Apollo 4 Tier Mini Greenhouse Plus 2 Covers

There are a number of these mini greenhouses although I think it fairer to describe as a covered shelving system for plants. This one seemed to be good value for money yet provide a good amount of shelf space.

The unit assembles very quickly - about 5-10 mins from opening the box and needs no tools. Instructions are useless but you would have to be a real DIY numpty to not manage to build it. The construction is a set of metal poles that connect into plastic ends. The plastic is very flimsy and should be heavier duty. The problem is that the assembled item then flexes too much. The shelves are wire and so very lightweight as well. So the whole thing weighs next to nothing.

Only problem constructing is that there is a thin metal bar that it is not clear where you are supposed to put it. In fact it braces the two top arched supports that hold the cover.

The arching means you get a lot of height on the top shelf. For others the gap is about a foot. You can't control the shelf spacing.

It does take a lot of stuff. I was getting moaned at for leaving plant pots on seats, tables etc and so this meant that everything was neatly tucked out the way. Result. Then I was asked to move it to a more convenient location. That's when the trouble started. I knew I should have taken everything off and literally dismantled it and then reassembled and reloaded but I thought "I can speed things up by moving it assembled". Big mistake as the cover does not stop things from sliding off the shelves and onto the floor. So something is bound to fall off and break (and it did) and then when moved it felt even less stable and was leaning towards me a bit more and not exactly vertical when viewed left to right. At that point I should have started over again but I left it as I thought it would be ok and not topple over. Wrong. It turned windy and the next morning the thing had toppled forward and was lying on its side. Several of the plastic ends are now cracked or where the tubes insert into the plastic now a bit distorted although I was able to reassemble the unit again and use it and it didn't feel any less flimsy. This time I anchored it to the wall it is leaning against in two places. This meant cutting a small slot in the rear plastic cover. Downside is that if I remove or change covers I have to unwire the thing from its wall supports. Today it has been v windy and it survived.

There is the same product elsewhere on Amazon (look up Blackspur Mini Greenhouse) to find more reviews. Some reviewers have said that you can't use the full depth of the lower shelves as the light gets blocked out but I think it will be OK for this. Also they do also warn of the wind problem. I can't see it surviving another fall or even being disassembled and reassembled. But it seems pretty rustrproof and the two covers bit is nice. And for the money it seemed to be good value. But I would pay more if I could get something more substantial. Can't comment yet as to how easy it is to water stuff in situ.

This is the second of these greenhouses that I own,

The greenhouse does it job and is as described. Its a great price considering you get two covers.

However the quality of the plastic cover is not the same as my existing greenhouse and I do not think it will last more than a season, you will also have to be careful when zipping it up to avoid damaging it.

The item arrived damaged however the seller fixed this immediately and was fantastic to deal with.

Overall great service and an ok product, it does what it says however it is not the most durable.

Dan

Very disappointed with this product. It arrived with some damage to the metal supports which then made it difficult to put together. I have purchased cheaper Mini Greenhouses of similar type and they are far superior in quality.

The plastic is very flimsy and often the metal supports do not fit in properly. The cover is so tight I am sure the zip will break.

Overall not a good buy and certainly not value for money.

Today 9 May 2012 the whole 4 tiers collapsed and squashed a lot of my plants. these plants were to make hanging baskets and tubs for elderly and housebound people. Grasslands are not interested in my complaint, they have been paid and do not want to know. They admit this product is not very strong, but surely it should be able to hold polystyrene packs of plants, total 10 packs. They hardley weight anything.