spring FEVER is a great killer ...

and there is nothing to do about the fever.. but to experience what you did.. and make note.. NOT to do it again ...

weather spikes.. intensify the fever.. but in all reality .... in zone 5 .. you should have KNOWN that march is not the time to move things outdoors ... even to a greenhouse [presumably not heated] ..

come on man.. it was MARCH .. lol ... nearly 60 days prior to last fer sure frost free day ..

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING .. lol

ken

Aww, sorry this happened. Are the coleus stems mushy or just the leaf edges? Do you know what the temp got down to, for how long?

Anxious and overzealous does not equal stupid, forgive yourself.

My greenhouse is solar heated with huge water tanks to collect heat during the day and release it at night...so I don't know what happened! Technically I should be able to plant in there starting in march...but guess not!!! Weird because I had a potted burning bush in there ALL winter with GREEN leaves!!

I have ONE cutting that I forgot was in my windowsill inside, so I still have the plant genes at least!!! Maybe i'll just have to go buy new varieties!

Wow! solar set up. I am jealous. I am in a warmer zone then you. Coleus is the most temperature sensitive plant I have. I carried plants through the winter in my unheated greenhouse but coleus does not usually make it. This winter it did but we didn't have winter this year. Impatiens will have a near death experience and live. My warmest spot is on the brick floor. So I don't use the shelves in the winter. I am sorry you had this experience but maybe you need to sacrifice a few less valuable plants to see what you can get away with in your greenhouse. Moisture in the air and plants in ceramic pots also helps. Glad you saved a sprig in a bottle.

hmmmm.. i am in z5 ...

last week was 65 to 85 degrees ... i can see the heat storage system getting somewhere.. but that was ambient air ...

the week prior.. i seem to think it was 40 ish .. with night temps.. down into the 30 ... if not lower .. heck my ground wasnt even thawed when the heat hit ...

how much stored heat.. could have been stored the week prior .. and how fast is significant heat stored ...

come on.. admit it.. you jumped the shark .... the theory is all there.. but the fever clouded your judgement ...

regardless.. you will be more hesitant next year ... which is good .. IN MARCH ... even with your setup .. as you have learned ...

how about a new post.. and some pix of your greenhouse set up.. i am jealous also ...

ken

Ken Ken Ken! Bless your heart! I think you may have missed the point. mainblaine feels that he has made a mistake hence the title of the post "Stupid stupid me!"

The setup is easy. Its a small 8x10 greenhouse with 3 black trashcans filled with water. It faces the south sun and believe it or not is usually 20 degrees warmer inside during the day.

I have a sneaky suspicion the windy weather with the cold night temps did the system in. It's not airtight either. Lesson learned!!!

I have an 8x10 with some 5 gal water buckets. I can cheat a zone. I was disappointed the first year but by year two I was hooked. I could not clone at this pace without it. What size are your trash cans?

not sure the exact size, but they're big enough to fit the big black trash bags.