Anyone else here live in Southern California desert?

12 years ago

I can't say that this is my first time having plants in wintertime, but it IS my first time actually paying attention to what I'm doing with them over winter.

I live in the Sonoran Desert. Zone 11, I believe - although, all things considered, I really don't count that to mean much of anything, given how widely the temperatures vary out here between day and night.

Winters here feature fairly mild daytime weather - 60s (F) typically, much more balmy than the rest of the year (humidity is currently 30%), a lot more cloud cover than the rest of the year - but nights can be downright frigid. In the 30s. Low 30s. As in, I'm half expecting for it to snow.

Before moving, the vast majority of my plants were indoors. Only a few did I risk putting outside (in the shade), and when I did, it was summertime - 110-115 degrees, bone-dry arid...well, a desert. Nights were typically in the 90s. Not a huge temperature variance, and well within the tolerance of my plants.

Now that we've moved, south-facing window real estate is at a premium in our new house, and so a lot of my previously indoor plants have been moved outdoors - having first spent about a week in the relative shelter of the garage. (The garage has a south-facing window that gets plenty of sunlight, and while it's not heated, it does offer protection from wind and rain. Some of my small plants have taken up residence on that windowsill.)

(Garage window - some of my larger plants are still sitting on the floor.)

Only a few of my plants are currently indoors in the living space. We have one and only one viable south-facing window indoors - in the living room - and the windowsill is much more shallow than the one in our previous home. I'm currently working on building a sofa table to put beneath that window so I can bring more of my plants back indoors.

(Living room window)

The plants that are outside are protected from wind and rain, as our front door is tucked into a south-facing alcove, and the walls retain some solar heat after direct sunlight has passed by.

(If I have to say "south-facing" one more time, I'm going to smack myself.)

(Front door, to the left. My office window at center - and no, that window won't suffice - the office is dismally inadequate for my plants' lighting needs.)

So, in the meantime, does anyone have any advice for watering and protecting from the cold? I really worry over them at nighttime, but I don't know where else to put them.

*CG*

Comments (6)

jade_man
12 years ago
have you considered a greenhouse either a lean to or a stand alone. there are many models to choose from so you would have to do some homework, but, it would be worth it. keep from freezing and frost at night and keep warmer in the day to dry out when watered.

my personal way to protect my plants from damp and water is to have a very well draining mix.

Doug

Here is a link that might be useful: lean to
chaparralgirl
Original Author
12 years ago
Doug, thank you so much for your response. I had thought (somewhat peripherally) about a greenhouse. The one you linked in your post is very nice. (Convincing my husband to shell out money for one is another thing altogether, I'm afraid.) I'll do some homework, and figure out what I need and where I can put it.

I'll also look at the soil I'm using. I've basically been using regular potting soil - keeping my plants indoors, it hasn't really posed any problems (that I can tell), and it's always drained pretty well. But I definitely don't want any unnecessary water retention if they're going to be outside in the cold.

In the meantime, does anyone else have any other suggestions? I'll take all the advice I can get.

*CG*
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aseedisapromise
12 years ago
I am no authority, and I don't live in the Mohave, but I do have cacti and succulents here in South Dakota that spend summers outside in full sun, and then I bring them in in the fall for winter. The lighting is very less than optimal, as the good plant real estate by the windows, especially the south ones, is limited. Even if you are one of my plants that gets the window space, the light is very brief and dim here.

I am too cheap to run lights, but that is another option that you might have. I think where you are the greenhouse is a better option, but I thought I could at least mention lights to you. Just google plant lights and there are many options.

Anyway, the main thing I do to keep my plants doing okay here when I bring them indoors is I don't water them until March. Then they don't grow, and they don't get etoliated quite so badly. This has worked okay for most of the things I have, except for cacti seedlings, which wanted more water and kind of died back at their growing points, but made new growing points in the spring. So I just decided to stop trying to grow seedlings, and have just a few smaller cacti like tiny Gymnocalicium and Haworthias. As much as I enjoy cactusmcharris' photos of tree aloe and so on, I just have to realize my limitations. I still can enjoy cacti and succulents, just on a small scale.

