Customer Reviews

DuneCraft Windowsill Greenhouses - Desert Hothouse

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've had the desert hothouse for about a week and a half. The directions were easy to understand, although the sand and gravel doesn't look much like it does in the example picture. I only "planted" about half of the seeds, expecting to have to add more if the majority didn't germinate. Much to my surprise, after a week and a half, I count at least ten little cacti and one or two succulents already springing to life! I'm very excited that they're doing so well, although I realize that it will probably take at least six months before they look like anything resembling what you see in a store or greenhouse. I have it in an east-facing windowsill, which the plants seem to like quite well.

The downside: this is a wet hothouse, plus the plastic has the imprint of windows and beams on it, making it completely impossible to view the cacti unless the plastic is removed. Since it's kind of hard to remove the plastic without jarring the plants inside, this project is less like a "view every day and see the results" project, it's more like a "view every couple of weeks so as not to bother the growing plants" project. Small children may get bored or frustrated, especially since they won't even be able to peer inside for a glance at the sprouts. Still, I'm very pleased with what's happened so far and I look forward to more growth!

About me: I'm an amateur gardener with no children. This was for me, not for any kids :)

When i got it i set it up right away. The instructions were easy, and so was planting it. I don't even have to water it that often. Only about two times a year. After about two weeks later it started to germinate. I recommend it.

Kids enjoy seeing the progress of the plants growing. Took a little while longer than we thought, but they are having fun watching their 'science project! I water more often than the directions say to, that might help speed up the growth! It's in a window that gets sun every morning, great spot!

I was extremely surprised that I had as much success growing plants in the greenhouse. I purchased several plants about the same time, some were already started in pots, some were just seeds. This green house had a higher success rate than all the rest. This in NOT for the impatient. My plants are all less than two inches and this is after several months. They are definitely cacti of some kind and I may have to get another one to see if I can do it better the second time around.

So I have tried growing cacti on my own with soil and a pot, etc... which never seemed to take. I bought this because it was cheap and looked fun - but I didn't expect anything to come of it. I figured it really isn't too much money to waste so I would give it a try. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I took a look and saw that some seeds actually sprouted - and this was in exactly one week - just like the package promised! Now that a couple more weeks went by I have about 12 baby plants. I am excited and intrigued to see what happens and how well they will grow!

Also note - I am not a kid. I am 30 years old, so this is fun for everyone and can see it being a great educational tool for kids.

I gave it four stars overall because I really wish the cover was completely clear and did not have the window/house design because it makes it hard to see what's going on in there without taking the cover off. Additionally, the cover is on there pretty tight - so you have to be very careful when removing it or else you will mess the whole thing up.

Have fun!

Gave this to my daughter for Christmas. The instructions were easy to follow and we planted the seeds in the soil. After 3 weeks we saw no indication that the cacti were sprouting, so we were pretty much resigned to owning a small rock garden. However after about 5 or 6 weeks, much to our surprise, we saw a bit of greenery sprouting. After another week or two, a number of visible cacti were growing with prickly spines. Now we have about 10 small cactus plants growing and would consider this a success. Apparently you have to be a little patient and not give up. Every couple of weeks or so we water the soil a little bit. The only downside is that the plastic cover is not very clear so you have to take it off in order to view the plants well. Other than that it is a great educational toy. Recommended.

All the seads that i planted grew. Im not sure if all the seads are the same yet. I will have to wait till summer to find out.

Delivery was quick. Directions easy to follow. I thought this would be a good long term project for my daughter. Very disappointing! The plastic material for the base and dome is cheap. The base bends easily even when filled with material. I would not let my younger child move the greenhouse because of the flexibility of the base. The dome top is very difficult to remove. We did get a few "buds" to grow after a long, long time - like nine months of waiting. After the buds appeared, the growing stopped. It was difficult to see the buds with the dome, so the dome had to be removed to see the buds. However, because the base was flexible and the dome difficult to remove, my 10 year old daughter could not do this herself. I don't believe it is worth the money. I will get another windowsill greenhouse but not this one.

Great mechant; fast delivery, but very disappointed in product. Nothing ever came up. Not a total loss though, use the dome to germinate seeds in peat pots.

This unit is small and made of somewhat flimsy plastic. Kids (8+10) had fun putting it together and watching the seeds sprout. Not a lot came up (but it is the middle of winter).