Are you still alive in there?

It was a nice warm and fairly dry day today so I decided to open up the palm tree enclosures and have a peak. They don't look much different than when I closed them up in November. They had already lost quite a few fronds during the late summer and fall, but no more loss since closing them up. It stays pretty warm and humid in the enclosures, so that should keep them happy and healthy. Palm trees don't go dormant in the cold, but growth is slowed so I don't expect much to happen until warm summer temperatures and lots of sun.

Glowing and Snowing Greenhouses

 A cold winter night, the ThermoCube is on, the lights are glowing, and the heaters are keeping the palms warm.


Each enclosure has a wireless thermometer so I can monitor the temperature inside the enclosure and compare it to the outside temperature.

Even in the snow, the palms should be nice and cozy in the greenhouse. When the sun starts to shine, the inside of the greenhouse can increase 20-30 degrees.

Finishing the Greenhouse

Once the frame was built, it was covered with 6 mil plastic. Wood blocks were screwed into each corner to anchor the plastic and stretch it over the curved top of the greenhouse. The ends were fan folded and a wood block was used to anchor the ends of the plastic. I left enough room below the wood blocks to be able to access the end of the greenhouse for watering or adjusting of the heaters.


500 watt Optimus H-6002 mini oil heaters were added to each enclosure to keep the trees warm when the temperature drops below 20 deg F. The heaters are plugged into Thermo Cubes.









The Thermo Cube provides power when the temperature drops below 35 degrees F. I added a string of red Christmas lights so that I could see when the power was on and off. The heaters also have built-in thermostats. When the temperature outside dropped to 20 Deg F, I adjusted the heater thermostats on.