That time of year...

It's once again that time of year when all of the plants have to be moved back into the greenhouse for a long winter slumber in semi-tropical conditions. Most of my plant collection consists of tropical and semi-tropical plants that can't take the cold Oklahoma winter weather. I keep my greenhouse thermostat at 60 Fahrenheit and it does a pretty good job of maintaining that temperature overnight during the winter, only falling lower when the outside temperature is down in the 20s for multiple hours. Prepping the greenhouse and then moving in all of the winter occupants is a pretty big chore which I knock out in two sessions of about two hours each.

BEFORE: Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) in all it's glory

My greenhouse is pretty small - especially for the hundreds of potted plants I have. So I have to pack everything in tight, and in vertical layers. Some of the larger plants have to be trimmed back. This year our potted Plumbago really took off and was blooming something fierce last week, when I was moving all of the plants into the greenhouse. I saved it for last and finally took out the shears. After it's haircut it fit into the greenhouse pretty well, leaving just one tiny amount of floor space for me to stand in while I try to water all of the captive plants over the next 5 months.

AFTER: Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) trimmed back and ready to pack into the greenhouse

Every year I make minor modifications to my greenhouse setup and where I place all of my plants. This year I decided to put my cacti and succulents (which can stay pretty dry over the winter) in the hardest to reach places. I think this will really help because it brings more plants which do need to be watered to more accessible locations and prevents me from accidentally watering something that would prefer to be dry. Also, some of those hard to reach places receive a little more light than other places and the cacti and succulents will like that. In previous years I had put my Plumeria plants on one of these high, sunny shelves. Since they drop their leaves over the dry winter, they really don't need to be in sunlight, so I have those scattered around in various places in the greenhouse this year.