Grow house for wintering plants

DD265

I'm starting to think about wintering plants differently this year. We don't have room for a full green house, and last year I wintered the majority of my potted plants in the conservatory. There were a couple of issues with that; 1) making sure the cats never snuck in behind us and 2) several plants seemed to bloom off-season - peach, nectarine and rose. My OH would add 3) it was like a jungle in there.  In 2021 I'd like to try growing tomatoes and maybe peppers too.

Whatever I get will be up against the north fence of a west facing garden. That part of the garden is generally pretty sheltered and will get some sunlight for 2/3 of the daylight hours. I don't know whether to get a plastic-y one to try out, or plump for something more expensive to begin with. I'm hoping to keep an eye out for one second hand, particularly as a lot of new ones seem to be out of stock on several websites.

I'll be sheltering trees (peach, nectarine, 3 bay saplings) and maybe the smaller roses if they'll fit. I think this might rule out the cheapest plastic-with-shelves kind, as the fruit trees are going on 1m tall in their pots now and that isn't going to fit under any shelves in those. I read something on here that when buying a green house you buy the biggest you have room for - does that hold true for a small space as well?

twopenny

Just wondering where you live that Bay saplings don't survive a British winter. It's a plant that's fairly bomb proof.

I live in the South West and my potted plants come through snow and hail and low temperatures. The only thing that damaged them was prolonged ice cold winds. A sheltered spot and some fleece should do the trick if space is a problem.

I had considered in my early gardening days to wrap the pots with foil or the thin polystyrene blanket but they are thick terracotta and that seemed to be sufficient.

Plastic greenhouses have a weakness for collapsing in the wind. Could you attached a sheet of polythene to the fence and secure it with stone at the bottom? Easier for watering if you attached the bottom to canes a foot off the ground to allow the air to ciruclate. The cold gets rid of a lot of pests especially on the fruit trees. Also it could be removed and easily stored in the summer.

DD265

We're in the East Midlands. My mother killed some established bay trees off over winter in West Yorkshire, and it's made me quite (over?!) protective!