Fruit trees that can handle warm dry air during the winter?

[Tropicaltoba]

Hey everyone, my 4 season cold climate greenhouse uses a dessicant dehumidifier in the winter to both minimize condensation and also provide some heat for when it’s really cold (-40). The issue is the dry air it produces isn’t great f for some plants. My meyer lemon dropped almost all the leaves that were in the area where the dehumidifier blows.



Does anyone have suggestions for plants that could handle dry warm air in the winter?

[Aiptasia904]

Hey everyone, my 4 season cold climate greenhouse uses a dessicant dehumidifier in the winter to both minimize condensation and also provide some heat for when it’s really cold (-40). The issue is the dry air it produces isn’t great f for some plants. My meyer lemon dropped almost all the leaves that were in the area where the dehumidifier blows.



Does anyone have suggestions for plants that could handle dry warm air in the winter?

Dragonfruit, guomi berry, Prickly Pear, Apple cactus, etc.. I have done a little charcuterie and have used both a humidifier and a dehumidifier in the same refurbished refrigerator space, so maybe consider something like that for your greenhouse. If you can run power to the greenhouse, you can definitely install a small dehumidifier that you can set to a specific humidity level with or without a humidifier to dial in a specific humidity level. For example, mold is inhibited below 40% humidity level so maybe set it for 20-30% humidity, or set the dehumidifier for 30% and the humidifier for 20%. That way, if it drops too low you'll get some humidity and if it gets too high it'll drain it out. That's kinda the way you need to set it up for aging cheeses, salami and sausages and the like but I'm sure you could do something like this in a small greenhouse if you had power running to it.

[Tropicaltoba]

Aip, thanks for the plant suggestions. Humidification at night doesn’t work in the winter cause even though the greenhouse frame thermally broken, water condenses on the frame at 0c, and starts to ice up on the frame at -15c. At -40c outside even if the room humidified the moisture won’t stay in the air and just freezes to the frame. I use the dehumidifier for when the sun is setting to keep it under 65%, as at that time the rh can temporarily shoot  above 80% as the inside temp drop from 28c  before it crashes down to 40% by the morning when the air temp is 17c.

[Galatians522]

Its 40% humidity here in Florida right now. California regularly gets much lower than that. It does not phase our citrus. I am wondering if you could solve the problem by deflecting or difusing the air that is blowing out of the dehumidifier.

[Tropicaltoba]

Galant,
The desiccant dehumidifiers aren’t nearly as powerful as the compressor ones we are used to here.I was planning on deflecting it with a a plant and it just so happens I have a dragon fruit that may work well.

I guess I should also ask which plants people think are MOST SENSITIVE to warm dry air during the winter. Don’t La Niña weather patterns cause warm dry winter air in California?