Hi,
You won't believe it! This morning an 82 year old cold record was topped in Budapest, with -20 C. My poor cacti got an extra present. I put an electric heater into the GH to keep the temperature around zero. Last year they survived the Winter without overnight heating. My GH is semi-detached, so my house heats it as well for some extent.
Heating the GH at cold record
Heating the GH at cold record
Friends like flowers need love to grow.
Vajaho
Vajaho
-
apacholek10
- Posts: 374
- Joined: Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:11 pm
- Location: Independence, KY
- Contact:
-
CoronaCactus
- Posts: 10421
- Joined: Thu May 24, 2007 6:16 pm
- Location: Corona, California USA [Zone 10]
- Contact:
Hi,
Just before the cold record, about 20-25 cm of snow had fallen. I was busy with cleaning the top of the GH because otherwise it can collapse. I also put a stick into the middle to strengthen the construction.
Daiv, I only heat the GH when it is below -15 C outside. This is only a few days in a Season.
Regarding the cacti. I am sorry guys, but this fight always result in casualties. Most of the time I only know for sure if cacti survied when Spring comes (still a lot of time, and coldest month here is February). First they just lean to their side (especially tall Opuntiads). Many times they can recover becoming strait again.
To minimize freezing I do not water the cacti at all from 1 December until 1 March.
I have also built a wall (made of paper cartoons) about half a meter high to protect them from chilly winds which is the most harmful in these days. The wall also gives shade and cacti like dark, dry, cold Winters, then they bloom well in Spring and Summer.
Another tactic I use is to have more specimens of the same species put to different places in the GH. Thus if one dies another can still survive.
You would say that it makes no sense to grow cacti in such conditions, but I do have 25-30 year old cacti of 1.5m height!
And their blooming is the reward of my (and their) efforts.
Just before the cold record, about 20-25 cm of snow had fallen. I was busy with cleaning the top of the GH because otherwise it can collapse. I also put a stick into the middle to strengthen the construction.
Daiv, I only heat the GH when it is below -15 C outside. This is only a few days in a Season.
Regarding the cacti. I am sorry guys, but this fight always result in casualties. Most of the time I only know for sure if cacti survied when Spring comes (still a lot of time, and coldest month here is February). First they just lean to their side (especially tall Opuntiads). Many times they can recover becoming strait again.
To minimize freezing I do not water the cacti at all from 1 December until 1 March.
I have also built a wall (made of paper cartoons) about half a meter high to protect them from chilly winds which is the most harmful in these days. The wall also gives shade and cacti like dark, dry, cold Winters, then they bloom well in Spring and Summer.
Another tactic I use is to have more specimens of the same species put to different places in the GH. Thus if one dies another can still survive.
You would say that it makes no sense to grow cacti in such conditions, but I do have 25-30 year old cacti of 1.5m height!
And their blooming is the reward of my (and their) efforts.
Friends like flowers need love to grow.
Vajaho
Vajaho