What, exactly, does "winter growing" mean to me?

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graffiti
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Location: NE Connecticut / Zone 5a

What, exactly, does "winter growing" mean to me?

Post by graffiti »

I have a few plants which my research has suggested are 'winter growers'. For example Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri and Fenestraria aurantiaca. Both were bought on a whim without doing any reading.

When I started to do some research, I found pretty much all of my winter growers are from South Africa and surrounding countries. Okay, great.

So I head over to weather underground to check on some weather stations to get an idea what winter temps are like. Turns out their winter is like my summer. And my winter is like... their air conditioned houses. Living in an old house, generally the temps are kept around 68°f (~20°f) during the day and down to around 50°f (10°c). Furthermore, 'full sun' isn't really full sun since it's coming through a storm window, normal window, then a sheet of window wrap to keep heat in.

What do I do with these plants in the winter? I feel like I should be keeping them as I do my other succulents right now, during the New England summer, but when winter rolls around, they're going to be too cold. Do I treat them like my Melo and just keep it pretty dry and as warm as possible in the winter?
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Aiko
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Re: What, exactly, does "winter growing" mean to me?

Post by Aiko »

What I do is the following: all winter active plants I keep dry in summer. They don't get any water until late August, at around the time many (but not all) of the winter active plants show some new growth or other activity. They get relatively much water up until November, when the days get too dull and the light time too short. Most I keep dry, but water occasionally. And some plants I water more, depending on the species and its size and its thirst. When frosts are coming in late December, I put all my winter active plants in a small area in my greenhouse I keep frost free with the help of a heater and a thermostat that controls the heater when it gets -0.1C. It is not until I get them out this small area, sometimes in the middle of March when the last decent frosts are gone again, when I start to water most of my plants again with decent amount of water.

By the way, Titanopsis can probably aso be treated as summer active plants. There are some opportunistic plants out there, that grow anytime you provide water. But in our winters we don't always have enough sunintensity to accompany good growth. Or better, instead of summer active, treat them as spring / autumn growers. Water in spring and autumn, keep dry in summer and winter. But others might have different growing routines you might like to apply.
graffiti
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Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:22 pm
Location: NE Connecticut / Zone 5a

Re: What, exactly, does "winter growing" mean to me?

Post by graffiti »

Aiko wrote:By the way, Titanopsis can probably aso be treated as summer active plants. There are some opportunistic plants out there, that grow anytime you provide water.
Thanks for the info. It seems my Titanopsis is the most difficult of the genus to grow, because it's apparently not nearly as opportunistic as other species. If you throw it in the search here, you'll find several threads attesting to that.

I'm going to try the spring/autumn thing. Probably earlier than November, since it's basically winter here by November.
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Aiko
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Re: What, exactly, does "winter growing" mean to me?

Post by Aiko »

graffiti wrote:
Aiko wrote:By the way, Titanopsis can probably aso be treated as summer active plants. There are some opportunistic plants out there, that grow anytime you provide water.
Thanks for the info. It seems my Titanopsis is the most difficult of the genus to grow, because it's apparently not nearly as opportunistic as other species. If you throw it in the search here, you'll find several threads attesting to that.

I'm going to try the spring/autumn thing. Probably earlier than November, since it's basically winter here by November.

But Titanopsis flowers in December, January and February where I live. The darkest months of the year up here. So some water (just a little splash every other week or so) then is probably appropriate.
iann
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Re: What, exactly, does "winter growing" mean to me?

Post by iann »

Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri is extremely intolerant of summer water, especially in hot humid conditions. On the other hand, it will be pretty sorry if left entirely dry for the four months or so it will take to get through your summer. At a minimum, you'll have to get used to letting it shrink in summer. At first it will look and feel a bit unhappy, but then it will settle down and get quite hard. Then probably an occasional spray will get them through to cooler weather. Quite what you'll do in winter I don't know. They won't be happy in a normally heated room, but they for sure won't survive outside.

Fenestraria also won't get through summer without some water (or perhaps it would, but only if you let it shrink under the soil), but also won't tolerate too much when it is hot and humid. Perhaps take a hint from habitat and spray it most evenings. Again, winter can be tricky. They can get ugly if they grow in poor light, but have no tolerance for freezing. They will grow well into an English summer, so certainly in your spring and autumn. They are highly opportunistic, but that just means they'll grow whenever it is cool and sunny, not that they'll grow during the dog days.
--ian
graffiti
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Re: What, exactly, does "winter growing" mean to me?

Post by graffiti »

iann wrote:They will grow well into an English summer, so certainly in your spring and autumn.
Hehe.

Thanks for the info.
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