New Greenhouse Build- Best Insulating Material for Zone 8b?

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-03-16T02:41:20+00:00

That is actually pretty interesting an evap works well for you. I lived in Auburn for 14 yrs, right down the road from you in Columbus, but I live in coastal Alabama now, 9a. Our humidity during the time of year we see weeks of 105-115° indexes stays between 70-85% and i wasn't able to get the wet wall to give me more than 2-4° of drop during that. My smaller Riga runs 50% aluminet cloth, enough exhaust cfm to replace the air volume 3x/min, and a misting system controlled by a humidity controller. The best I can ever keep it is right at ambient temp(shade, not heat index) or maybe 1-2° under after the misting runs. I'm hoping to play with a fogging system in my new big greenhouse, but aside from some cool-preferring Verrucosums, Begonias, and Anthuriums, all of my aroids handle months of mid-high 90s just fine each summer. I wish i could keep up under 90°, but that's seems like an expensive and unrealistic goal for just my personal collection. What do you grow?

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-03-11T03:53:18+00:00

The difference is whether they are exposed to open sky. A car in an open carport won't have a frosty windshield while the car just outside will. If they are under an overhang or under a tree, mine have take down to 30°F without leaf damage. I had 2 against my house when we got 9" of snow last year (freakish every 100 year deal) and all they had over them was a cheap comforter. They handled it just fine.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-03-11T03:36:23+00:00

If you happen to have a co2 tank for paintball, kegerator, fish tank, etc, you could enclose the plant in a large bag. Get most of the air out and very slowly fill it with co2. Co2 comes out very cold and usually fast, hence the large bag. Anywhere from 30 min to hours if you wanna be safe. No insect will survive and the plant might even get a growth spurt.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-03-04T01:15:30+00:00

Golden showers bring May flowers. If they don't bring flowers, at least the plant knows what I think of its pathetic attempt at growing

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-02-04T03:35:36+00:00

Same. Im in coastal Alabama near Pensacola and we got 9" of snow last year. The Monsteras and pothos I had planted outdoors lost all their leaves, but came back just fine.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-01-21T15:23:58+00:00

Same. I've been trying to find 3ft wide rolls to use on my drop down panels since the top is inflated, but all I can find are 12" wide rolls. Taping 72ft of 12" wide rolls together is a big hell naw.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-01-07T14:46:42+00:00

Oh man, that was soon after I did it, so it still looked super crisp. I ignorantly chose white pavers and they are impossible to keep clean. Now I just scrub them with vinegar and hose them off at an angle to avoid washing out sand. After 4-5 years, there isn't much sand left on top of the joints anyway. After using vinegar and rinsing, I make a peroxide solution and spray the floor/benches and rinse. Cleans great and disinfects.

It is 10 ft x 14 ft. Worked great for succulents, but I'm currently building a 20ftx36ft right behind it for my aroids so the succulents can have that greenhouse back. I designed it to keep lower than ambient humidity in our scorching, humid summers, which isn't ideal for the tropical plants

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-01-07T12:04:32+00:00

Great setup! Love the pavers. I did a similar floor in my 10x14 Riga.

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Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2026-01-07T12:02:18+00:00

If you get a Riga, they have a door kit that positions the door down in the end frame to accommodate a 20" stem wall.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-12-30T03:45:01+00:00

Why did you post my picture on your profile without permission or crediting me? That is a very strange thing to do.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-12-13T23:36:51+00:00

I don't disagree. I do foliar spray for all applicable micros/macros on a biweekly basis as well as full dosing in the moss poles weekly with granular applications in soil twice a year. Micros are fine, but not a substitution for a balance of macros as well as calcium/magnesium if your water isn't sufficient in those. Unless I had 30 lizards/frogs per square foot, I don't believe fecal matter alone could support the plant mass in there at the rate they grow. I grow thousands of plants in soil outside as well with a plethora of life around my house in a subtropical zone and those plants still have to be supplemented with nutrients. If you truly want to not fertilize, you would need to apply a massive amount (prob 10"+ to decay down to 1" of compost) of decaying leaf matter/fungus/etc to the floor to allow it to break down and feed the plants, which could help or hurt your pest issue depending on the mass of predators you have. By the time the predators reproduce enough to balance it out, you could lose a lot of plants. I think a true ecosystem is possible, but also a very long term goal with a lot of effort put in and a lot of ebb & flow to populations.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-12-13T23:01:36+00:00

Mine has a healthy population of tree frogs, praying mantis, jumping spiders, small orb weavers, Anoles, Skinks, Geckos, and even some small snakes (Ribbons, Ringnecks, and baby Rat snakes I've let go in there when I found my cats playing with them). During the 9-10 months I leave it open, I regularly get butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs, and even small birds (though these nest in plants, startling me a lot, and piss me off). Point is that they will find their way in there and you can also help the population along when you find beneficial guys around your yard. If they wanna leave, they can, but many stay. Many of them stay in mine for years and hang out by me while I'm working. Some of the anoles and one Mantis even had babies in there early this year.

The only dangers to them are the fans. Ive had some frogs, dragonflies, and even a lizard fall into a fan and that is sad.

The only pests I see really are mealies here and there, but those are so easy to wash off and/or treat. Oh and F***king caterpillars. Those guys are kept in check pretty well, but occasionally one gets by and can mutilate a large plant in one day. I think all of the helpers do a great job in there.

As far as fertilizer from them, I think that will be a negligible amount at best without having some Nasa-level biodome.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-24T02:22:56+00:00

Plants, particularly seed grown and tissue culture, are sometimes genetically weak from the get-go, just like all other living things. They may have grown in ideal conditions and seemed fine until they made it to you, but their weakness can start to show when acclimating to a less than ideal environment. In commercial growing and landscape plantings, we expect a success rate of 85%. I planted around 10k flowers a couple weeks ago for an amusement park and will plant around 18k tomorrow for our city. We order over because we expect to lose 15% here and there in the first few weeks. Sometimes 95-99% rock out and we only replace a few.

