The power to overwinter perennial from your garden in a greenhouse provides a ego - sufficient alternative to repurchasing plant each year . But it is important to understand the quality and quantity of sunshine that your glasshouse location receives during winter month to achieve optimal solvent for your plant .
Winter light requirements for greenhouse plants.
Greenhouses settle in the northern hemisphere at middle latitudes or high must adjust to the decreased photoperiod ( length of sunshine ) and light intensity ( amount of sun per area ) in the winter . During thewinter , the sunshine ’s path across the southern skyline becomes much lower and brusk , get to its lower limit on December 21 . To tally to the light dearth , the greenhouse ’s web site should be oriented to have as much solar vulnerability as possible . The transcription of the plants inside a glasshouse should also be adjusted to maximise their photograph to sunlight .
When evaluating your winter greenhouse , the first step is to identify the light requirement of the plant you will be turn . Plants have varying light requirements from full shade to full sun . Understanding these requirements and how the Sunday influences your greenhouse will help you get up a right architectural plan for the arrangement of your grow space .
Full Lord’s Day works should be located along a southern glazed wall , allowing them to receive as much direct sunlight as potential . These plants will shade the plants place behind them , which should do good any partial shade plants . Plants designate as full shadeshould be place near the north wall of the nursery or below benches to provide an ideal environment . The angle of the sun and how it hurl shadows should be observed during winter months . Because the winter sunlight is at a lower slant , more space may be necessitate between full sun works to compensate .
Supplement winter sun with grow lights.
If you wish well to produce plants at the same rate during the winter as you did in the summer , grow light will be expect . By using grow light , gardeners can extend the shorter wintertime days , allowing plants to pick up appropriate amounts of twinkle and optimize productivity . When raise vegetables or fruit , grow lights can be adjusted to provide plant - specific ignition to enhance the growth procedure .
The most commonly used grow lights are high - saturation discharge ( HID ) lamps that feature gamey - pressure sodium ( HPS ) bulbs and alloy halide ( MH ) bulbs . HPS is used to enhance fruiting , while MH is used to heighten vegetal growth . High - outturn fluorescent fixture and light-emitting diode produce brightness level are increasing in popularity . The grow light source use a fraction of the energy and put off less heat , earmark them to be positioned closer to the plants .
Through proper planning and light study , you could successfully winter your perennial in a greenhouse during the wintertime calendar month , even in the northeasterly United States .
Mike Duus works for a greenhouse manufacturer , Solar Innovations , Inc. He has spend twelve years explore and designing greenhouses , with a density on passive solar design and energy effective strategies .
