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Greenhouse

Patricia LudwellPatricia Ludwell Posts: 91
in Problem solving
How can i prevent fungi attacking my geraniums in an unheated greenhouse during winter. I lost nearly all my geraniums last year as they rotted from this fungi. I have no power to my greenhose.
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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Do you mean pelargoniums?
    They need to be dry. Unheated greenhouses can be damp, if there isn't enough ventilation. Unless you get mild enough winters that you can leave the doors/vents etc open all the time, you'd need to have them indoors. An unheated room would be fine, or a porch or similar.
    Some people dry them off, wrap them in newspaper instead of leaving them in their pots, and keep them in a spare room as an alternative.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Patricia LudwellPatricia Ludwell Posts: 91
    Yes. Palargoniums. I thought about putting condensation catchers in the greenhouse and opening door if weather allows. Unfortunately i have nowhere in my house i could overwinter them
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't think they need much light over winter. I'm sure someone mentioned recently they can be kept under a bed in a box or newspaper. 
    Not something I often grow, but they have to be in the house or a porch here. Too damp and too cold anywhere outside, including greenhouses or cold frames. My mum always kept them in our porch when I was a child.  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I don't think a greenhouse is warm enough. Mine all died in the GH but survived in an unheated spare bedroom.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    Cold and damp will kill perlargnms.  Then the fungi wll move in.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • Patricia LudwellPatricia Ludwell Posts: 91
    Unfortunately no spare room! Thinking i could run an extension lead and put in a heater
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    To be honest doing that would probably cost you more in heating than buying new plants next year.
    Also assuming you ran an extension cable from your house to the greenhouse, that wouldn't be safe.

    If you have one or two you really, really wanted to keep, could you find room on a windowsill (bringing them into the room at night), or wrap them in newspaper as @Fairygirl mentions and keep them in a small box in a corner ?
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    I managed to not lose a single Pelargonium last winter despite the hideous -8°C temperatures in my little lean to glass greenhouse because I kept them nearly bone dry. Did lose a few that were in the summerhouse though. I agree with everyone else heating up a greenhouse is ludicrous in a climate emergency. It usually makes sense to take some cuttings earlier in the season and they can be overwintered much more easily than full size plants. 

    Another option would be to let them dry out and remove them from their containers and put them in a big tub you can then keep in a spare room. It's what my in-laws do. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's what I keep saying - damp cold always causes more damage than dry cold. 
    Absolutely no point in heating a greenhouse just to keep a few plants alive. A box of newspaper or similar in a corner or under a table, should suffice.
    You can also take cuttings as mentioned because it makes sense to cut the plants right back anyway, and that material is ideal for that.  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Patricia LudwellPatricia Ludwell Posts: 91
    Makes sense, although i have small lavender plants, about 50, fuschias, salvia cuttings and pots of spring bulbs (to stop wildlife digging them out), also in the greenhouse. They are all hardy, contemplating taking palargoniums into kitchen as one is a scented variety which i dont want to chance loosing. Brought it back from the brink ladt year.
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