Greenhouse Growing Guide
HANDMADE WITH PRIDE SINCE 1938
Thank You For Investing In Your Hartley
UK Telephone: 01457 873244 email: info@hartleybotanic.co.uk www.hartley-botanic.co.uk
USA Telephone: 781 933 1993 email: info@hartleybotanic.com www.hartley-botanic.com
Heritage Highgrow | UK
Victorian Lodge | USA
Modern Magnum Opus | UK
In many respects what we say about our Glasshouses and Greenhouses is immaterial.
It’s what you say that matters. It’s your inspiration that guides us. The conversations,
the compliments, our collaboration that together create the world’s greatest Glasshouses
and Greenhouses - Hartley Botanic:
Why Hartley
Structurally Superior
Every Hartley Botanic Glasshouse and Greenhouse
is handmade in England - each a labour of love. A
time-honoured celebration of expert craftsmanship,
the very finest materials and matchless attention to
detail, that together create the ultimate in durability,
safety and beauty. Structurally superior work that
will leave you as confident in your new Hartley
as we are in giving every one of them a 30-year
Lifetime Guarantee.
Astonishingly Beautiful
When only the most refined, sublime, most heart-
stoppingly beautiful design will do - we’ve got just
the Glasshouse or Greenhouse for you.
Some gardeners dream of our classic Victorian
styles, others our Heritage, or maybe our Modern
collection. Perhaps you dream of your own
bespoke design. Distinctive, unique and unfailingly
gorgeous, whatever you dream of most, your
dream Glasshouse or Greenhouse is here.
Knowledge Beyond Compare
There’s so much more to a Hartley than will ever
meet the eye. You won’t see the years of hard-won
knowledge passed from generation to generation.
The customer conversations. The incomparable
care. The consideration. The decades of continual
refinements, finessing and fine-tuning. When you
buy a Hartley Glasshouse or Greenhouse you
won’t see any of that. But you will feel it all.
A Reputation Second To None
Almost 90 years designing the finest Glasshouses
and Greenhouses that money can buy, a unique
and prestigious Royal Horticultural Society
endorsement, with thousands of beautiful
installations for delighted customers the world
over. Our plaudits don’t make our reputation -
they reflect it. A reputation built on a devotion
to the very highest standards, vast experience,
peerless craftsmanship and customer service
that’s literally second to none.
Contents
Customer Stories....................................................................................................5
1. Getting The Most From Your Greenhouse ����������������........6
Hartley Accessories............................................................................................10
2. Your Space, Your Choice...................................................... 16
Deciding What You Want To Do.............................................................17
Indulging Your Hobby........................................................................................20
3. Control Of Heat & Temperature........................................ 23
4. Plant Propagation.................................................................... 26
5. Watering Techniques............................................................. 28
6. Bringing Your Greenhouse To Life...................................... 31
7. Ornamentals Under Glass.................................................... 32
Plants With Real Flower Power..................................................................33
Bedding & Container Plants..........................................................................34
Greenhouse Ornamentals.............................................................................36
Climbers With Impact........................................................................................38
Bulbs For Winter, Spring & Summer......................................................40
Cut Flowers For Winter & Spring..............................................................41
8. Food Under Glass................................................................... 42
A Nursery For Outdoor Crops.................................................................43
Greenhouse Vegetables.....................................................................................44
Salads, Herbs & Winter Crops...................................................................46
Grapevines & Other Greenhouse Fruit................................................48
9. Maintaining Your Success...................................................... 50
Cleaning & Shading The Greenhouse.....................................................51
Expanding Your Growing Space.................................................................52
Garden Chemicals - Friends Or Foes?...................................................54
Controlling Common Pests..........................................................................55
Troubleshooting....................................................................................................56
Books & Societies.................................................................................................57
Customer Stories.................................................................................................58
Bespoke Lean-To Glasshouse | USA
A Greenhouse brings a new dimension to your garden
“When we moved to our new home, I had to wait nearly six years for a new Greenhouse.
Previously, we had lived in a well-equipped garden where I took such things as eating fresh
grapes or tangy, ripe tomatoes for granted. As well as providing crops, my old Greenhouse
was essential for propagation of seeds and cuttings, overwintering tender stock and providing
a constant source of houseplants. Indeed, that Greenhouse was as necessary for successful
gardening as a spade or trowel, and I couldn’t have done without it.
