20 below - is that F? That would be quite cold. There are cold hardy succulents that will survive that, can't tell what plants you have there.

Yes rina, that would be 20 below F. The plants you see are different varieties of Cholla and Prickly Pear. Also a Joshua Tree and a banana yucca. The lowest temp we get around here is near 0, and if that happens, it's only a few times a year.

I don't know many of them, but know that Joshua tree is supposedly hardy to -10*F, many Opuntias to much lower than that. I have lots of hardy sedums and sempervivums overwintering in temps easily down to -10 to -15*F in coldest part of winter, occasionally colder. As long as they have good drainage, even in ground. What is your soil like? I have really heavy clay soil, so either plant them on 'generous' gritty mounds or keep in containers.

That looks really good. Nice combo. I'm sure they will survive..being young you might lose a limb and pads here and there..but we all have seen these things in photos with icicles on them and snow on the ground.

It looks great!

Nice cactus garden! Rina, how high or deep should a gritty mound be? I want to make one in my yard, that has very poor and heavy soil.

Derek: "The lowest temp we get around here is near 0, and if that happens, it's only a few times a year."

Then are you in a warmer zone than zone 5?

I am in zone 5 and the temps drop to -20 F. Those are some nice big plants. I haven't dared to plant anything like that outside, yet.

Barb

It really depends on drainage of native soil. You don't want to create a 'bathtub effect' if the soil is draining poorly, by filing just a small area/hole with well draining mix. I would think of it as a raised bed, so at least 6-8". In this case, more is better IMO :) If I couldn't get at least that for some reason, I would keep them in containers.

Rina, I'm lucky to have very sandy soil. That should help.

Poly, temps can go well below zero, but that would be record territory. Maybe you could try planting a few cold hardy prickly pears and see what happens.

Derek, I'm in the state north of you. There are native Opuntia growing on small sand dunes. The local Opuntia have yellow to green colored flowers. I have a red/pink flower Opuntia with bigger pads but I haven't left it outside for the Winter, yet. I'm not sure where to plant it. So far I've tried a Pediocactus, Escobaria, and a few succulents with success. I have some more cacti to try outside, all year, but I want to propagate them first.

Poly, I also have a Pediocactus, or is it echinocereus? I lost the tag and the internet doesn't help much.

I think it looks more like an echinocereus.

I cannot believe it!!! Wow, thanks for sharing that.

Hardy Prickly Pear cactus collection

i hope my garden looks as beautiful as any of the above pictures. In that case, I'd share a pic here, too.