Light requirements and growing inside

[Andrew Farrell]

I'm a college student and all summer I grew my cacti and agave directly in full sunlight. They really seemed to grow quickly and loved the full sun, but now I live in an apartment that only has access to a east facing window. The window does get a lot of sun throughout the day, but since I'm new to the hobby and have been growing them outside all summer, will this be a detriment to their health? I do have a few sun loving species like stenocereus thurberi, pachycereus marginatus, and pachycereus pringlei. Any advice would be great.

[Salspi]

I'm following along. What about using T5s or LED?

[Andrew Farrell]

I'm following along. What about using T5s or LED?

I've looked into those, I do have a balcony that gets nice sun as well. However now I'm worried about the winter months. Would excess artificial light be beneficial or would the light from the windows be enough when dormant?

[jfabiao]

It's impossible to answer that question without knowing (literally) where on earth you are located.

[DaveW]

As Jfabiao says as this is an international forum it is always helpful if you put your country in your avatar since advice will differ for different countries and also what equipment and materials are available there.

There is some information on artificial lighting here:-

https://cactiguide.com/article/?article=article17.php

http://succulent-plant.com/light.html

[Andrew Farrell]

It's impossible to answer that question without knowing (literally) where on earth you are located.

Sorry you guys, I live in the Midwestern United States, Iowa to be exact. It gets pretty dang cold here in the winters. Does this help?

[greenknight]

Light isn't real important when the plants are dormant, but they hold their color better with good light. There's more risk of sunburn if they've lost pigment from wintering in the dark, you need to gradually introduce them to the sun again.

[Marzhattan]

Light isn't real important when the plants are dormant, but they hold their color better with good light. There's more risk of sunburn if they've lost pigment from wintering in the dark, you need to gradually introduce them to the sun again.

So do you mean that I can lets say leave it on a sunny window for the winter as long as the room is cold? 45-50F..? This is the part that has me a little bit confused. I don't know if I should put them in a box or let them be.

[esp_imaging]

So do you mean that I can lets say leave it on a sunny window for the winter as long as the room is cold? 45-50F..? This is the part that has me a little bit confused. I don't know if I should put them in a box or let them be.

Yes, a sunny cool (or even cold) windowsill is great for many species. Lots of C&S are froist tolernat if very dry, and lots more can cope with temperatuires close to freezing.
24 hour darkness is unnatural for most plants (those covered in snow all winter would be an exception), although many succulents will cope with this surprisingly well if dormant.

[7george]

I leave my plants living around an east window just with penetrating through blinds light and an average, not even cool temperature of about 15 - 18 (- 20)°C. Most go dormant and overwinter well, except of some South American species that need colder spot to hold the growth (even dry) and to set buds for next spring. These are my conditions, I have no cold or cooler basement or rooms and outside falls to -20°C or more: just some local plants and bunch of hardy ones from USA can stay that. So all Mexican cacti will be OK if dry, some light and temps up to 60 - 70(s)F: these are day time maximums winter time in Mexico. Minimums around 10 - 15°C would be perfect for most species if you can provide that. Some tender or tropical species will need milder conditions but that is a different topic.

[Andrew Farrell]

I leave my plants living around an east window just with penetrating through blinds light and an average, not even cool temperature of about 15 - 18 (- 20)°C. Most go dormant and overwinter well, except of some South American species that need colder spot to hold the growth (even dry) and to set buds for next spring. These are my conditions, I have no cold or cooler basement or rooms and outside falls to -20°C or more: just some local plants and bunch of hardy ones from USA can stay that. So all Mexican cacti will be OK if dry, some light and temps up to 60 - 70(s)F: these are day time maximums winter time in Mexico. Minimums around 10 - 15°C would be perfect for most species if you can provide that. Some tender or tropical species will need milder conditions but that is a different topic.

Thank you very much George, this basically describes my collection perfectly and I’m glad I got a straight answer on this. I just don’t want any etiolation or at least as little as possible. It’s my first winter and I would say I’m nervous but with this advice I’m feeling much more confident.