Cold Climate Cactus

Snow is building up on the cold frame lids. Even though it is only a few inches this should help keep the cactus plants safe.

The cold frames are closed again with less than a quarter of an inch on them. Maybe there will be more snow in the next day or so... otherwise I should open them again.

The cold frame lids are wood with clear plastic taped on to them. It is hard to believe this thin plastic held on by tape will support the weight of snow and ice over the winter, but it does. A cold frame doesn't get any cheaper than this. Now there is no snow, but when the cold frames were opened in freezing conditions one of them cracked. It is as if the cold makes the flexible plastic fragile like glass. I just put some clear packing tape over the cracks and that should get the structure through the winter. Next summer I probably should replace the plastic with some new plastic.

Usually in December the snow comes and covers the cold frames with the cactus plants inside. These cacti stay covered by snow for the whole winter and in March the snow melts letting them have full sun again. This year some rain came and washed all the snow off the cold frames leaving behind very cold weather with no snow cover. I decided to reopen the cold frames and leave them open until some snow returns. The problem with keeping them closed is that the air inside will become moist from the ground; then freeze on the cold frame lid at night - only to melt in the daytime - which allows water to fall onto the cactus plants and then form ice. This would be bad for the plants. Keeping the lids open and letting the cactus plants be exposed to the dry cold air of winter will be safer than letting them get water drips on them.

It is strange to have no snow protection in January, but the cactus plants should still do well.

There were plenty of weed seeds germinating around the cactus plants this fall. Mostly prickly lettuce, and it seemed like there were thousands of them. While digging out the broadleaf seedlings I found lots cactus seedling too which was very exciting because I didn't know they were growing there. I transplanted them to their own pots and they are ready to spend the winter in the cold frames. This is the first time I've tried transplanting cold hardy seedlings in the fall. They should survive well this way and begin to grow next spring, and if this works well I should try more fall transplanting. Before I was transplanting cold hardy cacti in the early spring, so we'll see.

We have had rain every day in the month of June and July is still bring plenty of rain too. Some seedlings have died under these conditions and others are growing like mad. There are probably some species relationship to the ones that survive these conditions and by the end of this summer I imagine I'll know which ones these are. The cold climate varieties in the Echinocereus, Escobaria and Pediocactus generics are all holding up very well and growing.

There has been rain almost every day for the past week. I think I picked a good time to plant cactus seeds in outdoor starting trays. They have stayed wet and the night and day temps. have been good too. Hopefully in a week or less there should be some germination.