It all depends on the cactus. some are cold hardy but not water tolerant, others don't like it below 50. Many are good till 25. It is good to know each species and their requirements. I take mine in stages. And some just grow outside but I am 8b. Their is a world of difference between your conditions and mine.

Yikes, you are more organized than me. I was thinking of color coding. Another idea that I won't get around to. Both of us live in areas where some of our plants go in and out. Greendale is in an area where things go in for the big sleep. I like to get my huernias and stapeliads in early. I move my Aloe plants down to my stone patio that gets tons of low southern winter sun and has gobs of thermal mass and the overhang protects them from tons of moisture . NICE microclimate. I play with fire trying to guess how many degrees it buys me.I stage my aloes there and most will take a mild frost and they love the winter sun, turning glorious colors. I drag some in if it gets below 25. Some I leave out till 20, praying for that thermal mass effect. Below that everything goes inside except the really cold hardy opuntias or gets covered wit fabric. The yard looks real trashy.. I will start moving some things down to the patio from their summer high on my bridge soon.

I did finish building a 16' sliding glass and polygal doors that let in loads of light so my house finally is dried in and I can have house plants in the HOUSE. What a concept. So I have a new space designed for wintering plants YEA! Maybe one year I will have my house heated. Maybe I will move in one year and out of the office of the woodshop.

I'm NE zone 7 & I started bringing mine in 2 wks ago when the night time temps dipped to near 50's. I brought them back out onto the patio after the sun came up & there they stayed till dusk. This season is my first in a long time with succulents & I've got probably a few dozen assorted tropicals & tender succulents to come in.

It started as a sort of dry run to see where everyone would go once they came in for good. Since then, some have been doing so well that I didn't bring them back out, like my Adeniums.

I bought these plant stands from Ikea & put pea gravel in the tray. I just take the trays outside & bring 'em in when the sun goes down. Easy peasy 8) I'll probably keep them inside when the daytime temps dip toward the low 60's as indoor temps for them will be closer to 72. The trays have echies, jades, and assorted other succulents. Currently, our daytime temps are reliably btw 70 and 75.

Antoinette

Here is a link that might be useful: for 20$ ya can't beat it with a stick!

I try to stay organized with them. I don't have a whole lot a room to winter them. I have a baker's rack in my office that has a south facing glass door. That's where they all go. It's the only place I have until my children are old enough not to mess with them. outside they are pretty much everywhere. The majority of them are on a bench against the detached garage in the back yard. The ones that can't tolerate the direct sun all summer are on my patio. On my patio they receive some afternoon shade. I really would love to get more plants but at the moment I'm not sure I have room in the house for the ones I already have not to mention having 3 children makes for very little money left over to play. LOL

~Erin~

It depends on what succulents/cacti you have, but an example would be with my Jade plants. People have recommended that if the temp drops below 50 degrees that they should be brought in; however, as long as the mix that they are in is dry they can withstand temperatures down to right above freezing. I had my Jade plants outside all summer, and earlier this week the temperature got down to about 34 for 2 or 3 nights and 60's during the day. Last night I had to bring them into the garage though because it called for rain which would have killed them in the cold. Luckily after tomorrow the rain is supposed to stop and I can set them back outside again for hopefully another couple weeks.

Rain + cold = death.

So to put it simply, if your plants are kept dry they can tolerate a lot lower temperature than if they are moist or wet. All depends on the mix you are using, plan accordingly. Good luck!

I agree with everyone else. I bring my succulents in when the night temps start dropping below 50. Many of them can tolerate colder temps, especially if dry, but why push your luck? I'd rather sacrifice a few extra weeks of outdoor growing than risk losing plants that I've been growing for years.

-Chris

When I get in this discussion , I always look at what Zone people live in because there is a big difference in how plants are cared for. I don't have to hibernate for months. I go swimming in November. I see snow once every 11 years.

I get to have my plants out most of the winter because really I have 3 3day winters in a year. Most of my lows are in the 40's and upper 30's. Then we get a bad snap for 3 days and all bets are off. temps can drop like a rock to 24 - 15 F. My plants go in and out. I buy plants that you in the north would see as house plants but I see them as plants that need to be protected on occasion. The different climate makes for a different mindset.

Some aloes and Kalanchoe luciae glory in the winter sun and cool temperatures, turning flaming colors. My opuntias turn great purples , lavenders and tangerines.. Many aloes are activily growing in the winter here and bloom in February. That is why I chance it. I could not do that if I lived further north.

