Need help about storing cacti!

[Jenny29]

Hello,
I would like to ask your advice.
I am on this forum for a month and I got a lot of information about cacti.
Till now I always kept them the same place through the year. At the moment my cacti are in front of the window above the heater on a desk. But thanks to you I learned that cacti want to go dormant in the fall and winter.
According to my plan I will put them outside in the sun next spring and summer so they can reach more sunlight. And next winter I will also make a greenhouse.
But can you help me what should I do now?
I have one more room where there is about 15C. It isn't below 10C but maybe it's better than 25C in my room. Could this be a good idea?
But the problem is that there is little light in that place. Do they need a lot of light at winter too?
Perhaps I will chop off the etiolated pads on some of my plants.

Thank you very much in advance for your help!

Cheers,
Jenny

[Saxicola]

I'd just keep them where they are now so long as the heater isn't creating a hotter microclimate around the plants than the rest of the room. When you are very close to a heater it may be 40C or more, but a meter away and it will be 25C. I think the plants will be pretty much dormant because there is much less light this time of year. Also, I question how many cacti NEED to go dormant.

[Peterthecactusguy]

Technically cacti don't need to go dormant. They do when temps are too low, the sunlight isn't strong enough, or they are dry. In my experience growing in Central AZ, I bring mine in because if I leave them out too long, like I did this year they grow towards the light, because its weaker. Next year I will have to turn the plants around and let them get sun from the other direction, because a few of my Mamms which grew about 3 or more inches this year suddenly started tilting. So, I bring them inside the house where the temp is about 50F. They are mostly out of the sunlight and so they can go sorta dormant for a few months. Since my winter is short enough, they are fine without any water or light. When it warms up they go back outside and get regular waterings, and I can always bring them in for a few days if we get late cold snaps.. (which has happened a few times)

[iann]

They will etiolate if you keep them in the warm room. You won't like the result. Lack of light won't stop them growing, it will just make them grow badly. Not sure when your light will be good enough for them again, since you are quite a bit further south than me. Maybe March? Maybe even February if it is a very sunny window. Until you have good light, keep them as cool as possible unless they are extremely tender species. 10C is fine for almost every cactus.

[DaveW]

Different genera vary since it depends where they normally grow. Even genera growing in the same habitat area with a mile or so of each other can prefer different conditions because it often depends on the altitude they inhabit. In S. America you can get genera that live in the deep hot valleys that prefer almost tropical conditions, whereas a mile or two away you may find different genera on the top of mountains that may prefer cooler conditions and a winter rest. I once attended a talk where the speaker had been round cactus collections in one part of India and said they could not grow Sulcorebutia's very well because it was not cool enough in winter, therefore they did not flower very well not getting a normal cool dormant period. Conversely cacti from tropical areas may grow virtually all year.

Most cacti seem to benefit from a cooler dryer rest in winter though, and any room that is cool but does not go below freezing is safe for most. In a warmer room you may have to keep watering and as Ian says if the light intensity is not great enough they may etiolate.

Not sure turning cacti is always a good idea since nobody does it for plants in in habitat, therefore cacti get used to the sun from one direction and may burn if the normally shaded side is later exposed to full sun. Also sometimes turning can reduce the amount of flowers produced. However you are in a warmer lighter country than me Peter so they may be used to greater light intensity all round, so turning may not affect your plants so much. I mark the direction of orientation to the sun for my plants by where the plant label goes in the pot and make sure when re-potting it goes in the same relationship to the plant as before. Things like Parodia (Notocactus) leninghausii and claviceps should naturally have an inclined crown towards the sun, therefore that is not poor growing.

http://www.gardensandplants.com/uk/plan ... nt_id=2138" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.cactusinhabitat.org/index.ph ... id=92&l=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[iann]

Cacti in habitat don't get turned, but they also don't grow at latitude 53 degrees north, and they do grow lopsided, horizontally out of cliff faces, and in other positions you probably don't want in your greenhouse. Nor do they grow in a climate with 50% cloud cover (75% in Manchester!). Copiapoa columna-alba grows at an angle naturally, but try it in a pot and you'll need some pretty heavy top dressing

[DaveW]

Gives them character Ian, thats why you grew them in the first place, who wants boring symmetrical plants!

[Jenny29]

Thank you for your useful comments.
Autumn and winter last from October to March in our country. My cacti will be put outside in the end of March maybe. Until the weather is rainy, cloudy and dark, they are in front of my window where they can reach the most light but there is too warm.
I can put them to a cooler room but there isn't enough light in that place. Is that a problem?

[hoteidoc]

Don't particularly need light, Jenny, if dry (i.e. not H2O'ed) & 10C or less because they're not trying to grow. That's called winter dormancy

[Jenny29]

Don't particularly need light, Jenny, if dry (i.e. not H2O'ed) & 10C or less because they're not trying to grow. That's called winter dormancy

Thank you for your help. I took them to the cooler room as how you suggested and I hope that they will sleep like a log.