can grow nice plants without one, but as Peter and Darryl point out, you can do even better with one.
Guess this doesn't help much for your situation. Other than in warm climates you can grow nice plants without one, but as Peter and Darryl point out, you can do even better with one.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
- RIONMAIDEN
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:05 pm
- Location: Sydney, Australia (zone 4)