Another thing is to research the plants that you are thinking of getting, and buy the ones that are able to take a little frost. I lived in Tempe AZ for a while, and so I know there are those plants. I bought some at the Desert Botanical Garden plant sale there and they lived outside all the time in containers, and they even lived outisde in San Diego while I was living there. Both places would get some frost.

I don't know if any of this will help, but that is what I can think of.
chaparralgirl
Original Author
12 years ago
Promise,

Thanks for your feedback. I'll admit, when I buy plants, I typically have always had the intention of keeping them indoors, so frost hardiness has never been a consideration for me. Now, obviously, I'm going to have to start paying attention to it. As I mentioned, I am working on a sofa table so I can bring some of my plants back inside; but even at that, I'm not going to be able to fit all of them. Some will still have to stay out there.

I'm going to attempt to build a temporary lean-do greenhouse with 1x2s and some plastic sheeting, in hopes that that will be a sufficient stop-gap until I can get a decent, actual greenhouse setup. I'm also cutting way back on watering, and I need to look into a new potting medium. What I've got now is whatever the plants came in when I bought them, or other store-bought "cactus/succulent" potting soil (which, from what I keep reading, really isn't any good as far as drainage and moisture retention).

I appreciate your suggestions. Anything helps right now as I'm learning what I should do for my babies.

*CG*
aseedisapromise
12 years ago
I just recently moved also, and let me recommend this- before making any big purchases or changes spend some time where you are just observing and recording the conditions in each place you are thinking of placing plants. My husband has these neat little lab recorders that can take the temperature, measure the available light and so on over time, which are really neat for getting actual data even if you aren't there all the time. But just your own thoughtful observations are really useful.

Good gritty mix is the best. Most plants that I know need more drainage than they get from the "potting soil" that comes out of a bag. If nothing else, add a lot of perlite and/or granite chicken grit to it.

Good luck with the new place!
chaparralgirl
Original Author
12 years ago
Promise,

I've definitely been watching the specific places where I want to put my plants. Right now, the living room window and garage window are my best bets for south-facing window lighting (as shown in the pictures). After I get that sofa table up, and we get more of our crap unpacked and put away, I want to put something similar in the garage beneath that window; so that'll be a place for my more cold-tolerant plants. My office gets really not a lot of light, so I'm trying out my medium-light plants in there (none of which are succulents). Of the plants I currently have outside, those that will remain out there will go into a little greenhouse setup - nothing big and fancy, as I don't have the room (or the money), just a little something with enough racks for me to comfortably house my little lovelies and protect them from frost. I'm looking for something along these lines:

4-Tier Grow-Rack Mini Greenhouse

Of all my potential outdoor location options, by the front door seems to be the best, as it's protected from wind and rain. The walls also tend to retain solar heat, so that'll help keep the plants warmer a bit longer as evening sets in.

I'm still trying to get a feel for placement for a few other plants, mostly non-succulent house plants - I have a ginormous peace lily that would love bright sunlight, but wouldn't survive the cold outdoors, and it's not something I can just bring inside in the evening (plant + pot + soil = at least 100#s, if not more). My Dracaena Dragon Tree and Queen Palm are desiring more light than they're presently getting (I don't know who's bright idea it was to get a Queen Palm - those suckers are thirsty buggers, and this is a desert - but I'm doing my best to keep it happy); and I have a ginger that seems to be about ready to give up (even when it's warm enough out to put it outdoors, the air is just too dry here, and the leaves desiccate in a matter of hours). So I'll certainly be making observations for a while yet.

I'm just glad we got the unit that we did. Our place is part of a duplex (two separate units in one housing structure), and the adjoining unit doesn't have any south-facing windows. If we'd ended up in that one, I'd have been completely screwed. %P

*CG*

Anyone else here live in Southern California desert?

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Anyone else here live in Southern California desert?

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