And Al Gore says we have global warming. LOL

Yep- Illinois here. Last year we went down to -20 one Saturday night. Brutal. I keep mine in the house not the garage, I don't have any windows. Do you have a thermometer anywhere? they might be ok if it is attached but imho if it is under 45 in there id bring them into the house.

Yeah, I'm right in the middle of that arctic air that's headed your way. It was 20 below here last night, and it doesn't look like it's going to get above zero today. Luckily I have a heated greenhouse for all my plants. Things are actually looking up in there with the increasing daylight.

I just hope my car starts at those temps since I don't think it has ever seen temps like this!
Don't forget to make sure you have plenty of gas in your tank too.

Tom, I think any plant in my pop up is going to come in that can't handle temps into the 40's.
It was 48 in there the other night when it was 5 degrees that night.

What is going on buddy? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It seems to get worst when we get older and stop snow sports..

By the way Tom, my Sharey baby orchid is in full bloom and smells of chocolate..I love it!

Mike

Mike

Mike -

Wow! You still have plants in your pop-up? How are you keeping it in the forties when it is 5 outside! That is warmer than my attached garage...

Happy to hear about your chocolate orchid...my Paph is flowering now, too. Nice to see flowers when the world is all white and frozen.

T

I'm seeing a low of 8F Sunday eve...

Tom - what kind of garage doors do you have? Are they insulated? Is the garage attached to the house?

Last year I saw a low of around 12F and in my unheated garage it was 38F as usual. Many/ most cactus species can take a frost without worry, especially since they are presumably dry.

x

Tom,

I took your request as something entirely quite different, but never mind....

We're getting more-than-last year snow and our temps are right around 0C / 32F for the last week or so, but as soon as I leave Canada early next week the temp's going to soar to 6C / 43F, at least during the day.

I heartily endorse your Spring sentiment.

I've never done the cold-storage thingie. Plants get watered (or they don't) but nothing's out of the way. The garage can get to be in the high teens, so I don't think that would be good for the Burseras which are noticeably dormant now. The Cyphostemmas can't handle those sorts of temps, I think, even when totally dry.

The garage is attached, and the outside doors have a strip of insulation along the bottom. With that, I have already seen around 34F in the garage when the outside temp was in the low single digits. Most other times, the garage temps are in the low to mid forties now, but with a dip like the one predicted coming I am not sure where it will go.

For all I know, it may stay around that temp when the outside drops to -5 to -10F, but I am not sure so I thought it made sense to be a little extra cautious through this.

So, my Sulcorebutias are in the sunroom, along with my Turbinicarpus (which has some swelling flower buds), my Cleistocactus, my Astrophytum asterias, and my Aloe plicatilis. My other cacti are now hanging with my jades in a south facing window in a room that cools pretty well at night, and gets good sun in the day.

My cycads and hardy bonsai are still in the garage, along with my Yucca rostrata. Good luck to them!

T

T - most Sulco and Cleisto will easily stand a light frost, Astro asterias is hardy to around 20F, Turbi valdezianus can take it to 10F!

My Yucca rostrata is outside looking perfect, right next to Yucca thompsoniana, and not far from Agave ovatifolia, Agave protoamericana + Trachy wagnerianus.

Almost my entire collection (minus some Pachy and Adenium) were outdoors this past fall and experienced an unexpected dip to 28-29F one night. Other than a Euphorbia tirucalli, a few Crassula and a small Pseudolithos that croaked, the rest are fine or suffered only minor damage that will be easily outgrown. Alluaudia ascendens had 3/4 of it's stem rot off, but the base is healthy. Every single one of my 100's of cacti are perfect. In fact, many cacti bloom best if they are allowed to freeze (Rebutia, Lobivia, some Echinopsis).

x

I know you all will find this riveting ;-).

When I woke this AM, it was 11F outside and 37F in the garage.

Tomorrow is the big test - they are still predicting 10 below!

T

x -

I guess the question in my mind is, if they did not need to be exposed to such temps (i.e., there is a more moderate place to keep them with good light), should they be?

The only one that I am not entirely thrilled with the placement of right now is my A. plicatilis. It is a bit large, so a bit more difficult to get it really good light.

T

If one can avoid exposing plants to cold temps, then it is of course safer. It depends on how many plants are involved, and how much effort is needed - which becomes a personal choice.

For me, as you know, I enjoy putting my plants to "sleep" and not having to really worry about them for a few months. It's like a vacation!

x

>If one can avoid exposing plants to cold temps, then it is of course safer. It depends on how many plants are involved, and how much effort is needed - which becomes a personal choice.

Isn't that a bit of a generalization? There are many cacti (most Tephrocacti, some Cylindropuntias, Cumulopuntias/Maihueniopsis) that don't just survive, but rather NEED freezing temps if they're going to flower the next spring.

-R

We're at the other end of the scale, it was 70deg yesterday (20deg above average)! and it be in the high 60s the rest of the week.

land3499

Is it a generalization? Yes, but you should read through all the posts. Things are written in "context".

My post was specifically in reply to Tom's collection - of which he does not possess any of the species you list (nor any others) that do best with a freeze event.

In fact, if you looked at one of my earlier posts (Jan 21) on this thread, you will see that I did briefly mention that some cactus species flower best after a freeze.

x