New Avonia alstonii

[snagel]

As a new collector, I recently went to a cactus and succulent show and came home with a beautiful Avonia alstonii. The seller looked me in the eye as I was leaving and said, "You take good care of this now, I've had it for 10 years." Of course I want to find out as much as possible about it to keep it happy through the New England winter, but I haven't been able to find much information and that I have been able to find seems to be inconsistent. One resource said it was a winter grower that wanted to be dry, another said to water March-October. Can anyone point me in the direction of some good information for the gem of my tiny collection?

[CactusFanDan]

I treat mine like a fairly typical cactus: regular watering in Summer, and I'll probably bring it inside during Winter, since I won't be heating my greenhouse. I think that depends on climate, though. If you have very hot Summers, then they might certainly be prone to going dormant in the height of Summer. In a temperate climate they seem to be Summer growers.

[snagel]

Thanks Dan! I also forgot to ask when it had last been watered. Since I'm starting to wind down and plan to stop watering in October, when would be a safe time for a last drink before winter for my new addition?

[iann]

Winter grower tags are perhaps from people living in the tropics, maybe sub-tropics. They'll grow when it is cool, but they need some decent sun, while means they are not winter growers in England. Any time it will dry out quickly it can be watered. It will happily take water when nights are down to freezing, just don't leave it with wet feet for ages or it will rot and you won't save it. Don't overpot, the roots are small and they won't benefit from a larger pot. It is safe down to -7C (20F), but I'd guess not much lower although I've never killed one by freezing so I can't say for sure. Equally it can sit dry in almost any amount of summer heat, although eventually it will start to shed stems, and even that isn't fatal.