Wintering Cacti in Coldhouse

[Teotzlcoatl]

I've got a glass frame room basically on the side of my house, we normally don't keep it heated at all during the winter.

I was thinking about getting some heating pads (but of what kind?) to put under the pots of cacti such as Lophophora and Trichocereus. I was also going to run a small heater (when the heat dips below 40F;4.5C) and a dehumidifier which also puts out warm air. There would be two small lights above the cacti. I would give them no water what so ever (or should I give them a little?)

Please help me, I know the Vets here that have done this know much more than me!

I mainly have Lophophora and Trichocereus cacti, will they survive this well? In the past years I've always had my cacti under lights and gave them water, and I know that's not right... I've never had Lophophora before this year, tho, so I have no experience with the genus, another new one for me is Turbinicarpus. (I had a Turbinicarpus SPLIT this summer, due to over-watering I guess, it was hot as shit, so I don't know...)

One of my main questions is at what temperature do Lophophora and Trichocereus start getting damage? I know I can look this up, and I have, but I'm not trusting my cacti to just that! I want somebody that KNOWS somebody that has done this before!

Thanks everybody.

~Teotzlcoatl~

P.S.- Like I said, a heater will be turned on when it get's below 40F which is about 4.5C.

Edited September 14, 2008 by Teotz'

[bit]

I've got a glass frame room basically on the side of my house, we normally don't keep it heated at all during the winter.

I was thinking about getting some heating pads (but of what kind?) to put under the pots of cacti such as Lophophora and Trichocereus. I was also going to run a small heater (when the heat dips below 40F;4.5C) and a dehumidifier which also puts out warm air. There would be two small lights above the cacti. I would give them no water what so ever (or should I give them a little?)

Please help me, I know the Vets here that have done this know much more than me!

I mainly have Lophophora and Trichocereus cacti, will they survive this well? In the past years I've always had my cacti under lights and gave them water, and I know that's not right... I've never had Lophophora before this year, tho, so I have no experience with the genus, another new one for me is Turbinicarpus. (I had a Turbinicarpus SPLIT this summer, due to over-watering I guess, it was hot as shit, so I don't know...)

One of my main questions is at what temperature do Lophophora and Trichocereus start getting damage? I know I can look this up, and I have, but I'm not trusting my cacti to just that! I want somebody that KNOWS somebody that has done this before!

Thanks everybody.

Don't know about Lophs, but the Trichs will be sweet as long as it's not freezing ( zero celcius) for extended periods.

[DayLight]

thats what i heard too but 2 of my pachs suffered frost damage on the first frost of the year last year...it could not have been more than 30 degrees F(yes thats right you aussies will have to convert, lol). the next day i threw them in my room in front of the closet. no lights or sunlight for that matter. worked great. growth stopped and when i put it out next spring it shot the fuck up.

im interested to hear peoples experiences wintering lophs though. it shall be my first winter with them as well.

[mutant]

It will be my first winter with any cacti as well, and I already have enough of them, including babies of various ages.... So this matter is also of interest to me... is it possible to force them to keep growing during the winter? What about grafted lopho? what about 3~5 months old seedlings? {lopho}

[Teotzlcoatl]

They will look all weird unless your provide excellent conditions with the light and heat, Trichocereus will often thin to the size of a pen under unfavorable conditions.

It would probably be good idea to keep the seedlings growing tho... Does anybody have any tips about this? Cause I'm not really sure.

Daylight your saying just basically put them on the floor? In your house, with no light and no water? I guess I could do that too, but which would be best? I think cacti actually need a cold dormacy period, at least some.

[Garbage]

Trichocereus i have kept in an unheated greenhouse,allow the compost to dry out during october and put up bubble insulation.

The Lophophora can take about zero if allowed to dry out from about now.

The heated greenhouse has it's electric heater fan connected all year round,it's set at minimum so it comes on only if i open the greenhouse door during an especially cold snap in the winter.

Keeping them dry is the main thing,also bubble insulation may help,i leave it on all year too.

