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Experience with overwintering in a pop up greenhouse?

PlantNewbie101PlantNewbie101 Posts: 20
in Plants
Hello!

As mentioned on my previous post we are quite new to gardening, and we’ve acquired some really nice plants from my partner’s gran.

I want to try and overwinter the plants we have (lavender and bergonia) and wondered if they will survive in a pop up green house to at least shield them from the weather to some degree? 

I will be taking cuttings as per FairyGirl’s advice on my previous post incase everything goes wrong 😂
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  • PlantNewbie101PlantNewbie101 Posts: 20
    Forgot to mention it’s French Lavender and we live in Manchester 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hi again @PlantNewbie101 ;)
    They aren't great for retaining warmth, but they'll keep the worst of the rain and wind off plants. The important thing is to tether them because of the latter. Against a fence, it's fairly easy - some vine eyes and a bit of plastic/wire washing line was my method, top and bottom of the main body of it, so that doors can be accessed. Against a wall, vine eyes again, secured into the wall, works well.
    Some people find putting weights in the bottom works, but in a really windy location , it doesn't. They just rip, or get cowped.  ;)
    The covers rip eventually, but the main thing is to keep the thing in your garden and not watch it flying off down the street  :D
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    I don't think I'd leave it all winter in a popup - they tend to get humid inside and the lavender won't like that. I move mine somewhere sheltered, against the house walls under the eaves where it's mostly out of the rain and also a bit of frost protection. But then it's a lot drier here than Manchester (although similar latitude). Perhaps just use the popup when a particularly cold snap is forecast. And don't forget to anchor it down firmly or it'll end up somewhere down the street (the popup, not the plant).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - ventilation is still needed. I should have mentioned that, although I think I might have done on the other thread ....
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    The problem you may encounter is that your pop-up g/h will be cold and very damp during the winter months and the lavender will not like the damp.
    Lavender doesn't need sun during the winter, so if it were me, I'd put them somewhere sheltered from the worst of the rain and somewhere where they will be out of the way of the worst of the frosts.
    If they are in pots, then use pot feet to ensure good drainage.

    What type of begonias do you have?
    If they have corms then you can remove the top growth at the end of the season and store the corms indoors (or frost free shed) somewhere cool and dry and re-plant them in the spring.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    For French lavender, keep in a pot against a sunny wall. The rain shadow of the wall will protect against excess wet and the heat-island effect of the house will protect against the worst of the frost.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • PlantNewbie101PlantNewbie101 Posts: 20
    Thanks so much everyone! I think I’ll ditch the idea of the greenhouse and maybe keep the two against the wall, I do have a big shed I can put them in during freezing spells and then I can bring them back out.

    I am not sure what Bergonia’s we have Pete sorry! I’ve added a picture (the blankets were transporting them from Scotland to England before we potted it in that pot properly!)

    It’s not doing really well anyway, I have deadheaded it since this picture too.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    If they're the tuberous type of begonias they'll die back and can be overwintered dry in the shed, then replanted in spring. The fibrous-rooted ones I think are treated as annuals (although one year my Dad had some regrow after a mild winter - in Sheffield).
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    edited July 2021
    The begonia would be safer in the house, I think. I have a tuberous one and a 'Glowing Embers' They both die down over winter and need little attention so you can tuck them away somewhere. I give mine a tiny amount of water from time to time so the compost isn't completely dust. In the early spring you can start looking for signs of life, minute  reddish buds , and then you can safely give a little more water, increasing it as they grow. They will also need good light from then onwards.
    French lavender is trickier, as it doesn't like cold or wet but won't be happy inside, so maybe wrap it in a fleecy bonnet if a really cold spell is anticipated and hope the pop-up works :)
  • PlantNewbie101PlantNewbie101 Posts: 20
    I’d prefer to keep the lavender and I’m going to take cuttings of it anyway to try to grow some more next year. The bergonias haven’t been in great condition since we bought them but I am happy to treat it as an annual of it is! The pot it came in can be repurposed for something bigger like an evergreen shrub. 

    I’m growing a Euonymus shrub right now so that might grow big enough for that pot if I repot it soon 🙂

    thanks so much for everyone’s help, I am learning every day! 😉
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