Hello,

I also bring my plants inside in stages. I live in the high desert. Great for cacti in the summer--the winter not so much. I have a coolish sun room to winter them over.

Although I have a lot of plants, I grow very few species so it is easier for me to manage. I'm old and I lived here for a while so through experimentation I hopefully have a handle on what works.

I bring in the more tender ones in around the end of September. They are under shade cloth so I buy a few degrees because of that.

The Notocactus come in a few weeks later; the same time I hunt down my box turtles to bring them indoors. I leave the Echinopsis and Trichocereus out until late October, but I move them under the shade cloth for more protection.

In spring, I reverse the order. I figured out that the Echinopsis and Trichocereus flower better if they get chilled.

The big drawback for moving plants for me is that the size has to be managable and I have to be on guard against spider mites in the sunroom when it starts heating up. In my collection, the sm really gravitate towards the Lobivias or any hybrid that has Lobivia in it. The epidermis must be easier for them to penetrate.

I've come back from vacation in October with snow on the ground and everything outside was fine. But even with that snow, we live in a very dry climate with bright sun so that makes a big difference in survival also.

I think it's better to err on the side of caution, you know where you live better than I do. Once a plant freezes, the damage is done.

So after that long winded answer I guess I'm just saying that we live in a big, beautiful world with all kinds of variations in conditions. And isn't that part of the fun to figure out what works best for us?

D

All my cactus, jades and Christmas cactus are left outside until the temperature gets down to just above freezing at night.

I'm in just outside of DC, zone 7a. I began moving the more tender ones last week. Nighttime temps are averaging in the low 50's but daytime temps are still near 80. I'll get the rest in before the first frost. I have decreased watering with many not getting any water at all. They can stand cooler temps with dry soil.

It is strange that Americangolden mentioned Jade plant and cold. It brought back a faded memory of a vicious cold snap herein Austin where it went down to an unheard of 2F on the night of DEc 23 1987. We were having a christmas party. Next morning I went out to empty the trash through the back door and there was this large 2 ' perfect jade, perfectly frozen. It looked like one of those jeweled stone trees made out of jade. It was gorgeous. And a note on it said "love ______", my husbands old girlfriend. That tree was history It clinked when I picked it up and some leaves fell of and cracked into pieces. I didn't know if I was to be sad or happy. It seemed like a perfect metaphor. I dutifully brought the christmas present to my husband and then went to feed my baby.

Im in zone 9 southern california (in a valley of hell named Perris) so alot of things can stay out during winter :D
But there is, of coarse, those that need cold protection such as Kalanchoe, pachypodium, and Asclepiads. As of now, we are still having 90�s during the day, and around 60�-70� at night.

Last year was really the first year i got into succulents, and i started to bring thing into my green house in mid october, and that is finally when temps start to get 40�-50� at night here. The average winter temps here are around 40� at night, but sometimes it can dip to 26�. We even had snow in 2007, and that is when i almost lost one of my beloved aloes D:

Id say, bring them inside the green house is good for you right now, just to be on the safe side, as the temps are reaching 50 and lower.
I really wish i could start having a cool down here...

Wow, thanks for everyone. Did not know we had so many posts in this thread already. I guess better safe than sorry. Most of my succulents are Jade, 1 thanksgiving Cactus and some other NOID succulents. I might get some pictures and get ID help from this forum. All my succulents are in a spare empty bedroom now, we won't turn on the heat in daytime since nobody will be in home. And I am using Gritty Mix. They should be fine for this winter?

Im in zone 9 southern california (in a valley of hell named Perris) so alot of things can stay out during winter :D
But there is, of coarse, those that need cold protection such as Kalanchoe, pachypodium, and Asclepiads. As of now, we are still having 90�s during the day, and around 60�-70� at night.

Last year was really the first year i got into succulents, and i started to bring thing into my green house in mid october, and that is finally when temps start to get 40�-50� at night here. The average winter temps here are around 40� at night, but sometimes it can dip to 26�. We even had snow in 2007, and that is when i almost lost one of my beloved aloes D:

Id say, bring them inside the green house is good for you right now, just to be on the safe side, as the temps are reaching 50 and lower.
I really wish i could start having a cool down here...

Sounds like they should be fine to me but if it's cold don't water them. Water + Cold + Succulents = bad news

~Erin~

Lots of good ideas here. This is a good thread. Thanks all, esp the original poster who asked the question.

Is anyone on this thread any longer?

errrr, doubt it.... it is 3yrs 4months since the last comment on it!!!!!

On the bright side searching for information has been accomplished