Growing outdoors in Sweden

Discuss hardy cacti grown outside all year.
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Theral
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Location: Sweden (7a)

Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Theral »

Is it possible? I live in Stockholm which is in zone 7a. Our summers are fairly mild, around 20C (70F) and with around 18 hours of daylight in the middle of summer. Last year it was very dry, to the point where people needed to water their lawns which is pretty uncommon, but it usually rains maybe once a week/every other week during normal summers. The winters aren't too bad in southern Sweden, averaging about -3C (27F) but are very wet and dark.

They sell some nice miniature greenhouses at the local plant shop, I was considering getting one this spring and trying my luck on a small scale first. Some are lifted up on legs so I was thinking if I filled one with fast-draining substrate and had it protected from rain, I might have some success.
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What do you guys think? Could anyone recommend some cold-hardy cactus species that I might have some luck with?

I am originally from Texas and I miss all the beautiful xeriscape gardens - I don't think I've ever seen anyone even try to grow a cactus outdoors here. I have to make it happen! Thanks in advance for any ideas or thoughts! :D
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ElieEstephane
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by ElieEstephane »

With some luck ans excellent drainage, you can grow some cacti outside without protection like escobaria vivapara, echinocereus triglochiatus, echinocereus viridiflorus, gymnocalycium bruchii, agaves, several opuntias and opuntiads and many others. The setup looks very good. You can add wheels too to bring it inside in winter. The outdoor cacti subforum has many threads with lots of helpful info like this one:
viewtopic.php?t=6441
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
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Theral
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Location: Sweden (7a)

Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Theral »

Thanks for the thread! I had searched but I guess I missed that one.

I think the rain and snow will be more of a problem than the cold. Unfortunately I live in an apartment building and while we do share a small garden and they probably wouldn't care in the slightest what I do with it (I've planted and maintained everything in it already), I can't put any structures much bigger than the one above on it. :P Sadly it is a little uneven terrain wise and is surrounded by pavement so it has very poor drainage.
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olof_n
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Location: Sweden

Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by olof_n »

Hi!

I'm from Sweden (200 km west of Stockholm) and have my cacti in a greenhouse from april/may to late september.
You must store your cacti indoor in the winter. The temperature can be as low as -20 degrees. A couple of years ago the temperature was between -15 to -27 for several weeks at home.
2018 was the hottest summer in 260 years :)
More often the summers in Sweden are rainy, I would place my cacti under some protection. If you store your cacti in a simple greenhouse you should protect them from the sun with shade cloth. Also, the temperature can get really high in a small greenhouse so automatic wents is a good investment.

EDIT: Had to check my hardiness-zone, it's zone 6b.

/Olof
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Theral
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Theral »

I guess hoping for low-maintenance cacti in a Nordic country was a bit overly optimistic :lol: The summers are usually a bit too chilly for my taste - I loved last year, not having to wear a wetsuit out sailing was a very enjoyable change of pace!

Would it be alright to just have the vent in the above greenhouse propped open all the time? I might invest in auto-vents at a future date, this is an attempted low-cost endeavour.

How large is your greenhouse Olof? Have any pictures to share? :D And where do you keep them during the winter? Right now I'm storing mine in a bedroom that is around 12C with some indirect northern sunlight. Hopefully I can achieve some flowering this summer.

Sorry for all the questions (I never meet anyone growing cacti in Sweden), but just curious - do you order your seeds/cacti from Svante? He is the only large supplier of cacti that I've found here!
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olof_n
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by olof_n »

Would it be alright to just have the vent in the above greenhouse propped open all the time?
Yes I think that is a good idé.

12C sounds good, that's the temperature I have at home where I store my cacti. Maybe you could add some more light with a cheap LED flood light (Like this one for 145SEK https://www.jula.se/catalog/el-och-bely ... pa-005222/).

I also grow seedlings in "DIY grow boxes" see this thread for more info https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewto ... 31&t=41912.

I have two large green houses, one is 18m2 and the other 15m2.
Not much to see but I attache two pictures. One of the pictures is from this Christmas, I added some RGB LEDS light up the dark winter evening :)

In greenhouse 2 I did not grow any cacti this year, I bought it from a company (https://averto.lv/en/greenhouses-canopies-tents/) in Latvia, they have very low prices.
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Theral
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Theral »

Do they need much light in the winter? I was told to keep them in a darker place with cool temperatures until spring. I have grow lights if it's better to place them there instead.

It never occurred to me to order a greenhouse from outside the country, those are dirt cheap! I think I'll look into ordering one if I can convince my in laws to let me keep it on their property :lol:

Very impressive grow boxes! My setup is just a mini germination house I picked up at plantagen with a heating pad underneath and some strong LEDs. I'm thinking it will stay warm enough situated above my radiator + the heat pad. I have a bunch of lophophora and various ball cacti seeds on the way so we will see how it goes.

