Orostachys spinosa seems quite tough to me, it certainly gets frost here in Birmingham. For protection from too much rain in winter I usually move the three plants I have under a shelter It’s quite cold tolerant as long as it’s relatively dry in winter, doesn’t need much heat in the summer. I grew ...

I’ve grown spinosa in the past. Better in an alpine house!

Thanks, this one was seed raised a few years ago now and seems quite amenable to cultivation at whatever temperatures I’ve kept it overwinter. It’s very slow growing though and I am mean with watering generally so perhaps that helps!

A nice surprise in the greenhouse today,
not had as many flowers as usual this year due to the lousy weather

Thanks Steven, Andy, that’s very useful. Real world temperature tests are always better than the internet !

MatDz wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 10:16 pm

Ali Baba wrote: ↑Sat Aug 26, 2023 2:17 pm ericaceous compost

What's your favourite brand at the moment?

I’m using Levington peat free, which looks pretty rubbish, but the plants seem to grow in it ok. I’ve used miracle-gro previously but had trouble getting it this year

I tend to use a mixture of peat or ericaceous compost, perlite and orchid bark, probably about 4:1:2 ratio. Smaller epiphytes get peat (I'm eking out a large bale I bought about 10 years ago...) whereas I tend to use ericaceous compost for the larger growers. I feed with an orchid fertilizer so they...

Thanks Chris, I found a Hungarian article about it which suggests a winter minimum of 10C is possible but 13C is better. It’s a huge growing plant but the flowers are indeed cracking! I think it’s otherwise typical in requiring an open acidic compost with plenty of water in growth and less when cool...

The smaller growing epiphytic cacti such as Hatiora rosea or Schlumbergera opuntioides will do very well on a shady windowsill indoors providing they aren’t exposed to sudden changes in temperature

I was pleasantly amazed to see some young plants of this wonderful species in my local garden centre.
Has anyone experience of growing it, particularly in reference to minimum winter temperatures?
It would be quite nice to know before I shell out £25…