cactus and succulent

We such a forum Other Plants

 

I struggle to keep Lampranthus here for more than a couple of years .. and I don't get frost .. last year our lowest temp was 3,5c for a couple of days only.

Frost-hardy Cactus .. new to me! Sure, in the dessert they survive bitterly cold nights as they can here on the coasts especially on the West Coast .. but their roots go down to hell (or Australia whichever you prefer) and the following day will be warm, not damp and cold. It is the prolonged damp and cold that is the killer.

Fleecing, bubble-wrapping, bark chips on the ground and molly-coddling may keep them alive and being in a warm environment generally, ie, the South of England or the NW where the Gufl Stream has an influence.

 

I`ve been around Europe and seen aloe polyphylla growing In Holland and Belgium , along with opuntia in North Italy and even seen some cactus in London and many frost hardy succulent in my garden ........my point is that not all the cactus and succulent are frost hardy , so if the Lampranthus dasn`t grow , replace it with Delosperma cooperi (they look almost the same) , plus if cactus are able to survive years with no water , why not just cover them up in winter with some buble wrap or similar? we are growing bananas over here !!!!! I would really like to hear from someone who already got some cactus outdoor and get some response...
plus spare a minute and go on google search and type in picture.....frost hardy cactus...........there are lots of them.

 

All I can say is good luck Sal with a damp and cold UK winter and with wet and middling summers .. would like to hear from you in the future as to how your plants have survived.

I always love a challenge and am doing tropical here in a sub-tropical area .. but I struggle ... success rate I guess is quite good, perhaps 90% at the moment after several years so I'm a happy bunny.

It costs not only time but money when you push the limits, but it's worth it in the long run if it works.

Again, best of luck with your efforts.

 

Hi Victoria...I grow tropical as well and belive or not I`ve got some really strange surprise last year , plants that wouldn`t bet a penny are still there and supposly frost hardy to - 20 have died ....I`m sure that 30 years ago when the first guy planted a palm tree in England peoples have been laughing at him ......
visit this web site.

Ralph's Hardy Cacti - Home


perhaps is frost hardy list is incomplete .

 

I've got a couple of very hardy Opuntias, that just freeze solid some years.
They do suffer damage but have survived for years, in slightly protected situations.
One has even survived in a pot for the last three winters, and then flowered in summer.
Been trying out an echinocereus for the last three years with a bit of protection.

Echinocereus with Echiverias and Dyckia.


Very hardy and very spiney Opuntia, even survives in a pot.


Not quite so hardy Opuntia, but would do well if it had better drainage, I'm sure.

 

Thank you Pete ..this is what i was looking for .

 

I dont have many outdoor cacti, two reasons, I dont have the space due to all the other stuff I like to grow, and I now have so many large shrubs and trees my garden can be quite shady at times.

If I really had the time and the clear open space I would like to try a raised bed of free draining soil and try out many different types, but at the moment that is not a likely proposition.

 

Pete , what`s the aloe at the bottom near the ginger?

 

Well spotted for the ginger

Its not Aloe, its a Gasteria, not really hardy but survives with just a blanket thrown over it on frosty nights.
It in the shadow of the house eves, so is fairly dry and the frost is always lighter nearer the house walls.

 

This Aloe is almost indestructible


Aloe striatula is fairly good also but has been killed to the ground the last two winters.

 

that`s new , basically you are telling me that Aloe aristata is actually stronger then Aloe striatula? seen few big striatula in london , apparently the hardest is the aloe polyphylla .....need to get some aristata , even if the one I had turned to be Haworthia fasciata , got that from Italy and apparently should take frost as well , but no Idea how much of it.
Same with the Gasteria , didn`t know about that as well .....sure gone try that as well .

 

Yes Sal, in my experience aristata is less likely than A. striatula to be damaged by frost.
But having said that, striatula has come back from the roots each year, trouble is, as you probably know, striatula is more shrub like, so getting cut down by frost tends to ruin its growth habit.
I'm now growing striatula in a more sheltered position and having read its a climber, hoping to get it growing up my largish trachy waggy.

 

Looking at the pictures in my big old RHS book, I can only find two that are described as fully hardy.

Opuntia humifusa

Maihuenia poeppigii

 

Any Idea what Echinocereus that is Pete? it's very pretty