container mix

[drew51]

I have had one for 40 years outside in zone 5b, many Opuntia genera are hardy here. Check this link
http://www.valleysucculents.ca/OpuntiaPads.html

Here's another

[birdermom]

My problem was keeping them alive during the winter if they are not cold hardy....how do you do it? The blooms are great...thanks for the link...had no idea there was any but the ones that bloom yellow.

[drew51]

With the one's pictured (which btw are very old plants 40 plus years old). I bring them inside. I leave them out till the first frost. They go completely dormant, they do not even need light in the winter. I water once a month in the winter. I put them in a spare room, I just store them. Not near a light source, they just hibernate till spring.
I use to have about 100 of them but sold them off. I have about 10. I would like a lot of other nicer cacti, but the ones I have are the hardest of the hardy. They can take a frost of two. they can take abuse and not die.

[drew51]

Here's another site with awesome cacti
http://www.coldhardycactus.com/opuntia.php

[Worth1]

Of course I live in a much different climate than Drew but if my cacti and agave cant make it outside they dont get to live here.
Gone are the days of covering plants and hauling them in and out for now.

Worth

[birdermom]

I don't mind moving a few in....I just thought you had to keep them growing, lights, etc. I have a spare room that doesn't get any light that could be used. I am trying to locate the hardy ones for my zone 7 and will try a container or two. Do all "hibernate"?

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by birdermom

I don't mind moving a few in....I just thought you had to keep them growing, lights, etc. I have a spare room that doesn't get any light that could be used. I am trying to locate the hardy ones for my zone 7 and will try a container or two. Do all "hibernate"?

No they dont.
I had two San Pedro cacti I tried to protect and in the dark they will get real skinny and grow along the ground until they find light.

If you google San Pedro cacti about 9 out of ten sites is about getting high.
This ticks me off because I just want information on plants not getting high.

[drew51]

Originally Posted by birdermom

I don't mind moving a few in....I just thought you had to keep them growing, lights, etc. I have a spare room that doesn't get any light that could be used. I am trying to locate the hardy ones for my zone 7 and will try a container or two. Do all "hibernate"?

As worth mentioned maybe some exceptions, but all of mine do. Just make sure to get them nice and cold, and stop watering them, well slowly decrease water. Cacti are the only plant I know of you can let the soil get bone dry. They regrow fine roots every spring. Here it's sometime in November I haul them in. Probably December where you live. The fine hair roots do all die, but the plant is fine. The big sprawling brain cactus in this photo I used to keep in a bird bath, and would pull it out and lay it on plastic. Last year while garbage hunting for pots I found those shallow orange pots, 5 of them! Looks like they were never used. So this spring I put a few of my cacti in them. I can throw the old bird bath out now. I'll keep the column and put a cacti on it. My wife's garden frogs are hibernating
under the bench!



Speaking of hauling, all those cacti have to go in the garage tonight. Low of 29F. Man winter just will not let go here!

[drew51]

All this talk of cacti, sorry to steal the thread. I bought two cacti today, I gotta get away from this site for awhile. I have been buying or asking for tomatoes all winter. I have sooooo many seeds! Now cacti!

[birdermom]

Love the frogs...and the cacti too..lol. I like the ones that stay low and "sprawl"....what is the low little ones on the left? I have been dragging tomatoes in and out for the past few days...why did I plant so many....ugh

[drew51]

Originally Posted by birdermom

Love the frogs...and the cacti too..lol. I like the ones that stay low and "sprawl"....what is the low little ones on the left? I have been dragging tomatoes in and out for the past few days...why did I plant so many....ugh

I'm not sure what that one is? I think some type of mammillaria. It was a gift.
It's huge to, small flowers.
My tomatoes are back under lights, it has been too cold all week. Sunday I hope to get them outside again. I will need to re-harden them off!

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by drew51

I'm not sure what that one is? I think some type of mammillaria. It was a gift.
It's huge to, small flowers.
My tomatoes are back under lights, it has been too cold all week. Sunday I hope to get them outside again. I will need to re-harden them off!

drew I suspect yours is mammillaria gracilis from what I can see from here.

For those of you that dont know the term for cacti listed in the mammillaria family are named so because of their growth habit of having little mammary gland AKA teats on them like this.

Not my cactus.

[birdermom]

Mine are under lights again....they are too big....learning curve. Next year delay starting by two weeks. A batch that I had "harden" for almost a week went into the garage. I am hoping they will be ok and I can put them into pots, ground, etc, early next week. The second batch had only been out one day so I put them back under the lights. Found a couple of books on hardy cactus with my kindle unlimited so I will be reading up on them.

[drew51]

Thanks worth, that is probably it. Their is a sub species that is really cool of this one.
http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/MAM...a_snow_cap.htm

I adjusted my lights up. I have a really nice t5 4 bulb fixture, and it is not HO it's VHO, so plants can be 2 feet from the light and get plenty of light. Makes various heights easy to accommodate. It runs hot. I was thinking of adding an 8 bulb t5 HO. Not as hot, and plenty of light. You can use only 4 bulbs if you wish, it has 2 on switches, each control 4 bulbs. It puts out 40,000 Lumens. My current light with 4 bulbs but VHO puts out 28,800 Lumens. 95 watts for each bulb.

So I bought two more (I only have one cold hardy cactus for like 40 years!) cold hardy cacti to put in my flower bed, Don't tell the wife!

Opuntia 'Dark Knight'

Brilliant fuchsia flowers in June on rich purple pads. It's the best dark padded variety I've seen. 10" high by 48" wide. Zone 4. Claude Barr selection. A beautiful specimen for landscaping.




Opuntia imbricata v. arborescens 'White Tower' (White Flowered Tree Cholla)

Crisp, white blossoms with green centers on a plant found by Mary Ann Heacock in Phantom Canyon, CO. A must for any cacti collector. 60" high by 72" wide. Zone 5.


The height sold me! Most cold hardy are sprawling pads, this is way different!

[Worth1]

I have the Jumping Cholla
You dont want to get anywhere near it.

Worth