cactus and succulent

It would be nice to have a little space for cactus and succulent entusiast .

 

You have the Floor.

Cacti have appeared before. Go for it.
I'm sure the Mods will oblige as the subjects progress.

I have Christmas (Red) and Easter Cacti (Purple).
OH hates them, ergo I have 2.

 

There`s more then that , I `m looking for Frost hardy cactus , peoples don`t even know that cactus can be grown in Uk ....it would be nice to swap or manage to get all the species more available.

 

Hi Sal, why dont you start a thread over in something like , "other plants" section, I'm sure if it gets enough interest it would be added as a new section.

Not sure how many cacti growers we have.

My self, I only dabble, have done for years, but then I tend to be a dabbler in most things and master of none.:D

 

I have recently started building up my succulents, i now have 3 aloes, 1 echeveria. I also have Christmas Cactus, that flowers twice a year I have only just started being interested in succulents, but i am looking for hardy versions for outside now, as my windowsills can't take anymore!

 

Then I highly recommend lampranthus spectabilis:D pretty hardy although if it gets too wet it will rot off

 

I will Pete ; )....Pixie I`ve got a massive list of outdoor cactus , but it too late to start them outside now , need to start your desert corner in spring to give the plants to settle and adapt them self , still looking for more information and more plants myself , along with hardy succulent , aloe and agave there are lots of small cactus that can take up to -25 , one of the strongest is the Opuntia but many new species are add to the hardy list ....

 

this is what I was just talking about , thank you Aesculus , did`nt know about lampranthus spectabilis , I recon that all over UK there are many peoples who have a cactus in the garden .....think about they don`t need any care , any water , they can grow where nothing else will grow and look extremely unusual .

 

Just googled the lampranthus, but it doesn't seem to be hardy. I live in the north, so they have to be really, really, REALLY hardy, particularly after the last 2 years temperatures

 

Got to say, I have never managed to get a Lampranthus through the winter here in Kent.
Delosperma cooperi is normally OK here but even that gets killed unless drainage is perfect.

 

Really? that's a shame:( I had some at our old house which grew through the wire mesh of some retaining rocks which made it very free draining although it didn't survive 2009's winter

 

do apologise myself , just confused the plant . I`ve actually got a fucsia flower Lampranthus and went through the winter with no problem at all , perhaps it`s under a tree dry spot ....and considering that last yearI lost most of the big plants myself , the most impressive has been the sedum palmeri , it actually kept growing through the last winter , same with the agave americana and the agava marginata , I`ve only got small seedling but they went through .
pixie look at this website.
Ralph's Hardy Cacti - Home

 

ahhhhhh...sorry i ment Delosperma cooperi ........

 

Shouldn't be a problem! I believe it drops pretty quick in a desert.

But even with great drainage, I think the uk's damp air will be your main worry.

Cacti like the dry and arid. Out of it's comfort zone is moulds paradise.

 

I agree with Pixie. I saw prolific amounts of Lampranthus on Jersey and imported some home. The were OK during the Summer but died of in the Winter.
I left some in the ground and lifted some and stored in the greenhouse. Both lots died.
I then bought some by mail order and they performed the same. Died off over the Winter. We did have outside temps. down to -20C and prolonged periods of -5C to -10C.