A decision has been made to buy a greenhouse. Now what is the next step? The first consideration should be the location that you have for the greenhouse. Are you in a home you intend to stay in for quite some time? If so, you would probably be more interested in polycarbonate greenhouses that will typically stay in the original location they are placed. They are usually fastened to the ground through use of ground anchors or a more permanent foundation. These are also used more typically year round by the owners. They will usually have electricity and water, possibly natural gas or propane run to them. The electricity is used for your lights and ventilation system. The water is of course for ease of watering your plants. The propane or natural gas may be used to run the heaters.

If you are in a temporary location, want to overwinter a few plants, or maybe even start a few flower or vegetable seeds for the garden or yard, portable greenhouses would suit you better. Typically, no water, electricity, gas or propane are run to these. But, do not be fooled by this. You still must supply some sort of heat for these units also. They will store very little of the days solar heat gain and will lose heat rapidly. If you do not supply a supplemental heat source, you will probably loose all of your plants. These are typically tied down to the ground in a less permanent manner, such as ground stakes. Some, such as a pop up greenhouse do not even require tools to assemble, and will fold down into their own storage carrier for the summer. Some of the portable greenhouses will be pvc greenhouses. These are also easy to take down and store. One consideration on a hobby greenhouse such as this is that it will not last as long as a more permanent structure. One can expect to get 3 or 4 years maximum usage out of these units. Another portable type would be a poly greenhouse. These will sometimes have a rounded steel frame which will disassemble easily. Most of the polyfilm used in these hobby greenhouse kits will be a 4 year, six mil film. That means that the film is 6 mil thick and has a UV protection which should enable the film to last for 4 years. This is of course if nothing causes the film to rip. There are other types of film available such as films with rip stop. Just be sure to read the description from the manufacturer when considering a purchase to see what is really included with the structure.

All in all both permanent greenhouse kits and portable units have their place. You must just be clear on the intended purpose of the greenhouse before you make your final decision.