I have a 4x6, 24" deep outdoor Winter hardy succulents bed, that is mostly various grades of lime stone gravel, and crushed limestone sand ( builders sand ). Why ? Because it is readily available locally. I grow the typical Winter hardy cactus, Echinocereus, small Opuntia, and Agaves. So far, t...

You can find pumice and lava gravel on Ebay, in various sizes. If you are talking a truck load, then I dunno.

Drainage is always the key with cold hardy cactus, although Opuntias are probably the least of your worries. I routinely give away Opuntia pads every year, here in NW Ohio ( Zone 5 ), but I have had no luck with Echinocereus. Most of the ones I have tried, have lasted a few years, but eventually rot...

Huh. Nobody ?

Yup, Opuntias do really well here, especially Humifusa. I routinely give away pads every year; if I didn't, they would take over my garden !

Yeah, I think if the plants could just stay snow covered for most of the Winter, they would have a better chance of making it here. But, snow doesn't last, in fact, with the exception of the last two Winters, which were brutal, it almost rains as much as it snows here. I think it's because I live so...

I'm actually going to try a hardy Agave this time around, with a few of the smaller, compact, Opuntias. I found an online dealer who has a strain of Agave Parryi that is supposedly hardy to Zone 5. Problem is, as with most online dealers, you get tiny plants, and/or cuttings, with just unrooted Opun...

I live in Zone 5 also and have discovered that drainage is the main key to keeping cold hardy cacti from rotting. My first attempt at raising Echinocereus cold hardy cactus only lasted a few years before they all rotted, even with a cover of 6 mil plastic. My soil was all wrong, even in a 12" r...

I'm planning on trying to grow a particularly hardy Agave Parryi I've found online from a dealer that says it will be hardy in my zone 5 ( north west Ohio USA ), in a raised bed. I'm planning on using 2x12" lumber, stacked 2 high for a depth of 24". I'm wondering if I should insulate the i...

I'm planning on trying to grow a particularly hardy Agave Parryi I've found online from a dealer that says it will be hardy in my zone 5 ( north west Ohio USA ), in a raised bed. I'm planning on using 2x12" lumber, stacked 2 high for a depth of 24". I'm wondering if I should insulate the i...