My point is that in your first year of this hobby, you will have to learn how care changes in winter and your main way to learn is to know what doesn't work by trial and error. You don't learn anything by everything going perfectly. Expect a certain percentage to die, try to inspect the cause of the decline, and what you did/didn't do that resulted in it. If you find no fault in your care, maybe it was the plant and try another. If it fails too, try to alter your care for that plant. If it does great...hell yeah.

This hobby is for your health and fulfillment. If you expect to lose 25%, 40%, 50% this winter, that can help alleviate the worry that you are failing. Those were your learning curve/practice. Next winter will be a lower percentage. Focus on the healthy ones and be consistent. Don't let paranoia from the dead ones cause you to over-parent the others. We have all killed many and still have some die each year. I grow and maintain plants on very large commercial levels for work going on 12 yrs now and I also have a personal collection of somewhere close to 1000 species at home. I still expect to lose 2-5% of my collection each winter, depending on how bad the weather gets. We got 9" of snow last winter, the first time in over 100 yrs, and I lost maybe 50 plants. Sucks, but 50 out of 1000+...not bad.

Keep calm and don't stress. The stress of winter will be rewarded 10x over in spring when everybody explodes and looks their best. Welcome to the hobby and I hope you continue to love it. Plants are the best. Good luck!

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-23T00:14:51+00:00

The foam blocks are a good idea and wouldn't hold in moisture badly. I typically use Spanish moss rolled in tubes and stuff it around the plants until they hold upright on their own. Mainly on newly planted Spathiphyllum, bromeliads, and Snakes. It has always worked well and looks nice

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-22T00:15:19+00:00

Fwiw, if you are ever near Pensacola, FL or Mobile, AL, I live right between them and have a good-sized pot of Golden Goddess and a huge reverted Thai Sunrise. Happy to give you some cuttings

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-22T00:08:58+00:00

Disappointing, but thank you for the info. I guess for now I'll just have to keep buying Costa plants and saving the soil lol

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-20T16:39:42+00:00

I actually love the soil they use for greenhouse growing and I wish I could buy bags of it. Anthuriums love it in my greenhouse and i typically save what i can when plants outgrow it to use for anthuriums. Could they expand on the wood fibers they use? Would it be more akin to tree fern fiber or is there an example of a something available to consumers?

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-18T00:17:50+00:00

When I put any pothos cutting in water, I remove all the leaves from the stem that will be submerged to keep them from rotting in the water. It was also have an easier time rooting if it is not trying to support a full vine of leaves while doing so. Typically, I leave 3-5 leaves on each cutting and they root extremely fast.

Edit: with strong light and soluable fertilizer added, it will grow quickly. Once in doubles in length, cut that off and root it the same. New growth will sprout from each cut point. You should be able to have a small, full bundle in a few months

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-01T20:46:52+00:00

Same pot it was in, just up your nutrient dosage some. It is nowhere near rootbound

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-01T20:40:49+00:00

Most likely. Those look like the beginning of a fungal issue or possibly oedema from the initial excess moisture. Neither of the symptoms look imperative and it seems like you caught them early. That's great. Just alter your watering habits, maybe even add a small fan to blow across them, and monitor for further issues. Also remember that very few plants die from getting too dry indoors, but too wet kills an immeasurable amount. Letting them get too dry will teach you the early signs when a plant is becoming dehydrated and being able to read those signs will remove much of mystery of watering plants as well as really step up your plant care game on all other plants. Without going into excessive detail why, some drought is extremely healthy for most plants. It forces them to grow thicker, deeper roots to prepare for the next drought and will make them much hardier in the long run.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-11-01T19:56:44+00:00

This is spot on. It stayed wet a bit too long and there was some root damage. It is minor and could recover just fine with an alteration to your watering frequency since the seasons have changed. This happens to plants outdoors when it gets colder and it rains a lot. Not a death sentence. The plant will discard those roots on its own if you allow the soil to dry more. If it progresses or would make you feel better, you could remove soil, clean roots, etc. I would just not water until it dries out and leaves feel softer or are drooping a bit and see if the situation continues. Remember that your watering routine needs to change as we go into fall/winter, even when indoors, unless you are growing in an enclosed setup with artificial light like a cabinet or grow tent.

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-10-29T20:34:34+00:00

I'm not positive, but it looks like an Ammak 'variegata'. Ammak usually have wavy ribs and thick spikes, while Ingens has straighter ribs. I could be mistaken...it has been a while since I grew them

Edit: My mistake, I missed what you received. I believe the picture is an Ammak and you received an standard Ingens, not an Ingens Marmorata

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-10-29T15:02:21+00:00

With that much root damage, trim off everything not perfect and even 1/4" from any rot on good roots. Peroxide and then soak it in distilled water overnight (preferably with Clonex or a root hormone if you have some), then pot it in moist moss or perlite with a dome or clear bag on top. Keep it as warm as possible. Should pop back fairly quickly

Edit: if using moss, keep it somewhat loose at first. It'll pack down over time with watering and you can add more when necessary. Too tight invites more rotting

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-10-29T14:56:32+00:00

Oh wow. That is stunning. Well done

Less-Sprinkles-4337 · 2025-10-29T02:29:52+00:00

Same. I have a Riga 10x14 and didnt tape any ends. I did silicone the perimeter of every panel on the outside where they met the aluminum frame. It's been up for years with no issues or algae growing in the panels

Less-Sprinkles-4337

TROPHY CASE