Outdoor summer cactus/succulents... indoors in cold weather
noki
12 years ago
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bikerdoc5968 Z6 SE MI
12 years agomarquest
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Varieties for a very cold summer (tomatoes, pumpkin, squash, etc)
Comments (37)I understand the sentiment, Glib. I'm a low-input gardener myself. However... I speak as a gardener who is, at this very moment, growing short-season varieties of tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and corn out in the open, in our native soil - something you're saying is impossible. I don't own a greenhouse. I don't use row covers. I don't use high or low tunnels. The only things I have outside are some cold frames for transitioning starts in the spring. I have a handful of ordinary 4' fluorescents that I use to start a handful of things indoors, but most of my crops are still direct-sown. Just because you "don't see tomatoes ripening in 50F temperatures" doesn't mean it doesn't happen. It does. They do. The original poster knows exactly what they're doing asking about the best varieties for cold, northern climates. The varieties we grow *are* indeed different. You can't keep making such grand assumptions. You don't garden here. That said, maybe I shouldn't have responded either, given that I don't garden in Iceland. (Slimy_Okra is right - our summers at least have *some* heat to them for a little while.) How many GardenWebers do, though? Which reminds me... thanks for chiming in, tigrikt. Good stuff to know! I think florauk has great advice... "You might look at seed catalogues from the UK with cultivars suited to N. Scotland." Lots of life-long gardeners over in the UK if my extended family is anything to judge by. :) I'm sure their cold-hardy varieties would be better suited for you than even ours here in Canada. All the best!...See MoreNew forum for cold-hardy cacti & succulents?
Comments (26)Tom, The very spikey one was sold as O. engelmanii, and it has large pads when compared to humifusa. The other one has even larger pads, but fewer spikes. It was labeled simlply as Opuntia species. I haven't been able to identify it yet. This year (right now in fact) it has several fairly large ripe fruits. The O. humifusa does get all shriveled and even a purplish color in coldest weather, but come next spring it bounces back and grows like a weed. I've had that one for over 40 years, but when I had the yard relandscaped, large mats of it got trashed. I did manage to save a few clumps, and they spread quickly. It was not unusual to have 500+ blooms on the original clump, as it was over 10' in diameter. The soil under the stones is average, and I didn't amend it. There is weed cloth under the stones. I didn't amend because I formed slight mounds for drainage, and also the front of the house is in blazing sun all year and also has full air circulation so it dries out well. Most of the plants you see are in the third year, but the ice plants are about 10 years old and were replanted when that area was constructed. The Yucca is about 15 years old....See Morewhat should I spray cactus and succulents with
Comments (13)As someone whose motto is DEATH TO ALL SPIDERS, I understand your feelings. Before anyone jumps on me about how they are beneficial insects, I'd like to say that I know that already and even if I killed 20 spiders a day, that wouldn't be even a teeny, tiny dent in the population of them in even one small area of my yard. And I DO NOT want them in my house. I figure they are there anyway, I just don't see them, but I am not going to deliberately bring any in if I can help it! Warning to fans of arachnids: real spiders were harmed in the following account. I was wondering about this very problem of bringing critters indoors with the plants as this is the second summer that I have been putting my plants outdoors. Just this week I was picking some yellowed leaves off of one of my hoyas and I saw that one of those creepy really fast moving spiders had set up a web under some of the leaves. Of course I tried to catapult him out of the pot with a stick, but he very quickly hid from me - (shudder, shudder...nothing worse than when you know one is hiding from you) I grabbed the closest weapon at hand, which was a bottle of insecticidal soap, and drenched the area where I figured he was. A few moments later he crawled out of his hiding space and guess what! He wasn't moving so fast anymore! Moral of this story: Insecticidal soap, which is one of the safest things you can use on your plants, kills spiders. The only thing is that I do not know if it can be used on succulents - though you could probably spray the soil around them. I'd check into it before taking any chances....See MoreCold Weather Clothing
Comments (16)Hands down best source is Patagonia. Clothing is available in many specialty stores such as REI and the like. Brick and mortar store or catalog works best as the selection is huge. Best to start with your next to skin layer! Also, Campmor catalog can be your best friend if you are familiar with what you are ordering and want to save a buck. We visited the north arctic area a few yrs ago and I needed to find clothing for 3 of us for 16 days. Very crazy endeavor in the middle of the summer. I did buy all appropriate pieces but thought I'd play around and wear a cotton first layer one day. Well I froze. DSIL is heli-skiing guide and lives out west. She gave me the primer on how the layer thing goes. Well, I have continued to follow the proper layer order. You can peel some off if you are warming up walking or hiking and put things back on when you feel chilly. Besides the ridiculous cost of heat where we live, I don't like a overly warm home. Indoor Layer: silk undergarment - can be found cheaply at your local sportswear stores or Campmor online; long sleeve top - just looked at label can't read materials; wool/cashmere/cotton sweater; fleece vest which for me goes under my outdoor coat. Then start with your outdoor gear. I think I would find a Patagonia store near you and visit. If you can find a stand alone Patagonia it will be well worth a trip. Their employees have a wealth of information on dressing for cold weather. Oh, the cost of the Patagonia is not inexpensive. However, I am wearing a coat which was purchased in 2001 and still looks brand new despite being thrown in the W/D a zillion times. And I have all of the clothing from my arctic trip that really look like new. I know they are from that particular trip as we were fortunate that the small ship offered laundry service and every piece that was sent to be laundered they sharpeed our cabin number on the clothing tags. I don't work for Patagonia or Campmor and have no personal interest in those companies. Just sharing a great product line if you are serious about wanting to stay warm....See Morecactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
12 years agowantonamara Z8 CenTex
12 years agojeanav
9 years agoLilBit7765
9 years agolast modified: 9 years agojeanav
9 years ago
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