best portable greenhouse
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When you live in colder climates, where you may not want to grow plants in the winter months, a portable greenhouse option may be a great choice.

This is when a top portable greenhouse if a great option.  You can pop it up quickly in the spring and summer.  When it gets cold in late fall, simply pack it up for next year.

The best portable greenhouses can grow your vegetables, fruits, and flowers easily, and they should not only be user-friendly and functional, but they should also have the capacity to enrich the lives of your plants.

Hence, to help you find the one that might just have a permanent spot in your home, we are going to review four portable greenhouses.

Best Portable Greenhouses: Our Four Picks

1. Quictent Pop-up Greenhouse

Starting off the list is a portable greenhouse manufactured by a company that has been in the business for years. Is this pop-up greenhouse at par with the company’s reputation? Let’s find out!

Features

As the most aesthetically pleasing portable greenhouse on our list, the Quictent Pop-up Greenhouse has a modern design paired with clean lines. It is available in three colors which are black, dark green, and light green.

This 98 x 49 x 53 inches and 12.5 pounds portable greenhouse is constructed using materials recognized by the SGS, which is backed up by a documented test report. Its collapsible side and corner covers are made of 600D Oxford materials paired with a clear 18 mil. PVC. The said cover is held together by steel wire rods and foldable fiberglass poles.

There are also cloth buckles that were uniquely designed for you to tie extra ropes in order to stake the tent properly during bad weather. Also, it has four doors, and they roll from the upper part, allowing easy access. There are also two screen windows that are zippered so that you can control how much sunlight enters the greenhouse.

Setting up the Quictent Pop-up Greenhouse is not much of a task since the cover pops up and only requires you to stretch it out. After which, you can use the two fiberglass poles on the top to secure it. Generally, it will just take five minutes to set it up without the use of any tools.
 

ProsCons
Pro Green check Can hold a lot of plants
Pro Green check Set up is a breeze
Pro Green check Well-ventilated
Pro Green check UV-protected cover
Pro Green check Tool-less assembly and disassembly
Pro Green check Can withstand the cold weather
Con Yellow check Only one zippered window
Con Yellow check No screen to keep bugs away
Con Yellow check Zippers can easily tear off
Con Yellow check Might bake plants
 

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2. Flower House Pop-up PlantHouse 3

The Flower House Pop-up PlantHouse Series comes in five styles ranging from PlantHouse 2 to PlantHouse 5 wherein the higher the number, the bigger the greenhouse. From PlantHouse 2 to 4, they all have a regular plastic color with green lines. As for PlantHouse 5, the plastic is transparent, and the lines are black.

That said, today, we will focus on PlantHouse 3. What does this specific model offer?

Features

This portable greenhouse resembles that of a disease containment tent, so it is not the best looking portable greenhouse on our list. It has a size dimension of 1 x 1 x 1 inches and weighs around 8.2 pounds.

This product comes with five fiberglass poles, wherein four of them are equal in length while the last one has a shorter length, which is intended for the roof. It also comes with stakes as well as a plastic cloth that serves as a shade.

The product also has spring steel bands which can make tying down ropes easier. Also, it only has one, large, screened door that rolls from right to left. Lastly, the bottom is open for you to be able just to place it over existing potted plants or if you want your plants to be planted directly in the soil.

The Flower House Pop-up PlantHouse 3 was made to be lightweight and portable, so set-up should be easy. However, since the main sheeting system does not hold its default construction well, setting it up might take some time since you need to figure out its proper shape.
 

ProsCons
Pro Green check Prevents bugs from entering
Pro Green check Can withstand tough weather
Pro Green check Well-ventilated
Pro Green check Made of durable materials
Pro Green check Suited for potted and soil-planted plants
Con Yellow check Can be hard to set-up
Con Yellow check The zipper does not move smoothly
 
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3. Quictent Mini Cloche Greenhouse

We have yet another product from Quictent. This one is simpler than the previous one we reviewed and is mostly made of poles and stakes with a plastic sheeting system.

Features

Ideally designed for backyards and gardens, this 36 x 9.2 x 3.5 inches and seven pounds product has a cover or sheet that is made of transparent, UV-protected, and waterproof PVC materials. As for the poles that serve as its frame, they are made of steel that was coated with heavy duty powder.

This product also comes with a lot of tubes and other accessories that are needed to connect the tubes together. It only has one zippered door and the tips have four flaps that will open from bottom to top.

When you set this up, you should assemble the tube framework first and then slide in the plastic sheet. One should have a good knowledge in connecting tubes as there are a lot of tubes to connect.
 

ProsCons
Pro Green check Can accommodate a lot of plants
Pro Green check Durable and sturdy
Pro Green check Plants can be watered easily
Pro Green check Can withstand rain and sunlight
Pro Green check Easy to access
Con Yellow check Can easily tear
Con Yellow check Does not have a screen
Con Yellow check Might bake plants
Con Yellow check Hard to set-up
 
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4. Flower House SpringHouse

As another product from Flower House, the SpringHouse has an open-floor design that allows its users to set it up over trees and bushes.

Features

Coming in at a size of 72 x 72 x 78 inches and approximate weight of 30 pounds, the Flower House SpringHouse comes with shelves that are made of powder-coated steel materials. These shelves that can be assembled and dismantled quickly and easily have cross members that are reinforced with glass nylon.

The cover or canopy is made of a Gro-Tec material that is known to resist both UV rays and water, making it suitable for spring, summer, and fall seasons. It has two screened doors that can be used as vents as well as an access point. What is more convenient is that there is a port designed for your garden hose.
 

