At the beginning of the year, the variegated myrtle that I’d finally settled on to grace our large terracotta pot, received as a wedding present, gave up the ghost (I'm just hoping that’s no portent for the marriage). I think it decided that being buried over its head in snow for the second time in twelve months was a weather condition too far.
It had struggled after the first occasion in 2009, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. Plants in pots are particularly vulnerable to cold weather, as Alys Fowler pointed out in her Guardian column a couple of weeks ago. She spent her internship at the Botanical Gardens in New York and, given the lack of green space, perforce learned a lot about rooftop gardening. “A plant that can withstand -15F in the ground,” she says, “can probably withstand only -5F in a pot.”
Down here in the south-east we’re under serious snow for the third time in two years. The variegated myrtle is more tender than its monotone sister, but even that survived one icy spell, so based on that experience, I’d say it’s not too late to save vulnerable plants if you move them somewhere warmer and sheltered now.
But here’s something I came across earlier this year. The GreenSafe, basically an inflatable greenhouse. It's from Germany, where it was designed by an industrial engineer, and seems such a simple idea that you wonder it hasn’t been done before.
It’s nice to see some research on the website. It's reported as standing up to a foot of snow on the roof, and, when it was –8C outside, didn’t sink below 4.5C inside with the frost-guard plugged in. It also stood firm in winds of up to 50 mph.
It’s not cheap (prices start at £349) and comes with a two-year guarantee, which, given the price, might seem a little short, but when I spoke to director Daniel Newbould this summer he was relaxed about it, saying that the oldest Green Safe he knows of has passed its five-year anniversary with no problem.
While it protects your plants from icy blasts, I wouldn’t call it a greenhouse; summer temperatures need watching. One chap I know who tried it in July achieved something over 30C – shame to nurse them through the winter just to cook them in the summer!
But it’s an interesting proposition and you can get a better idea of it from the video below, or from reading the manual, if you're that way inclined.
Reviews of the Greensafe online seem non-existent, so if you’ve tried one out, do post your experiences below.
2013 Update: Greensafe has disappeared from the web (the address was greensafe.co.uk) but I've left this post up out of interest because it's still possible to find these inflatable greenhouses at HERBAGARD.
...Landscape Juice Network
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