Inside of greenhouse

The Complete Guide to Choosing the Right Plants for Your Greenhouse

Not all of us gardening lovers have a green thumb. Choosing the right plants for your greenhouse can help you prevent waste and save time replanting, allow you to enjoy your favorite vegetables, fruits, and flowers, all year-round, and utilize the space from your greenhouse. Let us help you find what vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers, and plants are the best to grow in greenhouses, so you can practice harvesting and enjoy your hard work for every season.

Inside of greenhouse

Save on Waste and Time When Planting

Everyone has a few bad harvests… when some of our plants don’t produce the amount we were hoping for, or don’t produce anything at all… and the only way to describe this is, frustrating. This guide will explain which plants are best in cool or warm environments, so you know where plants should be placed within your greenhouse.

Sunlight enters through the Greenhouses transparent walls or roof, warming the inside and beaming on those plants that are placed in direct sunlight, such as when they are placed in potting benches. Greenhouses give your plants an escape from the harsh outside temperatures as they trap heat inside, warming the interior. They typically have various types of fans, vents, or heaters to control the interior environment, keeping the humidity, ventilation and temperature the best for growth. Click Here for to See What We Offer with Our Greenhouses.

Greenhouse Ceiling

A greenhouses controls temperature, humidity, light, and air circulation, all of which we can’t control in the outside environment. A number of plants need warmer temperatures, while others can sustain themselves in cooler temperatures if they are in controlled setting and have enough shade to thrive. Within a Greenhouse, plants are away from the harsh outside environment, such as frost, wind or heavy rain, which can damage plant health and diminish your production. Stoltzfus Structures provides an overview of how useful Greenhouses are, and which could be the best for you to help you when looking to extend your growing season with a Greenhouse.

Enjoy Year-Round Harvests with the Best Plants

Every plant needs different amounts of sunlight, water, and attention. Determining which plants those are and how they will hold up in a Greenhouse is the tricky part. We are here to help you determine which plants should be placed in the shaded or sunny areas of your greenhouses and those who don’t need as much attention as others.

Plants That Thrive in Controlled, Warm Environments

 These plants should be placed in direct sunlight, creating warmth from the transparent windows of the Greenhouse. These plants would fit perfectly on a potting bench, a standard feature and upgrade to our Greenhouses, since they would be in the open area, soaking up all the sun rays that transfer between the polycarbonate panels. Some of these plants are known to have “better season,” but with a Greenhouse, you can enjoy fruits and vegetables that are typically only best in one season, all year long.

  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • Bell peppers
  • Chilies
  • Basil
  • Thyme
  • Oregano
  • Citrus trees
  • Grapes
  • Orchids
  • Papayas
  • Ferns
  • African violets
  • Strawberries

Garden Plants

Plants That Thrive in Controlled, Cooler Environments

These plants should be placed out of direct sunlight, as they need cooler areas to grow. They can be placed underneath the potting benches, so they are out of the warmth of sunlight streaming through the windows. The Greenhouse will continue to be a warmer environment than outside, which all these plants need to thrive, but these specifically need slightly cooler surrounds to grow and produce as we wish.

  • Geraniums
  • Lettuce
  • Leafy greens
  • Mint
  • Begonias
  • Primrose
  • Radishes
  • Carrots
  • Beets

Garden Plants

Plants That Need Little-to-No Attention

When growing Aloe Vera and any kind of Cactus, they will continue to thrive in a greenhouse, although a different set of care is needed to keep these plants alive. These plants need minimal watering, but lots of sunlight. Keeping these plants separate from the rest of your fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers will help them not become overwatered and diminish the overall production. They are not difficult to keep alive, since they need so little care, just remember to check in on them every so often to make sure they are getting the right amount of sunlight and limited water. In my opinion, these plants are a staple to have in your greenhouse. It is a different plant than most would consider for a greenhouse, but Aloe Vera especially have so many great uses, that who wouldn’t want this plant on standby to cool some sunburn!

No Need for a Green Thumb, Just the Right Plants and Space

Stoltzfus Structures offers six different Greenhouse styles, all having their own unique features. Our ventilation system allows your plants to stay comfortable, while the polycarbonate panels give superior insulating capabilities, which make up the roof and/or sides of our structures.

Stoltzfus Structures Greenhouses come prebuilt, saving you the hassle of waiting for us to build your structure on site and giving you direct access to start planting right when we pull away from your house. We also offer several upgrades you can choose from to build your own special greenhouse. These upgrades include misting systems, potting benches, a thermostatically controlled fan, ranging from 40 degrees to 110 degrees, allowing you to choose the temperature of your greenhouse depending on what you choose to plant, and more. Stoltzfus Structures customers who utilized our Greenhouse watering system have added their own touches and customized it to fit their specific needs.


Whether you are looking for a large greenhouse to grow tons of plants to sell, or a small greenhouse for your own hobby and enjoyment, we have loads of styles, features, and upgrades to customize what works best for you and your plants. If you are looking for a more stylistic approach to place on your property, Stoltzfus Structures’ Cottage Greenhouse, Octagon Greenhouse, Garden Greenhouse, and Lean-To Greenhouse are the perfect blend of functionality and beauty. With more upgrade options and spacious areas to grow, we offer a Double Wide Greenhouse and an A-Frame Greenhouse to extend your growing season.

Connect with us to see which Greenhouse will fit you best!

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About The Author
Jada Morris

Recently graduated from college, I take advantage of having more free time and spend those moments catching up on my love of reading, brainstorming ideas for design projects, and spending time with my family, friends, and furry companions. I have two Golden Retrievers that are complete opposites, one who has enough energy to run three marathons a day if he could, and the other who would be happy to stay in bed all day! I might relate a bit more to the later but am always up for an adventure.