CactiGuide.com

Hi all,

I recently relocated to San Diego, and had to move my Astrophytum collection from greenhouse to outdoor shadebox.

Any other socal folks have advice on keeping Astros alive outdoors during the rain?
I'm thinking about possibly wrapping the shadebox in plastic cover and running a small dehumidifier inside, but not sure if that will be enough.

There's a long way to go before any chance of rain, but would love to have a solution ready in advance.

Thanks everyone!

-Ryan

Since no-one from Socal has replied - do you need any protection at all?

Checking out Dave's Garden gives some views from outdoor growers in the southern USA, e.g. https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54355/ and https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53169/
Sounds like the tougher species may not need rain protection, your dehumidifier option sounds like crazy overkill to a UK grower!

I know of a french grower who growers A. Myriostygma outside in the ground in france right on the wall lf the house that protects them from rain. They will of course get a lot of splatter so i guess they can tolerate some humidity. I will try to find the thread on cactuspro forum

Thanks Esp_imaging and Elie for the responses.

I guess I'm just super paranoid about the high humidity leading to rot, especially in the Asterias and Super Kabutos!

Anyone think just maintaining a solid roof to keep off direct rain will be enough? I want as little risk as possible

I'm very confident that if if you keep the rain off the plants, and refrain from watering them during rainy periods, they'll be fine.

The UK is a high humidity climate in winter. Many cacti will stand cold if they are dry, or wet for a time if they are warm. But they do not like high humidity and cold. If your plants are growing and it is reasonably warm I don't think you would need a dehumidifier. Completely enclosing the structure in plastic without leaving any ventilation would increase the humidity in itself. You only need to keep the rain off the plants, not completely enclose them.

A raised bed with good drainage would help the roots dry out quicker than they would if in the lower surrounding ground. All you really need is a temporary roof over them to keep the rain off, unless the rain where you are usually drives sideways under the roof and still wets them, then you may need sides on the structure?

Hey Dave, you are completely right. That's why I mentioned running a small dehumidifier, to emulate what might happen in a greenhouse. All my plants are potted, so fortunately no worries about the ground staying wet. I think I will proceed with just some hard roofing to keep the direct rain off

I also talked to some growers in Tucson, Arizona, and some of them said they grow their cacti outdoors all year without any problems during winter rains.

Thanks everyone for your help!!

I'm just North of you about 100 miles and had the same question in this forum. I think as long as the soil does not remain saturated for a long period..you should be fine. We are supposed to get rain again Friday night and this time I have a few I'm going to put under a table. I think they had a good bout last week.

Is it actual to fear rain in desert climate with year precipitation about 12 inches (300mm)?
I had some small problems with moist here in Finland where summer slightly reminds Californian/Mediterranean winter.