31% this morn...WTH??

[TropiCool]

June's panels are better than my polythene suggestion, if you have room for storage, which shouldn't really be a big deal as they are flat. And being rigid, you can even manage to surround something like a pergola structure with them. The polycarbonate panels can be drilled and screwed like plywood.

If you get UV-stabilized polycarbonate, the kind with double walls and channeling (small tubes lined up between the layers), it's great insulation. UV-stability means they will last several years before getting brittle, unlike polythene which may need replacing every year or two, and is awkward to store, and more apt to tear.

Polycarbonate is more expensive than polythene, but when compared to the cost of losing a few of your favorite orchids, it's a bargain! And peace of mind is priceless

Originally Posted by fotofashion

Then, for those of you who have a shadehouse....how about flat plastic covered panels that can be removed for warm weather and stored somewhere.
Beverly A.

[cday2inflorida]

Got to love orchids, I honestly did nothing more then pack everything under the Lanai . The backyard got down to 28. I mainly have species and primary hybrids of catt and laelia. Now all the begonias, gesneriads and platyceriums??? They all had to be moved into the garage with heaters running nonstop.

[shadytrake]

You can check out what I did with mine. I built a shadehouse which I wrap with 6mm Visqueen. This past summer, we replaced the visqueen roof with polycarbonate panels which really helped the light.

This is my setup last year. I would take a photo today but it is 27 with a windchill of 9 and is supposed to start snowing (4" expected tonight).

http://www.orchidboard.com/community...up-winter.html

I will say that the changes this year are the roof is no longer visqueen, I added 2 more lights, I replaced the heated humidifiers with an ultrasonic one because they kept blowing the circuits, and I cut out some rigid insulation to fit between the studs around the compot area to block any drafts.

We remove the visqueen and just use the shadehouse and outside garden during the spring and summer.

[quiltingwacko]

That's a clever idea, Bev! What we did was add the greenhouse onto the house. So if it is too hot or cold, we can open the sliding glass door to augment the heating or cooling. There will be an oil baseboard heater and a swamp cooler too. We will see how it all works out. It is almost finished. Carol

[thakshila smith]

I never experienced this weather and love to hear your comments. very cool and misting too and dripping fog. I love to live in that place .
Here too hot and sunny I put all my plants under trees for protection.
how do you manage to protect the flowers from gloomy weather? And heating can dry up too?

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