CactiGuide.com

mdpillet wrote:

jp29 wrote:We are experiencing the very best growing conditions here in southern Arizona right now - sunny days in the 80s F and nights in the 50s F.

I caved and moved my Discocactus inside the greenhouse, however!

Yes, I caved too Michel - too many lingering bad memories for me - I am bringing my miniature Melos and Discos indoor on the windowsill at night now.

K.W. wrote:

Good evening to you K.W.

Thank you for your kind words my good friend! Whenever I visit cactus growers here in Tucson they often ask if you are coming to visit again next April. I tell them that you are. We all hope so - especially Beverly and me. The door to our house is always open to you and food is on the table .......... !

With warm regards fom sunny Arizona,

James

I now actually stage my plant trays (in full sun) on a wrought iron stand just outside my south facing bedroom window on reasonably warm days during the winter months. When the temperature drops at nightfall (or sometimes during the day) I slide the window open (the screen has been removed) and retrieve the trays one at a time (they are light weight) by reaching out through the open window and positioning them inside on the windowsill.



Melocactus matanzanus, Discocactus horstii, Discocactus buenekeri, Pereskia portulacifolia

Great job James! Keep on growing. So lucky that you all are still having warm temps. Here, in El Paso, we've already been down to 40, so most of the plants have gone inside.

Happy growing.
Mark

I feel very lucky that I am able to grow plants outside in containers, in the ground or under a covered patio and not have to bring anything inside the house. The coldest winter temperature will be around 50F near the beach in Los Angeles. I used to grow plants inside when I lived in an apartment and moved all of the plants outside when I bought a house.

In order to maintain my Discocactus and Melocactus in prime condition I bring them inside at night whenever the forecast is for a low overnight temperature of 55 F. Actually I prefer a minimum temp of 60 F - they really enjoy that and they stay nice nice and plump - I also get much better flowering and fruiting the following Spring.

Watering during the winter resting period:

The plants that I grow do not require a winter cold resting period in order to produce flowers the following spring (that is one reason I favor them). Winter dormancy for them results from the very dry conditions they experience during this time in their habitat. Therefor they only receive occasional light spraying or misting during this time to maintain general plant health. I use a common garden plastic spray bottle (approx. 2 quarts/1.75 liters) filled with regular Tucson tap water. I add sufficient acid solution (or distilled white vinegar) to attain a pH of approx. 6.0. From time to time, and infrequently, I add 7 drops of Schultz 2.7.7 liquid plant food to provide the plants with some nutrition.

I have been thinking about using an attachment to lower the pH of my tap water. I have heard that plants generally grow much better with slightly acidic water.

jp29 wrote:And so, as an experiment, I have opted to use two wire framed hanging baskets (one for a Euphorbia grouping, the other for a cactus grouping) that employ coco fiber liners on the theory that the soil will be well insulated while maintaining suitable moisture content. I will not use them as hanging baskets though -- their flat bases will allow me to stage them like my potted plants.

I have elected to use these very same coco fiber liners for growing my "Hens & Chicks" which remain outside all year long, and they have prospered. The ONLY problem I can find with these coco fiber mat liners is that the birds LOVE to use them for nesting purposes, and I have therefore HAD to decorate this hanging basket with bird scares. Chrome plated discs that rotate in the wind. And they are quite effective. One day I saw a bird land on the hanger (the one on the left side of the pic). The breeze picked up the tiniest bit and the bird scare began to rotate. The bird gave a startled flap of its wings and immediately flew away.

Unfortunately, in the picture below, the "scares" chose the moment that I hit the shutter to turn sideways ... although you CAN see the lower disc. You can also see that the coco fiber mat has shrunken somewhat over the last 2 years since I purchased the mat.

kuni1234567 wrote:I have been thinking about using an attachment to lower the pH of my tap water. I have heard that plants generally grow much better with slightly acidic water.

I read somewhere that said that most plants get their water from the rain and that plants do best when the ph of water is the same as rain water ... although I do not know what that is. This was a something I read VERY recently, and am therefore looking to start collecting rainwater.

I think rainwater is always more or less acidic (pH < 7) except maybe in some very local cases with strange pollution issues. 'Normal' pollution in most countries makes it more acidic. https://sciencing.com/ph-level-rain-water-5552228.html

I know that some gardeners use vinegar to lower pH and this can work in a small garden. I retired as a chemist for a very large water and power utility and would recommend a pH conditioning system for a large garden or use vinegar for a small garden to lower the pH of alkaline water. I live in Los Angeles, California and the water is alkaline and should lower the pH for optimum growing conditions. I use peat moss to lower the pH in the potting mix. I believe that most cactus owners have problems with very low winter temperatures and short daylight conditions. I realize that putting cactus inside the house or storing them in a basement is better than freezing conditions. I also know that temperature differences are important in order to have flowers. I am fortunate that I live in an area where cactus and succulents can be grown outdoors. I have a number of flowering cactus and flowering succulents, Pseudolithos miguritinus, and my wife's orchids still flowering.