Winter is coming

[Spikylover]

Winter is still pretty far but im excited for the next season of GOT.
Now to cacti talk. I racked up more than 100 cacti and succulents in a few months amd then it hit me! What the hell am i gonna do during winter. I used to have a couple of golden barrels that i keep in a dark coldish room during winter and they are doing great. Can other small cacti take that? that would be amazing. i dont wanna have to build a greenhouse. My ideal solution is keeeping them dry in a dark cold room wih water every couple of months.
Some sources say they should be kept dry in a greenhouse (thats the opposite of dark). Some sources say to keep them in a dark room which is confusing.
So to sum up...young cacti in a cold dry room during winter: yes or no?
If you could also elaborate more on conditons . They are dormant so im guessing they don't need the light.
Thank you!

[Aiko]

Winter is still pretty far but im excited for the next season of GOT.
Now to cacti talk. I racked up more than 100 cacti and succulents in a few months amd then it hit me! What the hell am i gonna do during winter. I used to have a couple of golden barrels that i keep in a dark coldish room during winter and they are doing great. Can other small cacti take that? that would be amazing. i dont wanna have to build a greenhouse. My ideal solution is keeeping them dry in a dark cold room wih water every couple of months.
Some sources say they should be kept dry in a greenhouse (thats the opposite of dark). Some sources say to keep them in a dark room which is confusing.
So to sum up...young cacti in a cold dry room during winter: yes or no?
If you could also elaborate more on conditons . They are dormant so im guessing they don't need the light.
Thank you!

No water. Anything greater than a sphere of halve a centimeter can survive a few months in a cold room without any water at all. If you give them water, you run the risk of encouraging them to grow, especially if the room gets warm due to a heating system being turned on or a sunny winter day. If they grow, they will etiolate. That is not what you want. No water! Only give very small seedlings an occasional spray of water once a month, maybe.

That is how I have been doing that for the past twenty years with my plants during winter.

They don't need to be dark during dormancy. So you can leave them in the greenhouse if you can protect the plans from the severe frost. I prefer to bring the plants indoors, so you don't have to heat the greenhouse and you don't run the risk they will have to survive a freezing night if the heater fails for some reason.

Light is fine, but be aware a bright greenhouse will reduce moisture from the plants a bit faster than a cold room will. So if you keep them in a greenhouse, there is a chance you might give them some water after all, depending on their size. But even then, I think most plants will be still fine without any water at all for half a year.

[Spikylover]

Winter is still pretty far but im excited for the next season of GOT.
Now to cacti talk. I racked up more than 100 cacti and succulents in a few months amd then it hit me! What the hell am i gonna do during winter. I used to have a couple of golden barrels that i keep in a dark coldish room during winter and they are doing great. Can other small cacti take that? that would be amazing. i dont wanna have to build a greenhouse. My ideal solution is keeeping them dry in a dark cold room wih water every couple of months.
Some sources say they should be kept dry in a greenhouse (thats the opposite of dark). Some sources say to keep them in a dark room which is confusing.
So to sum up...young cacti in a cold dry room during winter: yes or no?
If you could also elaborate more on conditons . They are dormant so im guessing they don't need the light.
Thank you!

No water. Anything greater than a sphere of halve a centimeter can survive a few months in a cold room without any water at all. If you give them water, you run the risk of encouraging them to grow, especially if the room gets warm due to a heating system being turned on or a sunny winter day. If they grow, they will etiolate. That is not what you want. No water! Only give very small seedlings an occasional spray of water once a month, maybe.

That is how I have been doing that for the past twenty years with my plants during winter.

They don't need to be dark during dormancy. So you can leave them in the greenhouse if you can protect the plans from the severe frost. I prefer to bring the plants indoors, so you don't have to heat the greenhouse and you don't run the risk they will have to survive a freezing night if the heater fails for some reason.

Light is fine, but be aware a bright greenhouse will reduce moisture from the plants a bit faster than a cold room will. So if you keep them in a greenhouse, there is a chance you might give them some water after all, depending on their size. But even then, I think most plants will be still fine without any water at all for half a year.

Thanks Aiko for your detailed response! I used to water no more than a tablespoon to avoid some root loss but i guess now i'll scratch that. It's good to hear that they don't need the dark. I can keep them in just about any unheated room.