When we moved house, I had to make do with windowsills and makeshift coldframes. My
precious plants were at the mercy of the British climate and almost every gardening activity
was limited by the lack of essential facilities. Then, one August day, the truck arrived with
the new Hartley Greenhouse. Within the week, it was not only fully built, but also partially
stocked. Even before water and electricity were connected, I rigged up a makeshift propagator
and rooted my first cuttings. Two months later, I harvested fresh pak choi greens from the new
Greenhouse beds.
A Greenhouse brings an entire new dimension to any garden. Glass enables you to overwinter
delicate plants, to raise your own seedlings, to produce delicious food items – from tomatoes
or chillies to grapes and melons – and to create colourful floral displays. And if the Greenhouse
is well designed and soundly constructed, it becomes a handsome focal point, not merely
producing fine plants for your garden but also an object of beauty and pride in its own right.”
Hartley Customer, N.C.
“In 1948 my father bought a 15’ x 10’ Hartley Greenhouse and convinced me, an unwilling
teenager, to lay the foundations for the first time . . . My father-in-law then transported it
to Anglesey. Imagine my delight when it came into my possession in 1983. The foundations
for this engineering masterpiece were again laid in Southport and then in the garden of my
present home. On every occasion the Greenhouse remained watertight and to this day
still looks as good as new.”
Mr M, Shropshire, UK
“Having been a long-standing customer of Hartley Greenhouses this being my third - the first in
1948, I had no hesitation and looked at no other Greenhouse when ordering this one.”
Mr A, Bradford, UK
Customer Stories
However large your Greenhouse, the space is finite. With so many ways to enjoy it and
so many gorgeous plants to grow, chances are you’ll soon need to start organising and
prioritising to make the best use of your Greenhouse. After all, your Greenhouse can
be so much more than just a growing space - it’s your personal retreat, somewhere to
unwind with a book, enjoy a peaceful morning coffee, or even host friends over dinner
surrounded by greenery. Plan it wisely and you’ll have room for both serious growing and
plenty of relaxing among your plants.
Getting The Most From Your Greenhouse
There is so much to enjoy in a well-furnished Greenhouse for gardeners of all ages
Staging
To grow and appreciate most Greenhouse
plants, they need to be displayed on staging
(benches), set at around table height. Hartley
staging is made of durable alloy slats secured
by spacers. Pots can be stood on these, or
alternatively shallow trays filled with a layer of
grit or gravel can be used. If this is kept moist, a
more plant-friendly habitat can be maintained
for most plants (although it wouldn’t suit a
cactus collection). Gravel trays can be used
in automated watering systems, reducing the
rate at which pots dry out in summer.
Shelving
Shelves make more efficient use of space by
occupying higher parts of your Greenhouse.
This is particularly useful for displaying trailing
and smaller plants. Shelving also improves
the appearance and visual impact of your
Greenhouse by creating elevated displays of
ornamental plants.
Potting bench & compost store
You may wish to consider setting aside an
area of staging to use as a potting bench, or to
store items of equipment or compost beneath
to help keep the Glasshouse tidy.
Floor standing space
It is unlikely you will want to cover the whole
interior with staging and will want to include
a standing area for larger ornamental or crop
plants or those needing to be overwintered
after spending summer outdoors. Ensure the
area drains freely to prevent waterlogging of
pots or crops like tomatoes.
Hartley Accessories
POTTING SHOES
SPANDREL
AUTOVENTS
BLINDS
COLDFRAMES (OUTSIDE)
WATER BUTTS (OUTSIDE)
STAGING END PANEL
STANDARD STAGING WITH SLATTED
TOP AND LOWER PARCEL SHELF
HIGH LEVEL SHELVING
POTTING TABLE
VICTORIAN ORNATE STAGING
WITH LOWER PARCEL SHELF
How you utilise the space depends, of course, on what
you choose to grow in your Greenhouse, but most
general-purpose structures will need all of the following:
VENT OPENING LEVER
Under the staging
Space under the Greenhouse staging can
become a very valuable asset. Depending on
your growing systems and type of staging used it
can be a shaded and relatively dry environment.
• It can be used for storing dormant bulbs and
tubers, plants requiring rest periods like indoor
cyclamen, or for storing chrysanthemum stools
that will produce fresh cuttings at winter’s end.
