House plants...winter in an unheated garage?

JoeX

Okay all, I realise this could be a daft question but as we head toward winter I’ve cleared out my garage and as I’m sort of redecorating I thought “plants”.

It does have a south facing window, well that’s the positives out of the way.

Dark, unheated, it does have a boiler in there but gets down to -2°C in January if I recall correctly.

I’ll be in there every other day for an hour or so...perhaps a couple of evergreens? 😬

Maybe some of those “forced bulbs” I heard about last Christmas? 🎅🏻

Cheers, TP

Obelixx

I think you're right about it being daft.  Houseplants and forced bulbs don't survive that kind of cold.

Berkley

I have a similar type of garage.... a large south-facing window etc and find it very useful in Winter. But not for house plants or forced bulbs. I put pots of agapanthus, potted acers, alstroemerias and other perennials in pots in there. Also: pots of tulips (because squirrels dig them up or slugs get them). So make good use of your garage - but not for house plants .

Obelixx

Yes, that's what I do too but in an unheated polytunnel and great for my smaller Japanese maples, the fuchsias and the citrus pots.

JoeX

Okay, what about if I add UV lighting or cheap grow lamps?

Or would I need to be considering insulation and heating as well?

Hostafan1

Tin pot said:

Okay, what about if I add UV lighting or cheap grow lamps?

Or would I need to be considering insulation and heating as well?

Is the cost justifiable? Methinks not

JoeX

Hostafan1 said:

Tin pot said:

Okay, what about if I add UV lighting or cheap grow lamps?

Or would I need to be considering insulation and heating as well?

Is the cost justifiable? Methinks not

Perhaps you could share a little of your knowledge on the subject?  £50 doesn’t seem like much to me, for example:
https://www.grow-magic.co.uk/secret-jardin-led-light-26w-blue

Busy-Lizzie

That won’t solve the problem of the cold. -2 is too cold for house plants. Most need to be in double figures.

Dovefromabove

Tin pot said:

Hostafan1 said:

Tin pot said:

Okay, what about if I add UV lighting or cheap grow lamps?

Or would I need to be considering insulation and heating as well?

Is the cost justifiable? Methinks not

Perhaps you could share a little of your knowledge on the subject?  £50 doesn’t seem like much to me, for example:
https://www.grow-magic.co.uk/secret-jardin-led-light-26w-blue

That supplier seems to provide the necessities for growing stuff illicitly indoors that can then be sold on at a huge profit ... is that the sort of thing you’re looking for? 😶

treehugger80

they're called house plants for a reason, they can't usually take below 15 degrees, let alone -2!

wild edges

Is this for existing plants or are you just looking for something to grown in there? That south facing window could be ideal for over-wintering some garden plants that don't like too much rain. Loads of plants would appreciate the shelter and not worry about the cold.

How do you protect the boiler from freezing by the way?

You could post on freecycle for insulation going spare and see what turns up. It might take a while to get enough together but you never know. My garage here is unheated but fully insulated apart from the garage door and it never gets below freezing in there.