Cacti and Agaves in Ice (photos) plus...

[hoteidoc]

MJ - We'll need to swap on F. wisliz. results. Mine's covered with large plastic pot & butted up against south foundation of house (includ. 12" furnace flu abutment to its west). Also separate 2 car garage/shed to SW to take out that wind. Past week night temps have been in the 4 - 6F range. Don't know if HOPE is going to carry it thru! Pretty pics, but ice is generally not good. Sounds like you've been thru this....?

[MJPapay]

Yeah, been through it all before.

In fact, it was worse in winter 2010-2011 because it just stayed cold for sooooo long.

Pretty much everything made it through.

And in 2008-2009 winter we had lows around 7F, then loads of snow, then low around 9F.

Things stayed buried for quite a while.

I actually had to lift a snow drift off some cacti after being under there for about five days. They* were all fine!

* Trichocereus terscheckii, Echinocactus horizonthelonius, Aloe polyphylla, Trichocereus thelogonus, Notocactus uebelmannianus, Gymnocalycium gibbosum.

[hoteidoc]

Thanks for specifically mentioning T. tersheckii -- just picked up a nice (big) "seedling" around Christmas. Finally got it potted 2 wks ago. Porch has gotten down to @ 12F -- I "punted" & pulled it inside once it got down to @ 18. Oh, & you're gibbosum x baldi seeds that germinated 5 -- slow, but doing fine!

[John C]

Wow! That is quite a bit of ice there! It makes for some neat photos! Thanks for sharing!

[MJPapay]

John - You are, of course, most welcomed. Glad you enjoyed the photos.

Moisture brings out the color in the spines of Echinocactus and Ferocactus, and the ice adds its own illumination to the spines - and marginal filaments of the Agaves. I enjoyed the morning amidst the ice-covered plants, though perhaps they were not enjoying it at all.

[Tiggy]

Absolutely beautiful pictures. I never would have thought that they could survive so much cold especially as they must have lots of moisture with all that ice when it melts. Wonderful effect though.

Susi

[xturmin8or]

I would love to find out what can be grown here!! I have not been very lucky with trying cacti other than opuntia outside. Even had a cylindropuntia rot on me, so I haven't tried much outside after that.

[hoteidoc]

xturmin8tor - Glad you found MJ! He'll show you stuff you'd never believe could be grown in NC. Although I bet you'll still have to deal with consistently higher humidity. I worked in Fayetteville a few years ago from March to Oct. I was astounded once the temps hit 100 (by noon, nearly everyday June - Sept), humidity would really drop until sunset. It was frequently lower than here in upstate NY! Alas the "seeds" of cacti-mania were only "germinating" then - neighbors Opuntia & my Cleisto. winterii cuttings.

[xturmin8or]

I could definitely use some pointers Hoteidoc! It stays about 5 degrees cooler here on the coast during the summer due to the ocean breezes, but is warmer in winter due to the water. Problem here is that we rarely get snow here in winter on the coast, so all the precipitation is rain. I have rotted quite a few plants.

[MJPapay]

For coastal NC, away from salt spray from the ocean and above the flood plain, you might try:

Trichocereus schickendantzii hybrids (I have many that need homes as a matter of fact as I grew too many from seed)
T. pascana
T. terscheckii
T. formosa

Lobivia leucomalla

Notocactus magnificus
N. werneri/uebelmanniana
N. submammulosus
N. roseoluteus

I almost forgot Echinocactus texensis

I think that these cacti are often grown in too lean, too nutrient deprived, too dry soil.

In the landscape I use 1:1 mix of (sifted leafmold compost) : (pea gravel). I use the pea gravel as mulch.

Have you tried any of these cacti?

[MJPapay]

Here's a link to a photo gallery of some of my outdoor cacti -

http://naturefoto.org/showgallery.php?cat=566" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[xturmin8or]

I do have a couple of those plants, but not in the ground. Do they need to be in an area sheltered from wind or can they be out in the open?

[MJPapay]

Microclimate within a few feet of a south-facing wall:
T. pasacana
T. terscheckii
N. magnificus

The rest out in the open.

Gymnocalycium gibbosum, bruchii, baldianum should be on your list too - out in the open.

Oreocereus celsianus has been a great surprise for me - surviving/thriving in a pot in the open. From a small plant it is now pushing 16-inches tall.

[xturmin8or]

Thank you very much, that is a huge help!!

[daiv]

OK, I'm late to the game here, but those are really amazing images!