Zacarias

Hey all,

A la cheap method, I am going to attempt to provide minimal protection to my taller basjoos that I have in pots in the balcony close to the apt wall. I wanna use the small christmas lights either around the pseudostem and/or up the pseudostem.
My question is, what's the proper way to do this without creating a large fire risk. I know there is always a risk but any points I should keep in mind? Plus I don't want the pseudostem burnt!

Zach

damaclese

the small chrismass lights are they the twinkal kind? if so the fire risk is low as this is what they were created for! there have been sevral pepole that have tryed this method befor some with success and some not. If the plants are in pots you have to make sure that the pot stays warm too. Good luck but personally I bring the pot inside why risk it.!

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Richard

The twinkle kind are LED's and won't provide heat. You need the C7 lights if you want warmth. Further, the best they can do is raise temperatures in the low 30's to the upper 30's (F). They will not provide protection against a freeze. Do not put them closer than six inches to the plant stalk or leafs -- a hour of close exposure will cause damage to the plant. You'll also need to put some cheap plastic sheeting material around the lights and plant to hold the warmer air in. Check out the plastic sheeting sold for drop cloth at a paint store or department.

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Dean W.

Zach,

I've heard of people using Christmas lights on palms.

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Zacarias

Thanks for your replies guys!

Richard, what kind of plastic drop cloth are you talking about? Also, I have no idea how to keep the lights semselves at least six inches from the pseudostem...

chong

McClendons, Home Depot, and Lowe's all carry visqueen (clear plastic) drop cloths. I do not recommend using the drop cloth used for lining your floors for painting. It's only 4 mils thick. Get the 6 mil thick visqueen.

To keep the keep the lights 6" away from the p-stem, place 3 poles 6" away from the p-stem that are staked at equal intervals around the plant. Then wrap the lights around the poles in a spiral pattern. Put another 3 poles around the first 3, and wrap the clear plastic film around them to enclose the set-up. Cover the top with clear plastic, but punch a couple 1" diameter holes a few inches from the top to allow the inside to "breathe".

You also need to keep the rain from penetrating the ground around the plant at 3ft to 4 ft diameter in our area(Seattle) to keep the roots from becoming waterlogged. If they do, they will rot.

john_ny

I have seen many reports of the Christmas lights being used, but they all were with the mini lights, not C-7s or C-9s. The little mini lights, that have been around for many years now, get plenty hot. It's only the newer (introduced in the last several years) LEDs that don't get hot. (They're the same as the little indicator lights on a computer.)

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John