frost damage?

[adetheproducer]

Take a look at the pic I think its frost damage s bit worried about the brown spot in the just of centre between tubercles. Any ideas how improve condition. Its bone dry has not had water in over a month but have had a few hard frosts recently. I have brought indoors and got it siting in a southwest facing window.

[iann]

Is this Matucana madisoniorum? Not frost hardy. Any damage will be done now and not much you can do except wait. From the look of it, you'll have some ugly scars but the plant will live without major problems. Though if it froze deep inside, it may wait a while before losing colour and then collapsing.

[adetheproducer]

Dont think it froze inside. We had a few nights at about -3°c outside temp but it was slightly warmer in the greenhouse. Hopfully its just the yellowing parts. Its indoors now in a light box. I also brought in my stenocereus pruinosus. All thats left in the green house now is my L.diffusa, L.williamsii. A.myriostigmata, A.capricorne var. Senelis, Rebutia heliosa and G.vetteri. These all seem to be fine but I'm under the impression they are more cold hardy.

[hoteidoc]

Still trying to figure out your location, so I can tell what "cold-hardy" means to you

[Steve Johnson]

Still trying to figure out your location, so I can tell what "cold-hardy" means to you

I was wondering about that myself. Would that be the Rhondda Valley in Wales?

[Robb]

The "brown spot" in the middle looks like a bud.

[adetheproducer]

Still trying to figure out your location, so I can tell what "cold-hardy" means to you

I was wondering about that myself. Would that be the Rhondda Valley in Wales?

yes to steve and hoteidoc I'm in the Rhondda Valley in Wales UK also quite high up the mountain too. So cold hardy to me means survival in winter with average day temps of 0-5c night time 0 to anywhere as low as -11c also we get a lot of days when the sun does not shine due to cloud cover/mountains so limited day light as well.

[adetheproducer]

The "brown spot" in the middle looks like a bud.

Thats obviously a bud I ment the bit thats not supposed to be there, take a look at the picture although admittedly it does not look so bad close up.

[hoteidoc]

OK, Producer, now I can really relate & possibly be of help. We've got the same weather, except a low of -14C 2 nights ago -- probably the low for the Winter, but there will be a few of those over the next 3 months!

[adetheproducer]

OK, Producer, now I can really relate & possibly be of help. We've got the same weather, except a low of -14C 2 nights ago -- probably the low for the Winter, but there will be a few of those over the next 3 months!

L.diffusa, L.williamsii. A.myriostigmata, A.capricorne var. Senelis, Rebutia heliosa and G.vetteri

take alook at those do you think any of these need to be brought inside. And to be honest with the night time lows I may have been a bit generous we had a low as -17c last year for a breif period in January and its supposed to be a cold one again this winter.

[iann]

I wouldn't leave the Lophophoras out without heat. A little frost, but not -10C, not even -5C unless you can afford to lose them.

A. capricorne is one of the hardiest Astrophytums but I wouldn't trust it that cold either. A. myriostigma I've damaged at -5C but usually OK to about that temperature.

Rebutia heliosa and Gymnocalycium vatteri should be OK in all but the coldest snaps. I leave mine out all winter and only heat for the very coldest of nights.

[adetheproducer]

Think they will all be coming inside in the next week or so then its been in the minuses a few nights, not quite -5°c yet but its on its way soon.

[adetheproducer]

Cheers everyone.

[adetheproducer]

Ok, so I posted this a while back and it was deffinately frost damaged. I brought it in and its flowered but it does not look healthy at all. There is a black shiney blotch which looks quite dodgy, it has what looks like stress induced corking and the lower half is collapsing in on its self. The where some root mealies literally 3-4 big ones and some of their white fluff when I took it out of its pot but I don't think they could cause this damage. On the positives it is firm all around, there is no obvious rot, it does not smell and is dry. I have repotted it in new pot and soil actually gone for a new mix I have used on my Uebelmannia pectinifera and Espostoopsis dybowskii. It consists of granite chippings 3parts, sieved soil 1part (various components including potting compost, natural loam and worm casts) and corse grit sand 1part.

[adetheproducer]

Here are some pictures. Any ideas what is going wrong, is it doomed.