what to do?
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ItchyBigfoot
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 7:43 pm
what to do?
I need to put my large cacti outside for sufficient lighting but I live in the Appalachians and it is always storming during the warm season so I don't know how to let my cacti get sufficient lighting without it getting soaked my a thunderstorm. Does anyone else live here or in a similar climate and what do they do? My silver torch is starting to etoliate and I need some suggestions.
"Not all who wander are lost" J.R.R. Tolkien
Re: what to do?
Provided they dry out reasonably quickly in the growing season a rainstorm will not hurt them, they get thunderstorms in habitat. If your worried put some sort of transparent roof over them.
http://yenchoon.tripod.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a ... -Tomatoes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You don't need iron pipe though you can make a timber frame.
http://yenchoon.tripod.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a ... -Tomatoes/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You don't need iron pipe though you can make a timber frame.
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ItchyBigfoot
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2013 7:43 pm
Re: what to do?
But it sometimes refund for days so I'm afraid they will rot.
"Not all who wander are lost" J.R.R. Tolkien
Re: what to do?
We sometimes get daily rain and sometimes periods of 5 days or so with rain plus 100% relative humidity and the cactus don`t rot.
People think that the thick skin of cactus is to keep water in, but in the tropics it also keeps water out.
Make sure your pots have extra drain holes and a porous mix and raise your pots off the ground so that water cannot puddle or get trapped near the bottom of the pots. Many of mine are set on top of concrete blocks. This also keeps the roots from excaping from the pots and rooting in the soil.
People think that the thick skin of cactus is to keep water in, but in the tropics it also keeps water out.
Make sure your pots have extra drain holes and a porous mix and raise your pots off the ground so that water cannot puddle or get trapped near the bottom of the pots. Many of mine are set on top of concrete blocks. This also keeps the roots from excaping from the pots and rooting in the soil.
Re: what to do?
Mostly they'll be OK. An occasional drenching is good. If it rains for days then you can bring them in.
--ian
Re: what to do?
I put a corrugated plastic roof over my opuntia bed in the winter. I have some of the GH stuff out side & when we had 3 days of rain, I just threw a lightweight painter's plastic drop cloth over the whole group. Worked well enough. Sue
Dry feet!
Winter is a different thing. I don`t water cacti in dec-jan ( northern hemisphere) and would be very careful that they did not get flooded when they are cold and not growing.
In the summer, good air circulation is important too. Also, pay attention to the species--if they come from a summer rain area they should be happier than if they come from a winter rain area. If they come from clay soil, they are used to more water than those that grow on rocks in the desert, etc. In any case, keep an eye on them.
I have O.ficus indica growing at 1350 meters( sunny location in cloud forest) and it is not happy. it grows and fruits but is covered with multicolored spots that I assume are fungus. Easy fix--don`t plant any more. Nopalea cocheniliferra is growing fine in the same climate and I am expanding them to use as screen planting and windbreak. At this elevation they grow very shrubby.
If your plants get fungus growths, get them under cover. Watch the soil for puddling--if they get root rot they may be damaged beyond repàir before you can do anything so prevention is the key. One of my first misadventures in cacti was killing a 3 foot specimen of mexican old man. The saucer I had under the plant was full of water too much of the time. Once the rot hit, it took the whole plant, although I probably could have saved the growing tip if I had thought of it.. It could have been prevented by watering the plant less often and dumping out the water in the saucer after each watering. I no longer use saucers because of the mosquito hazard, but if you use them on a nice patio surface keep them dry
In the summer, good air circulation is important too. Also, pay attention to the species--if they come from a summer rain area they should be happier than if they come from a winter rain area. If they come from clay soil, they are used to more water than those that grow on rocks in the desert, etc. In any case, keep an eye on them.
I have O.ficus indica growing at 1350 meters( sunny location in cloud forest) and it is not happy. it grows and fruits but is covered with multicolored spots that I assume are fungus. Easy fix--don`t plant any more. Nopalea cocheniliferra is growing fine in the same climate and I am expanding them to use as screen planting and windbreak. At this elevation they grow very shrubby.
If your plants get fungus growths, get them under cover. Watch the soil for puddling--if they get root rot they may be damaged beyond repàir before you can do anything so prevention is the key. One of my first misadventures in cacti was killing a 3 foot specimen of mexican old man. The saucer I had under the plant was full of water too much of the time. Once the rot hit, it took the whole plant, although I probably could have saved the growing tip if I had thought of it.. It could have been prevented by watering the plant less often and dumping out the water in the saucer after each watering. I no longer use saucers because of the mosquito hazard, but if you use them on a nice patio surface keep them dry