• Tender ferns, which benefit from shade,
even in winter, may be happier growing under
the staging than anywhere else.
• Even certain seeds – auriculas, for example,
or hardy cyclamen – germinate better down
there than in a cosy propagator. But it is
important to check them regularly and move
them to the light once they have germinated.
Out of sight should never be out of mind!
Greenhouse beds
If you plan to grow food crops, cut flowers
or grow anything else in quantity, you will
probably want to set up some Greenhouse
beds. A Greenhouse built on a brick
foundation, with natural soil as its floor, will
have the advantage of ready-made growing
facilities - although it is likely that the soil will
need to be improved. If the building rests on
a concrete base, raised beds can be built or
growing bags used for crops and plants.
• Hydroponic systems using nutrients and
water are also a possibility and you can even
grow crops like tomatoes on bales of moist
straw, or by a system known as ‘ring culture.’
This is where plants grow in bottomless
containers filled with potting compost, placed
on a substrate such as grit, which can then be
used as a reservoir for providing water.
• If natural soil is of good quality and fertile it
can serve as a Greenhouse growing medium
for many years, aided by regular applications
of well-rotted compost as organic matter
breaks down over time, due to the heat in
the Greenhouse.
• If you have a mains water supply laid on,
automatic irrigation systems for Greenhouse
beds are easy to install. They can be fitted with
timer and trickle tubes or ‘leaky hose’ to ensure
a reliable supply of moisture, particularly if you
are unable to get to your Greenhouse during
the warmest part of the day.
Beds can contain soil in which to grow plants directly (left) or be gravelled for pots
and growing bags (right)
Grow safely
• However well-constructed and watertight,
a Greenhouse will inevitably have damp
places. Water will run through staging
and shelves to the ground below during
routine watering; condensation will drip
from overhead panes and in a Greenhouse
with beds, the soil will be constantly damp.
All electrical appliances must, therefore,
be correctly protected with earth trip
mechanisms and all plugs or joins should be
fully protected. N.B. All Hartley Greenhouses
use toughened glass.
• Electrical fittings such as switches and sockets
must be fully waterproof and should be
installed and certified by a qualified electrician.
• Where bottled gas is used, storage
cylinders should be sited safely, outside,
with correctly installed pipes or hoses to
connect them. If paraffin or gas is used for
heat, adequate ventilation is also essential,
especially if the Greenhouse is well insulated.
• Obvious as it may seem, it is all too easy
to create hazards and potential trip points.
Shelves, for example, if they are installed
above staging, may be at head-height.
• Fan heaters, if installed near the roof
ridge – as often recommended for optimum
air movement – could also be hazardous
and should not be sited where they can be
bumped into. All wires and cables should be
neatly stowed away and armoured mains
cable should be buried out of harm’s way.
• A Greenhouse itself can be a hazard – and
is highly vulnerable – if vehicles pass nearby,
or if children play in the area. To avoid
accidental impact you may need to cordon
off your Greenhouse with posts, fences,
hedges, or with attractive planting.
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Victorian Ornate Staging
Step back in time with authentically styled, Victorian-inspired
staging - a Hartley Botanic classic. Designed to your exact
specifications, these gorgeous workspaces look fantastic and
come in all possible variations such as fixed, freestanding, with
or without a lower shelf, with a flat sheet, corrugated, or
slatted top. Even better, they’re extremely practical, helping
you position your plants for the perfect growing conditions.
Free Standing Staging
- with parcel shelf
Enjoy twice the Greenhouse gardening pleasure with Hartley
freestanding two-shelf Aluminium Staging - the smart way to
double up your storage and growing space. Choose either a flat
sheet gravel top or perhaps you’d prefer a slatted top and parcel
shelf for improved air circulation and easy watering? Either way,
there’s no finer way to make the most of your Greenhouse.
Hartley Accessories
Free Standing Staging
- without parcel shelf
There’s no such thing as too much staging in a Greenhouse.
You’ll always want more! With a corrugated sheet on top and
plenty of growing space beneath, there’s always plenty of room
to grow plenty more of your favourites. A gardener’s dream.
