Questions about overwintering in a heated home

[558cbs1012]

Hello all, i am new to the forum and just really got into cacti the past couple years. I want to overwinter them the best i can for the setup i am working with. in the past i have delt with some etiolated plants, well with how crazy 2020 has been being cooped up and off work for months due to covid , needless to say i might have went a little crazy acquiring cacti this year. i live in the midwest so my plants are inside now. I have 4 1000w spider farmer full spectrum led, a couple 100w full spectrum led spot bulbs and a couple 4ft full spectrum led tubes and a 600w led full spectrum over cuttings i have (first time trying to propagate). my home has central air and the room has a south facing window. I am stumped on if i water or hold off till spring. The temp usually ranges 65-70 in that room. Thank you all for your time and any tips will be greatly appreciated!

I am trying to upload some pics but having trouble resizing, says file too large

[Steve-0]

The file has to be resized down to 1024 by XXX pixels. I had issues doing this, too, until I got it sorted.

[558cbs1012]

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[Steve-0]

Impressive ! Can you tell what is the one in the 5th pic, sitting on the block, not on the board? It's also in the 3rd & 4th pics. Many spines.

[558cbs1012]

thanks! stenocereus thurberi

[7george]

These cacti should be carefully watered just if their stems are in active growth. Temps you mentioned are rather winter ones for Mexico and other subtropics where these originate. Cacti of such a size will not dry out or die if kept dry for next 4 - 5 months.

[esp_imaging]

These cacti should be carefully watered just if their stems are in active growth. Temps you mentioned are rather winter ones for Mexico and other subtropics where these originate. Cacti of such a size will not dry out or die if kept dry for next 4 - 5 months.

If your daytime temps are 65-70f I'd expect growth, or even strong growth for some species, unless your night temps are much lower (say towards or below 50f).

Where you have a small light source (or any light source where the distance away is greater than the size of the light source), the light fall-off is extremely dramatic with increasing distance, approximating an "inverse square" rule - so something 2x further away gets 1/4 the light, something 10x further away gets 100th the light. Using side and top reflectors to bounce as much light back in as possible will be helpful.

if that's a south facing window, I'd want my plants level with it, rather than well below it, to take full advantage of all the free sunlight going.

[7george]

... The temp usually ranges 65-70 in that room. Thank you all for your time and any tips will be greatly appreciated!

Some of the species will be dormant and some might grow. Grow lights mast be much closer to plants to provide sufficient light conditions. Using sunlight (bringing plants closer to the window) is a good idea.

Would you give us some feedback next spring about the outcome of your winter setup? Or you are just seeking free advices and suggestions?