Hello

[senzanome]

Hello everyone, new member here. Howdy.

I have a small but growing collection of cacti and came here looking for answers and information.

Last winter as an experiment I kept most of my cacti outside under a Perspex-covered frame. Most survived but sadly I had a few casualties on the way including Myrtillocactus geometrizans - Blue Candle Cactus (I think anyway - it was a £2 cactus from Homebase). This was a real shame as it had developed two arms and although only 5 inches tall was developing a pleasing form. Interestingly for me two of these died; one under the frame which possibly got wet at some point during the winter and another in a large polystyrene fish container with a glass roof which was completely dry. The few others that died were on the perimeter of the frame and I suspect they became cold as well as wet. You live and learn. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to put slightly bigger specimens in the middle of the frame or inside the house.

To overcome this outside overwintering business I recently bought a 6x6' greenhouse specifically for the cacti which I plan to erect before the autumn to house the 20 or so plants that I have. I live in southeast London with a south by south east facing garden. The garden gets plenty of light especially in the afternoon. I plan to put the greenhouse about halfway down the garden on the western side of the path and hope for the best!

Thanks for reading

James

[rodsmith]

Welcome to the forum, James, and good luck with the greenhouse. Sorry to hear about your cactus fatalites last winter. Generally speaking the more cylindrical cacti, as opposed to the round ones, need fairly high winter temperatures and will succumb in cold weather. I know this to my cost, having lost a couple last winter in my frost-free greenhouse.

[matchat]

Hi James,

Welcome to the forum! You aren't alone in growing your plants unheated. We have members of Sheffield branch who grow (or have grown) unheated and the Edgingtons grow their cacti unheated at their nursery in Norfolk. I think that one of the most important things to consider is ventilation. Unless it is really cold it is a good idea to ventilate your greenhouse even in winter to prevent stagnant moist air which can result in fungal infection and cause rot.

Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

[senzanome]

Thanks for the tips!

[senzanome]

One of my first cactus - a saguaro that hasn't done anything in four years!

Saguaro 2.jpg (134.01 KiB) Viewed 2078 times

[IainS]

Hi James: We don't heat our greenhouse. And I love your pot!