Potting Shoe
The handmade Hartley Potting Shoe. Plant, pinch, pot
and fill seed trays to your heart’s content, in your own
portable, shelving top potting space. Clean, convenient
and comfortable - a potting pleasure.
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NEW - Staging End Panels
Out of sight, out of mind. The Hartley Staging End Panels are a neat, tidy and colour-coordinated way to conceal
all those pots and pieces cluttering up your staging shelving - available on all Hartley staging.
NEW - Potting Tables
Potting made easy (and comfortable). Keep all your pots, plants, gardening tools and gloves in one handy place.
Handsome, hard-wearing and elevated for comfort, you’ll wonder how you (and your back) ever managed without
your portable Hartley Potting Table.
Potting Table sat on Victorian Ornate Staging
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High Level Shelving
A calm mind blooms in an organised Hartley Greenhouse.
Use our handy high-level storage and display space to keep
your Greenhouse bits and pieces safely out of the way - yet
easily accessible.
Self-Cleaning Glass
Why spend time and effort cleaning your Greenhouse, when
the unique Self-Cleaning Glass can do it for you? First, the sun’s
ultraviolet rays break down any dirt, and then the rain simply
washes the debris away. No smears, no stains, no hassle, just
a gleaming Greenhouse… without you lifting a finger.
Vent Opening Lever
These stylish and incredibly useful traditional cast levers
are the perfect way to open and close multiple vents in
your Greenhouse. Precision-controlled airflow for happier,
healthier plants.
Blinds
Our attractive Victorian and Roller Blinds are specially
designed to regulate the internal temperature of your
Greenhouse and protect you and your plants from sunlight
damage. Stylish shade and classy comfort from one of our
most popular Greenhouse accessories.
Spandrels
Victorian-inspired ridge and eaves spandrels add a perfect
finishing touch to your Greenhouse or Glasshouse. Use
beautifully detailed spandrels to deliver a final aesthetic
flourish and an added touch of class.
Autovents
The best way to regulate the temperature of your
Greenhouse? Proper ventilation. Even better with smart,
temperature-sensitive Bayliss autovents that automatically
open and close windows as the heat rises and falls.
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Cast Iron Grates
There’s nothing as attractive in a Greenhouse as a cast iron
Victorian-style grate. There’s nothing as useful either, when it
comes to heating and drainage. Or you can simply use them
decoratively - a touch of class.
Vine Supports
Hartley vine supports - the perfect way to help your vines
flourish in their new home. Strong and sturdy Greenhouse
fixings that train your climbers to climb into the shapes
you love.
Louvred Vent
The ideal way to manage and maintain airflow in your Heritage
structure or Hartley Planthouse Greenhouse. Simple, adjustable
temperature and humidity control to provide your plants the
fresh air they need to thrive. Available across our Heritage range
and exclusive to Hartley structures within our Modern range.
Teleflex Vent System
- Select models only
Healthy Greenhouse plants all rely on healthy airflow. Use
Teleflex manual or electrically operated window openers
to open and close even the most inaccessible windows and
control the temperature and humidity in your Greenhouse.
Visibility Lights*
IP44 Rated (Water Resistant)
Here’s a bright idea. Visibility lights. Elegant powder-coated
or polished metal Visibility Lights that promote happy and
healthy growing environment and also let you enjoy your
Greenhouse in the evenings and into the darker months.
Grow Lights*
IP44 Rated (Water Resistant)
When the sun isn’t shining, your Grow Lights will give your
plants the light they need - the light they crave. Beautiful
powder-coated or polished metal Grow Lights provide the
essential conditions your plants need to photosynthesise and
reach their full happy, healthy, vibrant potential.
*Only available in the UK
NEW - Water Butt
At a generous 88 litres capacity, our slimline eco-friendly Water
Butts treat your thirsty plants with a generous supply of fresh,
natural, pH-neutral rainwater for happy and healthy growth.
Great for you, your plants, and the planet.
NEW - Water Butt
A greener, kinder, more affordable way to garden? Then how
about a supersize 167-litre Hartley Water Butt? The natural,
eco-friendly way to collect the fresh, pH-neutral rainwater
that your plants love.
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Heaters*
When winter bites, even your Greenhouse can feel the
freeze. Protect your precious plants during cold snaps with
a waterproof Greenhouse fan heater - essential winter
warmth and air circulation to protect your precious plants.
