I have finaly talked the better half into letting me have a greenhouse The problem I have now is where to site it. My garden is surrounded by a wall almost 6ft high and the ideal place is shaded by a tree so I have managed to convince her it can go outside the patio doors and I will do my best to make it look nice This means it will be situated north-south, I know east west is better but to do that with the tree shading my ideal spot means it would get less sunlight. Also if sited here It will be much easier to get elctricity to it. The north facing end would be against a wall. I will get full sunlight from 11am until 2pm when the wall starts to shade the greenhouse until 4pm when it will be in full shade. My biggest question is will this be enough sun for the Ariocarpus and if not would I be able to use growlight tubes to supplement if not.
What size is the greenhouse? If it is nearly square then it doesn't make a huge difference which way it faces. Think about painting the wall white, or replacing/covering the glass at that end with something white.
Are your shade timings based on now or the middle of summer? My greenhouse gets only 2-3 hours of good sun right now before the house gets in the way, but in summer it will be more like 12 hours. The light you are talking about is not great but trying to supplement it with artificial light is probably not practical. You would need to consider something like 1,000W of lighting in even the smallest greenhouse to start making a difference. Running several hours every day of course.
Hi Ian, thanks for the advice, the greenhouse I am looking at is a small 6x4 with the 4ft end facing south. The time in the sun is what I worked out yesterday. I was thinking about the lighting for the Ariocarpus only, just along one shelf. I thought about putting a reflective material on the two sides it would be facing the walls, would this help?
I really wouldn't bother with lights. Aside from the costs and efficacy, they'd probably cast more of a shadow during the day than would be compensated for by the lights being on!
Because the sun rises further to the left, sets further to the right and is higher during the rest of the day you will get more than enough sun I suspect.
Speaking as a general gardener as well as a cactus devotee, I'd try and avoid putting it where it blocks your view of the garden, if at all possible.
Here is a very naff sketch, I could get rid of the shed and put a nice 8x6 greenhouse here but because of the tree will not get much light until noon.
Where I have it situated by the house it does not obstruct my view of the garden and gets the most light. The stone wall surrounding the house is around 5` 10" tall which is great for privacy but not so good for sunlight. I only need a 6x4 to house my collection and I have spotted one in B+Q for £170 with the door in the long side which would suite the site. I also have a partner who detests cacti to contend with but has agreed dubiously that it can go where I have marked it.
What was the question Phil? ah the tree, unfortunately no, it is in a bit of waste ground owned by one of the neighbours who is happy to let it get out of control, it doesn't even hang into my garden, its just so flippin big it takes away a lot of my morning sun
It looks to me like you'll get a lot more sun that you think. South facing from the house is good and you'll have sun from early morning till it starts behind the wall. You'll be able to protect your more tender plants by placing them lower in the house so they get the shade sooner. Other than a few feet farther into the yard, it looks to be the best possible spot.
Thanks for that Buck I cant push any further into the garden as it would then be in front of my patio doors. The lady next door has hers in the same position but at the bottom of the garden but it seems to spend most of its time in the shade what with the walls and the tree. I honestly cant think of a better spot but my main question is will it be enough sun for the ariocarpus or should I sell them on? and if thats not enough which other species need tons on of sun just incase I might have anything else I might need to re-home.
I'm not qualified to answer the ario question. My first question would be, is there ever enough sun in Bristol for ariocarpi? I think that if you have them at the far side of the structure from the wall and pretty high, they're going to get pretty much all of the available sun anyway.
Where I have it situated by the house it does not obstruct my view of the garden and gets the most light. The stone wall surrounding the house is around 5` 10" tall which is great for privacy but not so good for sunlight. I only need a 6x4 to house my collection and I have spotted one in B+Q for £170 with the door in the long side which would suite the site. I also have a partner who detests cacti to contend with but has agreed dubiously that it can go where I have marked it.
What was the question Phil? ah the tree, unfortunately no, it is in a bit of waste ground owned by one of the neighbours who is happy to let it get out of control, it doesn't even hang into my garden, its just so flippin big it takes away a lot of my morning sun
don't worry too much, you should get enough sun there, paint the wall white first or use that white greenhouse shade paint on the glass that side to reflect light.
or there's always plan B,
get rid of the partner, send for phil_SK the mad chainsaw tree feller, and order a 20' by 10' and stick it right in the middle of the garden
go on .......you know you want to.
incurable cactoholic
growing rebutia's with a mix of others.
Right, so all I need to do is bury the missus under my new greenhouse, flaten the house to make room for it and live in the shed. I like your style thanks guys. It has all become much clearer. By the way she is reading this and laughing as much as I am
or you could add a conservatory over the patio doors then put the greenhouse outside that knock down part of the wall and add a trellis to let light through like this.
not good to bury the missus under the greenhouse though, bad for the plants ...........under the shed is better
incurable cactoholic
growing rebutia's with a mix of others.
hob wrote:not good to bury the missus under the greenhouse though, bad for the plants ...........under the shed is better
Not if I am going to be sleeping in the shed, looks like I might have to take her fishing instead, what will I say when she asks why her wellies are so heavy?
The problem I have now is where to site it. My garden is surrounded by a wall almost 6ft high and the ideal place is shaded by a tree so I have managed to convince her it can go outside the patio doors and I will do my best to make it look nice 
This means it will be situated north-south, I know east west is better but to do that with the tree shading my ideal spot means it would get less sunlight. Also if sited here It will be much easier to get elctricity to it. The north facing end would be against a wall. I will get full sunlight from 11am until 2pm when the wall starts to shade the greenhouse until 4pm when it will be in full shade. My biggest question is will this be enough sun for the Ariocarpus and if not would I be able to use growlight tubes to supplement if not.
