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Hello! How are you doing all? My mum would like to renovate her garden, so she was thinking about creating some rock gardens. They looks really amazing, even you mix various plants. As I know, she would like to create one with cactuses and some succulents, but I am not sure if it is possible in every climate zone. We are living in Poland, so weather here is changing every day. I am not an expert in cactuses subject, so maybe some of you know what weather conditions are the best for cactuses? Rain, snow - won't they damage them?

Cacti don't like cold and wet, so Poland it a tough climate for even the best suited types to survive. How cold are your winters?

A couple that may have a chance are Opuntia humifusa and Echinocereus triglochidiatus. They will need maximum sun and extremely well draining soil. They have a better chance of survival if they have rain protection in winter, but are capable of coping with a lot of frost if very, very dry.

An easier option would be succulents such as Sempervivum and some Sedum species, which are native to Europe, and tolerate cold wet winters. Sedum acre, Sedum reflexum and Sedum spectabile would be good to start with.

Snow cover will actually help protect them, cold rain is worse. If you build a raised bed rock garden, and use a soil that's almost pure gravel, some cactus species could make it. Opuntia fragilis would have the best chance, but it might be hard to find - it doesn't produce much seed, its pads detach easily and cling like burrs, and that's how it mainly spreads. It's a small, mat-forming species, and doesn't bloom much, there are others that would provide a better display if you can grow them successfully.

Here's a page about growing cacti in Sweden that should be helpful: http://www.succseed.com/en/frosthardy-cacti.html

See these topics:
http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=33059
http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=16398