Trial and Error: Growing Cactus & Succulents in Florida

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:57 pm

Pleasant surprise in the Green House today:

One of Dustin's Turbinicarpus schmeidickeanus "seedlings". Don't know if it's half open or half closed... I'll take it any way I can get it!

fanaticactus · Post by **fanaticactus** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 4:26 pm

A perfect way for your Turbi to say "Happy New Year"!

TimN · Post by **TimN** » Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:29 pm

Nice way to start a Monday!

paulzie32 · Post by **paulzie32** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:37 am

Wow! Just finished going through all 24 pages of posts! You have quite the collection! Very Impressive!

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:58 am

Nothing like scary weather to get old cactus hearts going in the morning! I was glancing at the 10-day weather forecast and gasped in horror when the fore-casted lows never went above 30... Breathing and heart rate returned to normal when I realized the browser was somehow set to NYC instead of Orlando...

So far I have noticed some freezer burn on a couple of Agave that were not adequately covered in our last freezing weather, it will be interesting to see what other damage my yard endures this year.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:58 am

Doh!

Hope there's nothing to bad to report after its all over.
I have the usual damage over here so far. Limp aeoniums and euphorbia millii hybrids not lookin so hot but they have a good track record and have always came back with a vengeance.

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:54 pm

So far the damage has been sad but not surprising. I don't think anything has been killed, although another hard freeze or two and my 50 year old Hawaiian philodendron may need life support.

Usually our freezes are over by the full moon in March, so we only have a little longer before we can breathe easy again. I'm sure I'll be pulling out the "blankets" again soon though.

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 12:23 am

More freezing weather headed this way tonight. All the C&S that need covering are, or they are still snug and warm in the GH. With all the complaining and worry I can at least take comfort in the old Florida Wives Tale -- no frosts here after the full moon in March.

Come on March 19!

dustin0352 · Post by **dustin0352** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 1:33 am

Ahh pretty Turb! Looks like it loves its new home

As for this bumm weather.... It seems to get to freezing more often here than where you are even though I'm not that far away. All plants I had in the ground couldnt handle the 7 days of below freezing night/mornings we had in arow in Dec. They were even covered. I lost 2 pachanoi's, 3 sets of opuntia (the ones that were in the pots out front when you came), and all me Pereskopsis I put in the ground.

And this dang freezing junk is back!!! Supposed to get in the mid 20's tonite, so the gh heater is on. Good luck with your outdoor plants!

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Thu Jan 13, 2011 3:05 am

You are right Dustin, I think I am south of some mythical freeze line between here and where you are.

I have some freeze damage from earlier this winter, and I hope it doesn't get much worse. The saddest damage is some "freezer burn" on a couple of Agave. My fingers are crossed for pulling through tonight and the next month or two.

mjazz · Post by **mjazz** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 10:55 pm

There is nothing saying that this may not become the norm in the future, as far as freezing temperatures go.
I wonder if any of you have had any positive surprises, plants that survived the freezes, that you didn't expect to?
There are plants that people put out as annuals here, in tubs, that I thought were dracaenas, that survived some of the milder winters. I found out that they were hesperaloes.

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Fri Jan 14, 2011 11:55 pm

mjazz wrote:There is nothing saying that this may not become the norm in the future, as far as freezing temperatures go.
I wonder if any of you have had any positive surprises, plants that survived the freezes that you didn't expect to?
There are plants that people put out as annuals here, in tubs, that I thought were dracaenas, that survived some of the milder winters. I found out that they were hesperaloes.

The cold is why I continue to replace frost damages/frozen plants with more suitable ones for the area. For example, I have some in ground Agaves that need to be in pots and in the Green House in the winter, but there are many others that can be used to replace them. The replacements will be selected to withstand the occasional freeze and the hot summers we get here.

paulzie32 · Post by **paulzie32** » Sat Jan 15, 2011 1:18 am

This Weather Stinks! I haven't been home to Tampa since the freeze we had before Christmas! Everything did fine on that freeze because there was no Frost. But I heard the Christmas freeze was a bad one and this one is worse! A neighbor called me and said she can see some of my cactus up on the balcony and they look brown! I'm hoping to get home early next week... to clean up

No idea what or how many have died. I haven't watered in quite some time but I know it rained at some point... no idea if it got them on the balcony or not. I had seedlings from the past 4-5 years that I just moved outside this year

Fingers Crossed I didn't lose too many of them!

I need a yard and greenhouse

Harriet · Post by **Harriet** » Sat Jan 15, 2011 5:03 am

No kidding, Paul. Sometimes I think that this freezing and thawing stuff is worse than having to deal with constantly cold weather.

apfire · Post by **apfire** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 1:19 am

I have to agree with Harriet! I have some Epiphyllum growing outside. It is kind of a pain in the butt to have to bring all of them in overnight and then put them back out when the threat of frost is over the next day.

Trial and Error: Growing Cactus & Succulents in Florida

Changing weather

Re: Changing weather