Sounds like you have the right idea. Here is what I do: Put it somewhere warm, offer it water, without totally saturating the soil. That will probably be a challenge since it is currently in peat (yuck!). Wait a week or two and keep an eye out for signs of new growth. Repeat until its awake!

Having said that, if you know what species it is, please share. Some plants, cacti in particular, might not survive my brute-force approach to waking them up! Also, the vast majority of succulents don't want to be bone-dry during dormancy. True, a few really do need complete dryness or they will rot. However, most out there need some moisture to retain their feeder-roots from one season to the next. Letting them completely dry out forces the plants to expend large ammounts of resources regrowing the roots before they can even think about growing elsewhere. We all start off so worried about overwatering, that the majority of succulent hobbysists actually underwater!

how do you water in winter cold and not have them rot? the species include various eriosyce, astrophytum, bolivicereus, cleistocactus, mammillaria, coryphantha, echinocactus, ferocactus, myrtillocactus, opuntia, parodia, pilosocereus. a couple os stenocactus rotted so decided I was waiting too long for them to wake up. thanks for the reply; I'm quite new at this but love my cacti!

Well, there are a few things going on here. First off, I live in Santa Monica, CA, so my idea of "winter cold" are *lows* in the mid to upper 40's (F). Since I keep all my plants outside, they get enough warmth during the day, that even during winter, the average temperature is probably around 50 F. Warmth is a great way to avoid rot.

The other, probably more significant thing is my potting soil. By refusing to ever use peat moss, I have a mix that you can only partially wet. This lets you keep the fine roots from dessicating while still keeping it just dry enough not to encourage rot. The hydrophobic nature of peat makes it extremely difficult to get wet without completely saturating it. So even if you only want to offer your plant a "sip" with peat you end up having to dump the whole cooler on it!

Keep in mind that succulents can have *very* set cycles in terms of when they want to be active and dormant. It is often best to closely observe the plant and let it go dormant when it wants to, instead of trying to force it during winter and likewise, letting it emerge when its ready. As it turns out, most plants "time" their cycles based on the photoperiod, temperature, or some combination thereof. Very few plants actually use moisture levels to determine active/dormant behavior. Therefore, most plants will become active, then want water, not the other way around. Plants that do use moisture are usually referred to as "opportunistic growers" and come from habitats with wildly variable climates. One example, and possibly my favorite genus, is Fouqueria. In the desserts of the Southwest and Northern Mexico, there are huge fluctuations in the amount of rainfall throughout all the seasons. As a consequence, most Fouqueria will only grow when its wet, but don't care too much about photoperiod or temperatures.

You seem to have a pretty healthy collection going, so it might be worth taking some time to research each of the genuses, and familiarize yourself with their natural growing seasons and general care.

Finally, just for full disclosure, cacti are not my "specialty." I am definately a pachyform-nut, so my advice should be taken with a grain of salt. In any case, welcome to this incredibly satisfying hobby!

Repot them immediately without any peat. Chances are most of the fine roots have died during the winter. There is a good chance that trying to water them now will lead to rot.

I suggest you repot, wash off all the old soil. Give them warmth and shade for a few weeks. Then slowly, over a 10-14 day period, acclimate them to sun and water lightly.

When new growth is visible (bright new spines), resume normal watering.

x

You read my mind! I was wondering whether to try to get some new growth/roots growing first or just go directly to repotting. It really makes sense; why get them started in this yucky soil only to make them start over in the good stuff. Thanks; I'll start working on that this weekend.