[Evil Genius]

I lost a few thousand plants i kept in an unheated greenhouse cause the heater was broken! I was so pissed that i wanted to quit growing cacti! I wouldnt take the risk as its better to take them inside and to overwinter them in the cellar! Especially because its bright in a glasshouse! Dark+Cold is less problematic than bright+cold! bye Eg

Edited September 14, 2008 by Evil Genius

[planthelper]

lophs don't take much space compared to pedros, so it's always easy to find a right methode for them.

you could provide artificial light and warmth for them and let them grow over winter, but i would not use the type wintergarden area as you described, as it's to dangerous as eg's story tells us.

rather take them into the house, on a nice spot, and keep them dry.

however the super trick (i first heard of it from ms smith) is to overwinter the pedros in total darknes with low temps but well over freezing. most unheated cellars should provide those conditions, i guess a minimum temp of +5 deg C would be fine, but not much higher than +10 to 12 deg C.

like this there will be no midget growth problems (the cacty suddenly will grow very thin in circumfrence) and once spring has arrived and you move them outdoors, they will jump to life and start growing without getting any thinning, or thats at least what i was told.

in a nutshell, it seems better to stop them growing than to try to keep them growing over winter, in cold climates.

maybe lophs could be overwintered without any light aswell, but i have no reference for this, however from a logical point of view, lophs should be aswell suited to this treatment, because in nature, at times get buried, and as such would not recieve any light at all. on a further notice, lophs can be grown quite well, recieving very little direct sunlight at all.

[Teotzlcoatl]

I really want to keep the Lophophora and the Trichocereus in the Cold-house, they will be ok if the temperature stays above 40F/5C correct? Or could some kind of cold breeze kill them?

[planthelper]

I really want to keep the Lophophora and the Trichocereus in the Cold-house, they will be ok if the temperature stays above 40F/5C correct? Or could some kind of cold breeze kill them?

in my opinon there are to many risks, and variables in your winter garden.

1, in a severe cold spell, your heating might not be enough to keep the temps above freezing.

2,your heating system fails, by defect, blackout, lack of maintanance.

anyway, your methode might not stopp your cacti from growing totaly 9as it could get warm in there on hot sunny winter days), so there is a chance you might end up with stunned growth marks on your cacti. eg is spot on, cold & dark is better than cold & bright.

[mutant]

As far as I am concerned, we don't have very cold weather in winter...

I wonder if I should really do something special for trichocerei species except from putting them in a more protected [from breezes] spot, rather than the somewhat exposed spot they are now .....

Edited September 15, 2008 by mutant

[spunwhirllin]

I put all my cacti into dormancy at this time of the year.It takes a good month for the soil to become bone dry and for them to stop growing.I keep them in an un-heated greenhouse from early fall to late spring ,which is a good 6 to 7 months.I have mostly Trichs and lophs in there at all stages,seedlings to mature plants.Temps sometimes dip into the teens for days at a time,and I rarely have losses.They are in full winter sun,which seems to keep them warm enough at night due to radiant heat thats absorbed throughout the day,and released at night by the black pots.Water condensation seems to be the only problem,I guess this just comes from the breathing of the plants.A simple fan circulating the air for a day a month seems to solve the problem.

If you keep the soil dry,and the plants out of the frost they will survive just about any tempeture,within reason anyway.

Once put into dormancy the plants will not grow.All the cacti stop growing completely until the sun is high in the sky and the days become longer.

Edited September 15, 2008 by spunwhirllin

[planthelper]

As far as I am concerned, we don't have very cold weather in winter...

I wonder if I should really do something special for trichocerei species except from putting them in a more protected [from breezes] spot, rather than the somewhat exposed spot they are now .....

in my place in oz, the pedros keep growing well over the winter, and i think the same would happen at your location mutant.

even the peyote are happy over winter there, as long as they are situated in a well protected spot. sometimes i have morning frosts at my place and my cacti never showed any signs of damage...

mutant, you want them aswell be protected over winter from too much rain, so if you find a spot sheltered from some extending roof, and the breezes than you will be fine! although, pedros originate from areas with quite high rainfall, and some people (thinking well it's a cacti from the dessert) don't water them enough.

i would water pedros frequently over the winter, if your location allowes them to continue to grow, but as allways, avoid soggy, low drainage conditions.

peyote, absorbes at nighttime, moisture via it's skin, so basicly a wintergarden could be a good place for them...

[Teotzlcoatl]

Temps sometimes dip into the teens for days at a time,and I rarely have losses.

Teens in Fahrenheit or Celsius???

although, pedros originate from areas with quite high rainfall, and some people (thinking well it's a cacti from the dessert) don't water them enough.

In the book "A Cactus Oddessy" (which is great!) they go to South America and actually come across Trichocereus peruvianus in light snowfall and Oerocereus which lived in snowbanks for part of the year.

