This Last Week

[Rockspeny]

Evening all.
It was with some trepidation that I went out to the "green shed" this afternoon to remove the newspaer off the cacti and review the squashy devastation I was expecting to find. However, I was amazed to find only one deceased 2023 seedling and no other damage, although my coryphantha cornifera has developed some tiny orange spots. The min-max thermometer positioned over the main collection showed -8.5'C low and 14'C maximum so I am amazed everything appears to be happily dormant still and not botanic slush. The air in south Sheffield has been very dry during the week and that combined with the cacti all being very dry and dormant already is why the collection appears to have ridden out the week unscathed. This is the lowest temperature I have yet recorded, -6.5'C was last winter's low. I hope everyone else has survived this cold snap.

[Aiko]

Evening all.
It was with some trepidation that I went out to the "green shed" this afternoon to remove the newspaer off the cacti and review the squashy devastation I was expecting to find. However, I was amazed to find only one deceased 2023 seedling and no other damage, although my coryphantha cornifera has developed some tiny orange spots. The min-max thermometer positioned over the main collection showed -8.5'C low and 14'C maximum so I am amazed everything appears to be happily dormant still and not botanic slush.

I am not surprised. Most cacti can easily survive this if the cold spell is not too long, say not much longer than a week. It helps if the daytime temperatures are above freezing. Especially the sphericaly cacti are hardy, assuming they are not Brazilian. You have been worried for almost nothing. Coryphantha cornifera is a very hardy species, like most Coryphanthas.

And the more your plants are desiccated, the more likely they will survive strong frost (up to a limit, of course). So keep your plants dry from early September onwards, and they will have enough time to get ready and be nicely dessicated for winter frosts. The later in winter strong frost, the better. I would be a bit more worried if temperatures of close to -10C happen in early December, like in 2022).

[el48tel]

I would agree with comments about dryness ... temperature ... survival. I'm only a few miles away in Leeds but the humidity here has fluctuated wildly since Christmas from 77% to 99%. I'm expecting devastation but not worrying about it until winter concludes and at that point I'll be philosophical and take the losses as spaces to fill with new purchases.

[Herts Mike]

All of my outdoor stuff seems ok unlike last year.

[el48tel]

I think my main concern is the impending storm. Last time the storm picked up one of my lighter garden benches and carried it down the garden. A previous one picked up a larger wooden structure which was anchored down, approximately 70kg and carried that a few yards. Greenhouses and moving objects have limited tolerance for each other.

[habanerocat]

When I lost most of my collection to frost around 2010/11 it took me a good six to eight months to determine what was dead and what had survived.
If I remember correctly, most that died tended to go hard shelled and gradually loose colour rather than turn immediately to mush.

Perhaps I missed the mush stage as I'd been unwell.
All I remember now is wheelie bins full of skeletal remains.

[Rockspeny]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am amazed how far my collection has come since I started growing again and I can't help worrying about them during winter time even though my experience last year tells me they'll be reyt. I have stopped watering before the end of September since I started growing again to ensure the soil has dried as much as possible before the temperatures drop and this seems to be a good ploy. I have had an issue with strong winds blowing rain through the frames of the two opening windows; not an issue last week but with the storm currently raging outside I will check mid week for damp patches, not that it is likely to freeze before the weekend. I hope everyone else's plants have survived, and no I don't grow any Brazilian species

[Benjy]

When I lost most of my collection to frost around 2010/11.
All I remember now is wheelie bins full of skeletal remains.

Is it not false economy to not heat a greenhouse, at the risk of then binning lots of plants ? Replacing the lost plants (in some cases maybe not possible) could cost more than heating ?

[habanerocat]

When I lost most of my collection to frost around 2010/11.
All I remember now is wheelie bins full of skeletal remains.

Is it not false economy to not heat a greenhouse, at the risk of then binning lots of plants ? Replacing the lost plants (in some cases maybe not possible) could cost more than heating ?

I couldn't agree more.
If you don't heat, then you need to be prepared to suffer the losses. It's not an 'if', it's a 'when'.

In my case I had a heater failure coinciding with my illness.
I'd even agree that you need a second level of protection. A capable neighbour to come in and have a look that everything is ok.
Because it's going to be the least of your immediate families worries at that time.

[MatDz]

Shouldn't one simply heat to the minimum temperature their plants can withstand for a few weeks?