Brrrr. It's cold out there for those poor flamingos that forgot to migrate! Some of the more genteel ones have chosen quarters indoors to keep their feet warm and their favorite snacks (streps) growing. Today's Problems and Solutions query: What indoor home temperatures seem to work best for winter growing? Is warmer better? Or, is keeping things on the cool side preferred by your plants? Let us know what's working for you.
African violets are quite adaptable to ordinary home conditions but what is ordinary? Some homes have a much more stable temperature
environment, some vary from warmer in the day to cooler overnight. Some folks grow them in the basement under lights which may always run towards being cooler. Is the temperature as much of a factor of vigorous growth as perhaps humidity, proper nutrition or factors like soil consistency? In other words, does the temperature really matter much?(Thanks to the festive holidays flamingos that were willing to dress up in their best bows for the photo op.)
2 comments:
How did that flamingo get in the house? The ones outside should have caps on. They loose a lot of heat not wearing caps.
My plants are grown in the basement so I have a problem keeping the temperature above 65 at night. Sometimes I will switch the timers so they come on in the evening and off in the morning. It does heat the room up. I also will do that during the summer when the room gets too hot. It is amazing the amount of heat the lights generate. I have heard experts say that we should keep the plants between 65 to 75. It has been as low as 55 when we had a furnace problem and I never saw any difference with the plants but I try to keep it at 65 just to be safe.
Some plants like the streps like it cooler so I keep them on the lowest shelves. They would truly love it to be a bit cooler. I also keep the varigated plants on the lower shelves.
Most of my plants are in the solarium. Night temperatures are usually about 58 to 62. Sometimes as low as 55 when it's below 0 outside. Day temps are about 72. The biggest problem is that on sunny days, even on the coldest winter day, the daytime temps can be in excess 80. So I have lots of fun and games with powdery mildew all winter. The lower temps at night do not bother the AVs and the orchids love it. You should see them bloom!
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