ProsCons
Pro Green check Durable and stable shelves
Pro Green check Tool-less assembly and disassembly
Pro Green check Well-ventilated
Pro Green check Waterproof and UV-resistant
Con Yellow check Some problems with the center pole’s height
Con Yellow check Time-consuming assembly of shelves
Con Yellow check Might require a ceramic heater
 
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Which Is the Best One?

Overall, from our list of the best portable greenhouses, the Flower House Pop-up Plant House is a standout. Although it is not as pleasing as the others, it can protect your plants from bugs or harsh weather and can enrich the lives of your plants by having features that can provide the right humidity and temperature levels.

What to look for when purchasing a portable greenhouse

To select the right portable greenhouse, you should consider your specific needs. If you want a unit to grow your seedlings or cuttings and you have little space, opt for the mini option. To produce early crops and grow winter plants, choose a tunnel with plastic sheeting and steel tubes and adapt its size to the available space.

These are made of glass or polycarbonate and aluminum is ideal for planting, cuttings, early cultivation and overwintering plants.

Some of the key factors include:

  • Material of the structure
  • Panel type
  • Orientation
  • Dimensions
  • Applicable by-laws

The materials of the structure are partly a function of the type of greenhouse: if it is wood, opt for red cedar or autoclave pine. PVC is found on smaller versions. The walls are partly relative to the model and available in polyethylene, perishable (three years for medium quality), opt for double, anti UV, and 200 gr/m² mini. Polycarbonate, durable (about 10 years), choose 4 mm if not insulating. Glass is durable and the best for insulation.

In your selection criteria, remember that openings are essential for ventilation. The dimensions are based on the needs of culture and the size of the door determines the passage of the tallest plants and equipment (like a wheelbarrow). These have a base that must be anchored in the ground or even sealed. Heating is more efficient in a well-insulated unit and ones of more than two square meters are the subject to approval at the town hall.

The portable greenhouse

The mini is ideal for cuttings and sowing as well as to protect your small plants from frost. There are the two varieties of mini greenhouses. Use the balcony to accommodate your seedlings and bed frame to fortify your seedlings before transplanting. Its miniature shape requires little space.

These are characterized by the capacity to maintain an ideal temperature, especially in winter. They are classified in three categories. The ability to preserve heat depends on insulation and therefore the material that used to build it.

The cold option has an indoor temperature of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius (50 to 60 F). Without heating, the temperature can drop to less than 0 degrees Celsius (32 F). Vegetables and rustic plants like it and you can enjoy, on average, four weeks in advance compared to a classical culture. In particular, it contributes to the protection of plants from harsh climatic conditions.

The temperate product has a temperature of around 10 to 18 degrees Celsius (50 to 65 F) and does not drop below 5 degrees Celsius (40 F) thanks to its heating system. You can shelter all types of plants during the winter, especially sensitive and exotic plants.

It is also called tropical greenhouse for its temperature that does not drop below 18 degrees Celsius (65 F) – equipped with a heating and insulated. Tropical plants grow there successfully.

The benefits of the garden greenhouse

In contrast to traditional culture mode units, a garden variety allows planting, cultivating plants, lengthening the growing season and wintering fragile plants away from the vagaries of the weather – wind, frost, hail. The transparent walls offer plants and vegetables the best growing conditions to ensure a good harvest throughout the year. The use of a garden unit is combined with the preparation of the soil.

A unit may be used for above-ground crops, such as potted crops in planters or buckets. Its characteristics are to be determined according to its use.

The different types of garden greenhouses

To ensure optimal function, a unit must satisfy several parameters: the quality of its structure and its panels should guarantee the durability. Its dimensions must meet the needs of culture. When it comes to its location and orientation, you must avoid placing it under tall trees. As far as the orientation is concerned, the entrance must be positioned North or South and the largest side West or East to benefit first and for as long as possible from the sun’s rays.

To make a good choice, the garden greenhouse must be suitable for the type of culture planned. The traditional option has the shape of a miniature house that can accommodate all types of plantations (climbers, potted plants). In addition, it effectively passes light for your plants to grow in good conditions. You can find the traditional glass or polycarbonate, transparent and resistant plastic material that resembles glass.

This material has the advantage of being weather-resistant and offers thermal insulation. The traditional is a fixed structure that cannot be moved. The choice of its location is therefore essential.

The tunnel is built in the form of a tunnel and it comes with a frame made of galvanized steel and plastic film (usually a polyethylene tarpaulin). It is easy to assemble and move, this is the model generally used for early growing and vegetables. The tunnel is also used for winter plants.

Unlike a traditional version, the tunnel is a removable structure. Unlike other variants, sunshine does not reach its maximum, the hedged retains heat better than other versions. This model allows you to grow both winter plants and cultivate tropical plants, even on the balcony of your apartment.

Other Material options

best portable greenhouse

If you want to bet on the long term, do not neglect the structure.  Several materials go into the construction: wood, steel, aluminum and PVC.

Wooden greenhouse

The effects of moisture and heat degrade the nobility and the aesthetics of the wooden structure strike the eye. For the design of a good wooden option (far from the constraints of humidity), favor the Scots pine, FSC autoclave and red cedar. The quality of the thermal insulation of wood provides advantages over other materials.

Steel greenhouse

Steel is generally used on tunnel and chassis provided with a plastic cover. The steel is galvanized to resist corrosion (protected with a layer of zinc) and the tubes are of different thicknesses. Do not choose overly thin material (minimum thickness of three millimeters is recommended).

These factors cover what to look for when purchasing a portable greenhouse.

About Admin

Thomas is an avid gardener and started gardening with his Grandfather when he was just knee high. He has over 35 years experience in landscaping and greenhouse growing and is CAEP certified.

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