Most of these are old pictures but you can see the white buildup. I do tend to clean it off occasionally. FB_IMG_1551300335142.jpeg FB_IMG_1551300012962.jpeg FB_IMG_1551300053537.jpeg FB_IMG_1551300426066.jpeg FB_IMG_1551300617106.jpeg And here is the road to my house, showing what kind of humid cli...

All of mine get the white buildup on the outside although it usually takes a couple of seasons of use before it's noticeable, because (I think) some of it washes off in the rain. I do have a couple really big pots that have it basically on the entire pot.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before or not, but for the record, clay pots are appropriate for many species of cacti and succulents when grown in some climates. Not all. I live in a temperate rain forest (rain 300+ days a year, heavy orographic fog every day) and I have kept xerophytes for...

Hello all I know that dark-colored cacti are usually sun-stressed. I have about 40 pots of cacti seedlings from last summer, all going strong on a southern-facing window with 12 hour lights above. In some of the pots, there are several dark red/purple/brown seedlings amongst the otherwise green seed...

This is true. Many Mammillarias (for example) begin blooming at the end of the Chihuahuan winter, which is in February. Here are some of my modest little Mammillarias currently blooming. None has been watered since the first of October. Edit: well never mind. It says my images are too big but they a...

Any updates? Just curious, because I'm thinking about ordering from this seller. I didn't realize it was so easy to get seeds shipped into the US from overseas...

Just want to share this tiny update: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiakoerner/cold-polar-vortex-chicago-midwest-climate-snow Some parts of Minnesota are now colder than the North Pole and will remain so for days. I wonder what people with greenhouses are doing. I know there aren't many, b...

Oh, thank you. That's much less expensive than I expected. Keeping things around 45 degrees is a challenge for me currently (giant, empty, room with windows facing south and west) because of the windows. I've considered covering them up because even with just 1-2 hours of direct sun per day it heats...

Gotcha. I live in a temperate rainforest (in the Appalachian Mountains) where it's wet and below freezing all winter. The worst of both worlds! lol

Does your all's winter storage have much light? I'm imagining a cool, unlit, area. Is that correct? I've overwintered cacti like this in past years (cool, dark, dry, garage or something) but that was when I had "only" 100 or so pots. Now I've got...significantly more. lol Also, what kind o...

I have actually had the EXACT same experiences and observations--that freestanding greenhouses basically don't happen in my area, or, when they do they're uninhabited for winter (i.e, they grow annuals, fruits, vegetables, etc only from early spring to late fall). I do wonder about the attached sun ...

Thank you everybody for such helpful replies! As I understand it, the UK is warmer than most of the US/Canada. Is that correct? I could be wrong about that because I have a learning disability and I don't always "translate" temperatures correctly. But from my understanding, the coldest par...

Thank you. That is really helpful.

Do you mean "attached?" Maybe I misunderstand something (very possible!), but if it's detached it would effectively be a greenhouse, right?

If it is attached, does it normally face south? I'm trying to form a picture in my head.

Thank you. What USDA Zone are you in? Just curious. I didn't realize California had Zones 5 and 4 at all.

My area reaches the teens at night frequently in January, but there is mostly rain or ice.

How realistic is it to keep/get/build a cactus greenhouse year-round in colder climates? Most of the successful ones I see are in the West or South (of the USA), but for those of us in the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and Northeast, is it really feasible to keep a 12' x 10' greenhouse heated to a minimum...