Design for a new conservatory

[kGarden]

We are planning to replace our conservatory this year (current a hideous looking uPVC structure). I want to build-in some permanent planters. I'd welcome ideas on what plants would like, but that won't destablise the building. I'm happy to put some drainage in (so that the planters could be rigid solid concrete cubes, but with proper drainage, if that would be needed)

There will be a square shaped Conservatory (about 4M x 4M) and then a fairly lengthy connecting corridor glazed on the South side about 2M wide.

Need to get my Bananas & Brugs into the conservatory over winter (thinking about roof height ...) and the corridor will house over wintered plants, and also seedlings starting off in Spring.

But I'd also like some permanent plants in the conservatory (assume it will be a living space, so room temperature in Winter) and corridor (assume frost free 5C, but I would consider warmer)

Strongylodon macrobotrys is a dream of mine of course ... dunno how feasible that is

Lapagerias in the corridor perhaps?

Thanks

[Chrisg]

A proper planted conservatory. I'm the wrong person to ask about plants, it would be full of succulents, but love the idea.

[LONGK]

Strongylodon macrobotrys is a dream of mine of course ... dunno how feasible that is

Humidity, humidity, and then some more humidity!

Bomarea caldasii maybe?

A few bulbs to consider;
Clivia miniata
Hymenocallis festalis
Eucharis amazonica................


Hippeastrum papilio
Albuca nelsonii

[kGarden]

Its not built yet and you are already planting it LongK :lol:

My primary consideration, at the moment, is what to do for the best to be able to plant things in proper "borders".

Also ventilation - I'm figuring some means of getting a small opening all along the bottom "wall" - like a louvre, or lights that can be opened a crack - and then a roof vent the whole length of the structure, so that I can get convection, rather than having to throw the doors open and get transpiration stress due to the wind velocity

and shading - I'm thinking old fashioned slatted blinds on the outside of the glass

[David Matzdorf]

The dream for the "greenhouse border" has to be to provide plants with a free root run, so I'd prioritise building the beds with no floor slabs, so whatever you plant there can root into the open ground beneath the new building. This would also, eventually, greatly reduce the need to water the beds.

Charlie can confirm or contradict this, but I suspect that a heated conservatory will be too warm and dry for Lapageria, which is a nearly-hardy genus that prefers cool, humid conditions. Strongylodon, on the other hand, needs heat.

Your ventilation plan sounds sensible and efficient. Air movement will be very important all year, not just when it's hot.

[kGarden]

The dream for the "greenhouse border" has to be to provide plants with a free root run, so I'd prioritise building the beds with no floor slabs, so whatever you plant there can root into the open ground beneath the new building

Thanks. Do you think unrestricted beds would be likely to interfere with the building's foundations? Hence why I was thinking of a concrete cube to grow plants in, but maybe that root constriction is not required?

I suspect that a heated conservatory will be too warm and dry for Lapageria, which is a nearly-hardy genus that prefers cool, humid conditions.

Perhaps the glazed, frost-free, "corridor" would be best for that :)

Air movement will be very important all year, not just when it's hot.

I have run a decent sized fan in the (frost free) conservatory this winter, on a 15-mins on, 15-mins off, timer. Given how cold & grey it has been I'm pleasantly surprised how much better all the overwintering plants have been [all crammed in cheek-by-jowl, as I'm sure you can imagine :) ] compared to previous Winters. I'm definitely going to do that in future winters, although opening vents on days when temperature is not Arctic would presumably benefit the plants more.

[charlie]

If building from scratch, go big on ventilation, especially ventilation you can leave open when you are out. It is much more important than heating in winter

Dont bother with planters, big pots are more flexible, better is to allow plants access to the ground, so as David suggested take out the floor under planters then makes them a more sensible solution.

There is nothing you are likely to grow that could have any effect on a buildings foundations

Some plants do better moving in and out others are good in all the time, I get on very well with Bougainvillea, Pandoreas and Jasmines permantly in as they don't seem to suffer from pest build ups

[kGarden]

If building from scratch, go big on ventilation, especially ventilation you can leave open when you are out

Thanks Charlie. Seems to be something completely overlooked by most Conservatory makers that my friends have bought from! Everything is cooking in theirs during the summer ... :( I'm planning on a rack & pinion system with ridge vents the full length of the house. Could use rack & pinion to open the vertical wall vents too ... need to think about that as the "racks" will take up space within the growing area, so they might need to be opened manually.

Something a bit like this I guess:

Dont bother with planters, big pots are more flexible ... Some plants do better moving in and out

Good point, thanks. I currently have plants that I move out for the Summer, and that helps with the bugs on them too, so I'll stick to that, plus provide some access to the soil below in some areas.

Some other thoughts that have occurred to me:

Water: I like being able to "dunk" a watering can into a tank - much quicker to fill than waiting for a tap to run. So I am thinking of having a water butt inside the conservatory, but they do take up a bit of space ...

Heating: plan is to have underfloor heating, apparently I can get a "floor thermostat" rather than an air one, so that I will be able to control an area of the floor which I can then use as a heated area for propagation - primarily seed raising in the Spring.

I do like the look of the Victorian cast-iron floor-grids that covered heating pipes underneath. But I don't know what the pros & cons are of just having under floor heating, or some heating pipes too.

All suggestions would be most welcome

[charlie]

Take a look at these exterior blinds, very good at keeping the heat out and easy to make yourself

020 by charliepridham, on Flickr
Not mine, I have a wisteria over the outside of mine - effective for keeping things cool but it doesn't make painting any easier!

For water I plumbed in a tap and have an extendable hose with a lance with an on off valve I use for watering, before I fitted it I could use more than 10 2 gall watering cans do do a watering in hot weather, if you have a cistern or tank you would have to take precautions against mosquitoes!

[charlie]

I don't know whether it helps or not but I did some repairs to one end of my Victorian conservatory a few years ago
Starting with some pictures to show how bad it had got behind the plants!

DSCF2999 by charliepridham, on Flickr

DSCF3001 by charliepridham, on Flickr

DSCF3002 by charliepridham, on Flickr
Decided to take one half down and start again using tanalised wood did most of the work my self using a hand saw hammer and chisel, the window sashes I had made up as they are a bit fiddly

001 (2) by charliepridham, on Flickr

002 (2) by charliepridham, on Flickr

003 (2) by charliepridham, on Flickr

DSCF3051 by charliepridham, on Flickr

december by charliepridham, on Flickr
One of the best things I discovered was something called capex, which is a stove coated aluminium product for the roof joins, brilliant no more painting on the roof!