Winter time...?

[Phil_SK]

If you've got somewhere indoors that is cool (well, cold but just frost free is best) they needn't take up much room because, provided it's cold enough and they're dry enough to stop them from growing, they don't need any light (especially the cacti). If you got some cheap plastic storage crates that stack you could probably fit them in a wardrobe in the spare bedroom if necessary!
When I moved from somewhere with a greenhouse to a 2bed terrace with a tiny garden I kept mine outside in the summer too. I overwintered them in the cellar, in total darkness for 7ish months. The difficult bit was getting them bone dry whilst they were outside (they were open to the rain).
I lost a few but nothing like the number that got hollowed out by snails during the summers

[Phil Hocking]

If you really can't have them indoors you could get a soil/air warming cable and thermostat. If the mini greenhouse is the sort that I have, with wire mesh shelves, you could suspend the cable below the mesh using 'S' hooks. You will need to be confident that no water will get in, both for the plants' sake and for electrical safety. Soil warming cables and thermostats are designed for use in wettish environments anyway so that makes it relatively simple to keep things safe.

If you do keep them indoors in near darkness I can forsee a possible problem arising in the early spring. They will start to grow before it is safe to put them outside and that point they will need plenty of light, albeit introduced gradually to avoid scorching.

I was going to ask a similar question regarding which plants would be safe in an unheated (but dry) greenhouse and which ones should be taken indoors. Is there a website that lists them? Some plants will flower better after a period of cold and those kept indoors might not get that.

Phil in Somerset, UK

[Karen-L]

i dont have many succulents, but here are some cacti i leave in my unheated greenhouse with minimal bubble wrap, southport is a fairly mild part of the country, so you may need more bubble wrap than me..

oroecereus trolli
tephrocactus articulata
agave victoria reginae
seticereus humboldtii (probably)
astrophytum ornatum
opuntia microdasys rufida
leuchtenbergia principis
gymnocalcyum baldii

these following might survive a mild winter with damage, not recommended to keep in a greenhouse without a heater as i found out..

mammillaria prolifera
opuntia brasiliensis
money plant
polaskia chichipe silver (a small 2 inch, barely survived, now its 12 inches)
aloe ferox (survived almost perfectly well untill it got bigger)

these are a definate no-no

ruby top cactus (grafted)
myrtilicactus geometrizans
austrocephalocereus dybowskii

im sure i have killed more in the cold and frost but i dont remember the names. i hope this list helps.

[Chris43]

I'd double wrap the mini-greenhouse in bubble wrap, and use a warming cable as Phil suggests. Dry the plants off very well - no water after the start of October - and set your thermostat to about 7C. To get power in there might be tricky depending on where your nearest power point in. But if there is one on an outside wall, then you can get a long masonry drill, and go through the back of the socket through the cavity wall. Of course turn the electricity off, so use a well charged battery drill! The a spur can be wired into the back of the socket, ideally to a waterproof switch and then on to the minihouse, using armoured cable if its any distance, sunk in a trench a foot or so deep.
This sounds complicated but is actually pretty easy. Armoured cable for the wattage you'll need is cheap at Wickes, and the drill bit a fiver or so there as well.
I think this keeps you safe and within current regulations - one spur is allowed from a ring main, and the armoured cable is needed because the cable will be outside and risks being broken by accident.
But if there are any qualified electricians here, please do comment.

[NickT]

Fraid not Chris, With the new regs if you go into the back of th esocket your altering the wiring & you'll need to get it checked by a certified sparky.

As your Soil cable is only going ot be a low wattage one (mines 150w & is 12m long) you can safely terminate that into a plug & put it in the front of the socket ...... et voila an extension lead

That should keep you safe & secure.

[Phil_SK]

Oops, forgot to mention the scorch risk. Triple thickness of newspaper over the top then wean them back onto sunlight over a week or two.

[turnipfarmer]

don't understand why you would store your plants in a wordrobe or celler? i prefer to enjoy my plants all year round! and keeping your plants in total darkness seems even stranger but then they are your plants. but anyway i overwinter between 8 and 10degrees i could go a little lower but i like to pamper my plants.

[Phil_SK]

I had no option - no room for a greenhouse, no room to over winter them on windowsills. It was far from ideal. Don't live there anymore and now have a greenhouse (as of about 3 weeks ago).

[AntonyC]

Hi Nick,
You forgot to mention the RDC unit if you are runing it outside,you can buy an extension lead with them pre-fitted from B+Q etc.
Ant