I love our greenhouse, but we're keen to have quite a number of cacti and other succulents outdoors - temporarily planted in the garden and displayed in pots on the patio (some on the ground and others raised up on tables) - when there's no chance of frost from May until September.
Who else does this?
Worried about possible scorch, we were given some good advice recently to put the plants outside as early as possible in the year. But what happens if you've missed the boat and it's now late June? Do you have to gradually acclimatise the plants to full direct sunlight?
Unfortunately croatian sun got too cruel past years so I'll have to replace some plants with some others because it seems they can't stand full sun any more. Some echinopsis hybrids are very common here (for decades) but mine kept turning yellowish when they are outside. So its pretty much climate thing that determines what you can and can not do...
I have a square trough on my patio (it is actually an old ceramic shower tray, and was used for alpines originally). I finally got round to clearing it last week, and have just planted it up with succulents - Aeoniums, Echeverias and a couple of Crassulas. I also bought some hardy Delospermas - the 'Jewel of Desert' range, to plant in each of the corners, and It'll be interesting to see how they all do over the summer.
Obviously, they will either have to be dug up or tops beheaded before the frosts, (apart from theDelospermas). I'm not worried about scorch, and they weren't acclimatised, they were getting full sun in the greenhouse. If I feel it's successful, I'll probably do it every year, but hopefully, getting them out a bit earlier.
Thanks for the encouraging feedback so far. (And lovely photo, AnTTun.)
Here in sunny Sussex, we've got lots of Echeveria species and cultivars outside, plus Aeonium 'Schwarzkopf', Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, Lampranthus, Senecio haworthii, and several Agave species - all in the ground. Plus Echinocactus grusonii.
In pots, as well as more Echeverias, Agaves, etc, a large bowl of Notocactus leninghausii seems to be doing fine, plus a Mammallaria senilis, a Lobivia arachnacantha clump, Crassulas, and a couple of Aloes. We've just put out a small Pachycereus pringlei. Plus an 18" ponytail palm (from Rene's auction).
(AnTTun: my sempervivums are likewise outdoors all year.)
I wonder if seasonal outdoor displays should be more common here in the UK. Are we too stuffed, limited to our greenhouses, conservatories, and windowsills?
In South Africa, we did have a few young plants burn badly, but these had been under a concrete roof sales area before being purchased, then immediately put outdoors by us into mid-summer full sunshine. It was a lesson we learnt. Subsequently a few branches from bushes provided some shade until late summer, with no further problems. But the UK summer is nothing in comparison.
Lots of my plants are outside for the summer. Scorch is only likely to happen if you go from shade to bright light all in one go. Plants outside generally have moving air and lower temperatures than those in a glasshouse, albeit more UV and stronger light.
Hi Ralph: That's good to know. I'm a biologist/psychologist way back by training, not a physicist, therefore somewhat ignorant, but I was worried that the greenhouse glass prevented some aspects of sunlight getting through - thus my concern about the change to direct exposure. Why do you keep lots of plants outside for the summer? Is it for better display purposes?
I put Echeverias, Aeoniums, Agaves, Aloes, Delospermas, Faucarias and some Crassulas and Cacti outside, in pots, usually from May onwards until September or later if the weather is warm enough. It is the night time temperatures that are the biggest problem. some of my plants have been in and out several times due to the near frosts we had in May. I find the plants appreciate the real air, wind and rain and grow Strongly and colour up extremely well as a result. I would recommend the practice to anyone, providing the temperatures are high enough. A tarpaulin or similar is useful to protect from excess wet and, worst of all, hailstones.
Obsessive Crassulaceae lover, especially Aeoniums but also grow, Aloes, Agaves, Haworthias and a select number of Cacti.
