Hi

You picked a really tough specie to grow lol I gave up on cocoa many years ago as they are sensitive to so many conditions . I have seen them actually producing fruit in Palm Beach county but rarely and with a lot of pampering . i do have a lot of experience with enclosures both permanent and temporary. I use frost cloth supported by pvc posts with a UV heater controlled by a themostat. The biggest problem is keeping them from overheating during the day. Don't use plastic especially transparent and don't allow the leaves to contact the material

Your best bet would probably be to bring them into a warm room during cold spells . Then you have the problem of low light and humidity lol For me the fronts usually last 3 days so a very short move usually .

The very best of course is a temp controlled GH but a real bear to control during summer !! Anyway good luck!! gary

@ garyfla_gw : I am planning to build a greenhouse around my soursop seedling for the winter with plastic bottles, i don't understand why did you recommend to avoid plastic and especially transparent plastic?

Interesting question by the way

@bigboyfrom904 : i just found a weblink about plastic bottle greenhouses where the author says that it raises the temperature by 10 degrees C. I don't know if that helps you to estimate the effect of plastic film cover (i guess it is less than the plastic bottle cover)

Hi

I learned my lesson the hard way lol When I first built my shade house I covered it with plastic during a cold front, Kept the temp at 60 all night no problem . Went to work the next day just before daybreak Inside 65 outside 28 Came home at around 5 in the evening outside 70 inside 152 !!! Needless to say I lost everything though it did cure the bug problem for some time lol

Frostcloth will actually allow heated air to escape though if outside gets above 70 will get into the low eighties. Can be left in place for the duration even in full sun and no need to vent. You can get this is several degrees of protection even some that produces heat though I have never tried that type.

Hey thanks for your help @gary and @youssef Wow really!!!!!! 152????? That's crazy!! I'm going to look at frost clothes right now.

Also, what if I put a bucket of water inside the enclosure. Wouldn't that help regulate the temp..

yes, it should...

paint one side white, and the other black.

have the black side facing the sun in the winter etc...

i have a cacao, and it is taking New Orleans heat rather well... its been putting out loads of new growth.

its been very humid until now... i am keeping an eye on it, but i dont see any real difference. it seems very happy. i do keep it watered rather well.

Hi

Depends on how cold and how long how much wind etc etc , I much prefer an electric heater with them as I usually maintain above 60 You can use an aquarium heater in a bucket of water to avoid drying especially in a small enclosure Has the advantage of raising to any desire temp and of course will shut down when no longer needed I used a 150 gallon aquarium in my shadehouse with a fan to spread the heat around.. Worked well down to hard freeze but of course much cooler along outside walls When I expanded to 12x20 feeet I used a forced space heater

Now what to do about summer lol good luck gary