*Only available in the UK
Finials & Roof Cresting
Enhance your Greenhouse with our elegant cast aluminium
roof crestings and finials. Choose from Victorian inspired
roof period features, Edwardian era design Ball finials, or
Spike finials. Add a final touch of character and beauty to
your Glasshouse.
Coldframes
Coldframes that perfectly complement your Greenhouse with temporary cold weather protection. An ideal
halfway home in which to harden off your Greenhouse-grown plants before moving them fully outdoors.
Integrated Coldframes
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NEW - Freestanding Coldframes
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Your Space, Your Choice
Propagation
The most satisfying way to produce plants
is from seed. Packets of seed cost far less
than buying mature plants and, once you
have mastered the simple skills of sowing and
aftercare, you can produce as many plants as
you like. Plants for spring or summer display,
longer term perennials or shrubs and, of
course, food crops can all be started from
seeds sown in a Greenhouse.
In most cases, growing plants from cuttings
is simpler in a Greenhouse than outdoors.
As well as simple stem cuttings, you can also
try raising leaf cuttings from such plants as
begonias or Cape primroses (Streptocarpus),
or root cuttings from a variety of perennials.
Growing food
Under glass you can grow a range of annual
food crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers,
aubergines and peppers, as well as more
permanent plants including grape vines, kiwi
fruit and figs.
If you are new to gardening you will be amazed at how many different functions a
Greenhouse will perform. And if it is already second nature, you will know only too well
how difficult it is to do all you want without glass in your garden.
Even when the Greenhouse has been built, there are so many different uses to which it
can be put, that before long, you will be spoilt for choice. That is why some people, even
in relatively small gardens, often end up with two, three or even several Greenhouses,
particularly if you specialise in growing different types of plant!
Here are some key functions:
Deciding What You Want To Do
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Grow a wide range of delicious crops
Display
Most people who own a Greenhouse want it
to be welcoming and beautiful. You can take this
further, however, to create magnificent displays
of colour and interest throughout the year.
Even in a small, multi-purpose Greenhouse,
there’s much you can do to make the interior
beautiful and to look inviting from outside.
• Staging and shelving maximises growing
space and enables you to arrange your plants
to look their best. If you plan for a succession
of interesting flowers and foliage, the quality of
your display can be sustained for long periods,
and can be made more dynamic, with changes
in colours and styles.
• The service areas of a Greenhouse, such as
potting benches, are less pretty, but you can
help to conceal them by arranging your show
plants so that they dominate the view or move
them elsewhere.
• Once flowering houseplants like ‘Amaryllis’
and Cyclamen have finished blooming, they can
be moved into the Greenhouse to be cared
for until they are about to flower the following
year. With careful selection from forced spring
bulbs, like snowdrops and daffodils through the
seasons to ‘Christmas cacti’, your house need
never be lacking in floral decoration.
Winter protection
A Greenhouse, with minimal artificial heat, will
keep temperatures just above freezing. Plants
which would perish outdoors in winter can
therefore be safely cultivated under glass for the
next growing season.
While they are protected you can carry out
seasonal tasks on them, such as pruning and
training, re-potting, root-pruning or even
propagating according to the needs of the plant.
• Tender shrubs or perennials, if containerised,
can be moved into the Greenhouse in autumn
where they can remain dormant, or rest until
the following spring.
• Young plants propagated during autumn and
winter can be kept in a protected environment
until the danger of frost outdoors has passed.
• Tubers or roots of summer and autumn
blooms such as dahlias, chrysanthemums and
the taller New World salvias can be stored
under Greenhouse staging and propagated
from in late winter.
• Summer bulbs, such as Agapanthus,
Hymenocallis or the magnificent climbing lily
Gloriosa superba, can also be parked under the
staging, when dormant, for a cosy winter.
Create your own colourful, artistic displays
Provide winter protection for tender plants
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Specialist collectors who want to grow particular types of plants may also need a
Greenhouse. In many cases these can be adapted to provide specific conditions, but with
careful selection it is possible to mix and match certain plant groups, thereby broadening
the scope of the growing environment. You can also use conditions created by some
plants to accommodate others - e.g. ferns and other forest plants can be grown in the
moist shade of larger orchids.
Indulging Your Hobby
Collections of particular plant groups, such as orchids, can be both rewarding and educational
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