Storing the Potted Plants
October is a very important month here at my Bedford, New York farm. It's when my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are rushing to get all my warm weather container plants inside the greenhouses.
I have quite a large collection of tropical specimens. Because I live in a four-season region, during colder months it’s vital these plants move indoors where the temperature and humidity levels can be controlled. Plants that spent the summer at Skylands, my home in Maine, are also brought back to Bedford for storage. It’s a tedious process to put all these container plants away, but a very important one that helps keep my plants thriving.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- Before storing anything, all the plants are brought to their designated greenhouse and placed outside, so each one can be inspected, and trimmed or repotted if necessary. Then, by size each one is carried into the structure where they will stay for about seven months.
-
- This group is outside the hoop house next to my vegetable greenhouse. Many of the plants are organized by type and by care needs.
-
- Many of the potted plants in this group spent the summer months at Skylands, my home in Maine. Because I do not have a large greenhouse at Skylands, they are transported back to my farm for the winter.
-
- These plants are outside the hoop house next to my Stable Barn. I have five hoop houses in all to store all these warm weather specimens.
-
- This hoop house is 60-feet by 26-feet. All the hoop houses are covered with a heavy-duty, woven polyethylene plastic that features an anti-condensate additive to reduce moisture buildup and dripping. It is also covered with a layer that contains UV additives that allow the fabric to maintain its strength.
-
- I repurpose stumps from downed trees to use as risers for some of the potted plants or for the legs of tables. It’s important to make use of both horizontal and vertical space when storing.
-
- Phurba and Jose start by moving the plants in the gravel courtyard behind my Winter House kitchen. This project of moving the plants is a big undertaking and takes several days to complete.
-
- Jose also removes the smaller potted plants and places them in the back of the Polaris. It is a rush to get everything moved before it gets too cold.
-
- For really heavy potted specimens, we load them onto the bucket of a tractor that is lined with moving blankets, so the pots do not sustain any damage during transport.
-
- I have many agaves, including this giant blue agave with its beautiful gray-blue spiky fleshy leaves. Do you know… tequila is actually distilled from the sap of the blue agave?
-
- Phurba helps Pete guide the tractor into the hoop house. He drives it in as close as possible with the tractor and then the plant is removed by hand and positioned.
-
- These agaves also have sharp spines, so it is important to place them strategically.
-
- One by one, plants are brought inside and also positioned so none of the plants touch. Plants are sensitive and if left touching could cause a defense response reducing growth. Plants can also become more easily infested with pests or diseases if left touching.
-
- Pasang carefully guides a potted Bismarkia palm as it is moved in next. Bismarckia nobilis grows from a solitary trunk, gray to tan in color, and slightly bulging at the base.
-
- And then a pygmy date palm, Phoenix roebelenii is moved in. This is a species of date palm native to southeastern Asia, from southwestern China, northern Laos and northern Vietnam.
-
- Smaller potted plants are also wheeled in by hand cart.
-
- Tables on both sides of this hoop house are used to store smaller potted specimens, such as this collection of potted lemon cypress, Cupressus macrocarpa.
-
- These plants grow a little more each year, so the placement of these specimens will change every time they are stored.
-
- There are still so many plants to bring indoors, but we’ve made good progress and should have everything collected and indoors before the first frost.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