By the way, do you buy a pre-made soil mix or make your own? I've been totally unable to find any proper cactus soil, everyone points me towards såjord which is way too water retaining. Right now I'm mixing my own of 50% pimpsten, 30% coco coir and the rest is small stones and crushed lecakulor. It would be nice to be able to simply buy a pre-made mix, but maybe it's better to make my own anyway.
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ElieEstephane
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by ElieEstephane »

Saw this today. Another point for echinocereus triglochiatus on hardiness. Not sure about precipitation but it sure gets tons of sunlight
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There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a) :mrgreen:
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olof_n
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Location: Sweden

Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by olof_n »

I make my own mix. Have tested a few different variants.
An affordable mixture is of cat litter and standard soil.
There is a cat little label called X-tra from Coop https://www.coop.se/handla-online/varor ... pbildande/. It's very cheap and contains burnt clay.

Ikea sells pumice https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/catalog/products/00317650/.
Granngården have a lot of growing medium (perlite, pumice....).

The idea of wintering cacti outdoors is interesting. Maybe it is possible in Stockholm, the climate on the coast is considerably warmer than in the middle of the country (But at the same time more humid, which could be a problem?).

This summer I visited Wermland Desert Plants (http://www.wermlanddesertplants.se/, he had a huge greenhouse that he heated to 5C in the winter.
I would like to try and heat my greenhouse next winter, but then I will insulate one part of the greenhouse so it doesn't get too expensive.
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Theral
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Theral »

I get my pumice at Granngården but I will definitely check out that kattsand, great idea.

I'm not sure if you've seen it, but in the thread that ElieEstephane linked there is a blog from a guy in northern Denmark who grows some of his outdoors in permanent beds. I imagine you'd need quite a lot of room for a setup like that though, a luxury I don't have at the moment :lol: https://www.bennyskaktus.dk/construc_UK.htm There is lots of pertinent information on his site.

I'm definitely going to pursue this because I'd love more than anything to have some cacti flourishing outside. I am a little intimidated by those harsh freezes we get sometimes, but that's nature I suppose.

I have ordered all my cacti and seeds from the guy who owns Wermland Desert Plants! He has a nice little store on Tradera. It's a bit of a trip but I'm considering visiting him sometime soon.
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NiklasTyreso
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Location: Enkoping, Sweden, Scandinavia

Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by NiklasTyreso »

I have had a couple of the most cold hardy opuntias outside during cold winters in Enkoping, with success. I had them on my balkony, dry under roof away from snow and rain but with a lot of sun light. No watering from early oktober to april.

But,
most "hardy" cactuses can just handle a few nights with very low freezing temperatures, but they do not manage continuous tundra climate for months. They have to be kept away from snow and rain (and watering) for the 6 winter months.

Daylight is the best light source, but during midwinter the sun shins for just 6 hours a day.

My solution is to have my 15 cactus's dry outside under roof every day that temperatures are zero degr Celcius or above freezing. Most days this last winter I brougt the cactuses outside in the morning and took them indors during the night. If the weather prognosis say it will be just one or two houers with freezing in the early morning houers, then I let them stay outside on the balcony.

When the cactuses were indoors during the coldest peiods I had extra lights for them.
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anttisepp
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by anttisepp »

Hello, I grew hardy cacti for 4 years here in Southern Finland successfully but last humid winter killed almost all of them, only Coryphantha vivipara survived and it seems to me some Opuntias at their base still alive. I've got plants from Mats Winberg and from specialised garden in Germany.
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Mrs.Green
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Mrs.Green »

olof_n wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 6:05 pm I make my own mix. Have tested a few different variants.
An affordable mixture is of cat litter and standard soil.
There is a cat little label called X-tra from Coop https://www.coop.se/handla-online/varor ... pbildande/. It's very cheap and contains burnt clay.

Ikea sells pumice https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/catalog/products/00317650/.
Granngården have a lot of growing medium (perlite, pumice....).
Hi Olof ; The Coop link doesn’t work. Searching for this Xtra catlitter in Norway these came up; https://matlevering.coop.no/sok?q=Kattesand
The first one(s) ( seems to be teo different types of this Xtra catlitter but I can’t see what the difference is) is clumping and that wouldn’t be any good? The other , cheaper type called Coop is non-clumping. Could it be this one you meant?
Panu
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Panu »

It´s not the same, there are different brands that sell burnt clay (moler clay) as a cat litter. Try to find Würth Absorber, which is also moler clay and isn´t perfumed (unlike those cat litters). https://nettbutikk.wuerth.no/papir/olje ... h-absorber
Mrs.Green
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Re: Growing outdoors in Sweden

Post by Mrs.Green »

Panu wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 6:39 am It´s not the same, there are different brands that sell burnt clay (moler clay) as a cat litter. Try to find Würth Absorber, which is also moler clay and isn´t perfumed (unlike those cat litters). https://nettbutikk.wuerth.no/papir/olje ... h-absorber
Thank you Panu :)
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