[spunwhirllin]

Thats fahrenhiet.

If you want to place your cacti into hibernation and make sure they survive sub-freezing temps then one would be wise to keep the soil absolutely dry.They can handle it.

[mutant]

n my place in oz, the pedros keep growing well over the winter, and i think the same would happen at your location mutant.

even the peyote are happy over winter there, as long as they are situated in a well protected spot. sometimes i have morning frosts at my place and my cacti never showed any signs of damage...

mutant, you want them aswell be protected over winter from too much rain, so if you find a spot sheltered from some extending roof, and the breezes than you will be fine! although, pedros originate from areas with quite high rainfall, and some people (thinking well it's a cacti from the dessert) don't water them enough.

i would water pedros frequently over the winter, if your location allowes them to continue to grow, but as allways, avoid soggy, low drainage conditions.

peyote, absorbes at nighttime, moisture via it's skin, so basicly a wintergarden could be a good place for them...

thanks a lot man, sounds like fine advice as always

still, would lower light [due to sheltered location] cause thinner growth, assuming growth does occur?

what about grafted material? it falls to the host? lopho on myrti is what I have in mind... or even small lopho on pere....

[planthelper]

still, would lower light [due to sheltered location] cause thinner growth, assuming growth does occur?

what about grafted material? it falls to the host? lopho on myrti is what I have in mind... or even small lopho on pere....

you might end up with thinner growth regardless, afterall pedros, naturaly grow quite close to the equator (my place is located at the tropic of capricorn line) and yours is not, the difference between winter daylight hours and summer daylight hours will be enough to cause those symptoms.

lophs, hardly fall off there stock, no problems there, to me it seems grafted lophs, like on peres are much hardier, than on there own roots. the best is to inspect them often.

moving cacti can be dangerous for the cacti, because of sudden sun burn.

if you move a cacti, place a little stick or paddle pop, in the pot to mark the location of the midday sun, than when you place the cacti in your new location make sure, the stick points again to the midday sun (south in the northern hemisphere, and north in the southern hemisphere).

otherwise if you, might place the side of the cacti which never recieved any direct sunlight, suddenly towards the strongest sun, the cacti very well might get sunburned (the effected area turns whitish in color, the skin blister's off).

[mutant]

if you move a cacti, place a little stick or paddle pop, in the pot to mark the location of the midday sun, than when you place the cacti in your new location make sure, the stick points again to the midday sun (south in the northern hemisphere, and north in the southern hemisphere).

otherwise if you, might place the side of the cacti which never recieved any direct sunlight, suddenly towards the strongest sun, the cacti very well might get sunburned (the effected area turns whitish in color, the skin blister's off).

Uhmmmm, I have been rotating my tricho's, isn't this right? I didn't get sun burn, because the location they are [roof] in they have sun all day

lophs, hardly fall off there stock

it falls to the host?

heh, I meant then it depends on the stock's preferances rather than the scion's... ? becasue I got lopho on myrti and soon lopho on pere too ... myrtilo is a bit cold sensitive, but I should be OK , huh?

Edited September 18, 2008 by mutant

[zelly]

0k

Edited November 18, 2008 by zelly

[Teotzlcoatl]

I wasn't gonna water them a drop from Oct.-March (6months)! Is that a bad idea? I CAAAAAAAAAAAN'T have cacti die! It's makes me very unhappy!!!

[spunwhirllin]

Cactus are designed to go long periods without water.

I've been placing my cacti into six to eight months of dormancy annually for seven seasons now.They will be fine.I do this for multiple reasons,but primarily I do it to maintain health and aesthetics.Secondly, I do it because I can't leave them exposed to the winter elements.

[Teotzlcoatl]

I'm scared.

I was thinking maybe a period in the coldhouse with light and then in the really harsh winter months I'd move the cacti indoors under a single small light (simply to tell the cacti when it's day and night) at about 60-70F/15-21C in my basement...

What'd y'all think?

[spunwhirllin]

Etiolation

[Teotzlcoatl]

What is the exact defination of "Etiolation"?

[spunwhirllin]

Courtesy of wiki,just look it up .

Etiolation occurs when plants are grown in either partial or complete absence of light, and is characterized by long, weak stems; smaller, sparser leaves due to longer internodes; and a pale yellow color (chlorosis). This is a mechanism to increase the likeliness that a plant will reach a light source, often from under leaf litter or underneath shade from competing plants. The growing tips are strongly attracted to light and will elongate towards it.