These desert plants have survived the hot humid summers, we got quite a bit of rain and most of them seem to be dealing with it fine. Maybe my mix of rocks, sand and other good draining soil materials is working.
I am curious to see how they fare in the winter, these are not your ordinary cacti as most would turn into mush when they freeze. As I was buying these cacti and succulents I made sure they are cold hardy. Or at least they were reported as such, so we shall see how they handle the winter. Hoping its mild so they have more of a fighting chance.
So far the prickly pears have the most new growth. And one of the succulents is doing really well. I also think a few of the cacti are getting "fatter" which I guess is it storing water. The others either have no new growth, or have shown some die back. There are a few that seem kind of loose in the soil and I fear rot will get them. Well this winter it will be obvious which ones are like that as they will probably not make it.
I will learn from this and buy some other cacti and succulents as the weaker ones do not make it. But I will wait until next year to see which ones fared well and which ones did not.
With the four baskets I should have alot to watch for the changes that occur over time. Maybe one day I will get some fruit from the prickly pears but I am sure thats many years away if ever. I do have a couple prickly pear cacti in the ground so they are more likely to fruit as they are not in small containers.
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Some people grow Opuntias (and other cold hardy cacti) in Poland where the winter temp can get as low as -20C. They seem to be fine after. But they are all directly in soil so I guess the roots are protected from too much cold.
Also Sempervivums are doing great there. I am curious to see how yours do in spring in that basket.
I thought the Opuntias would do well, they seem to be the most hardy of the cacti I can grow in my region. I have Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia fragilis, Opuntia polyacantha erinacea, and a Opuntia ellisiana in the ground.
Yeah we shall see how they do in baskets, I hope they have enough protection from the cold in there. My Sempervivum is doing okay, it had an offshoot but it died, but the main plant is still alive and doing okay. I think most of the plants are still a little shocked. Hoping next year there will be more growth.
Fingers crossed!
I have no luck with Sempervivums here. Might be too hot for them...