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Help me with plants in the conservatory

7 replies

goingtobefree · 09/09/2013 22:19

We are buying a house with conservatory and there is a patio door between this and the main lounge.
It is south facing and was very hot during one of our viewings.
It has double glazed windows, glass roof with windows.
I would like to have sofa and chairs in them and heat it by a wood firing stove from the lounge.
Been looking at various pictures to get ideas for furnishing it and most of them have beautiful plants in them.
I would like to get few plants in pots and would like your help in choosing the plants please preferably some thing which will be of interest throughout the year.

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bumperella · 10/09/2013 21:42

First off, a south facing conservatory will be bakingly hot in the summer. The strong light will likely fade furnishings and be difficult for plants. So I would firstly consider installing blinds or similar, at least on the roof, to filter the light. These might be quite expensive..... The problem will be that you'll not be able to open windows for ventilation all the time, eg. when you're away from home, in case of break-ins.

In the winter is it likely to get really cold at night, esp near windows?
If not then things like Bird of Paradise (strellitzia), Gloriosa lillies, Bouganvillia (though this is prickly) could all work well, though eventually grow big. Citrus plants can be good, but would prefer to be moved out to a sunny patio in the height of summer. Cactii would do well enough, as strong light and cooler nights shouldn't cause them too much difficulty. Most (not all) standard house plants are from shadier locations (eg rainforests) so their leaves will scorch in strong sunlight. As a rule of thumb, if it has silvery foliage or is hairy, then it'll deal better with high temperatures and strong light. I'm not good on tropical plants, but musa (banana) and various palms could look really good, but am not convinced how well they'd cope with very strong light.

Plants will manage high summer temps better if you keep plants on a pebble-tray of water, and grouping them together as the humidity will keep them cooler.