Even though it feels even less like spring than last week, I lugged all the deck succulents and cacti out for an April shower. Temperatures should be above freezing for the next few days and skies shoud be cloudy so it’s a good time to get them used to fresh air and sun again. After nearly six months indoors with little light and even less water I bet they like the change. The pencil euphorbia and the purplish euphorbia in the back (I have the names somewhere…) hate my winter abuse, the rest don’t seem to care much. If temperatures drop to freezing I’ll push them up against the house, if temps go down into the 20’s I’ll either cover them up or bring them back in for a couple nights.
There’s a reason this collection is growing. They do fine in the heat, don’t mind my hit or miss watering, and look good from spring to fall. All are planted in a mix of 75% potting soil/25% sandbox sand, terra cotta pots, and topped with a light layer of garage sale aquarium gravel on top. I’ll admit there have been casualties (overwintering casualties) along the way but for the most part it’s been easy-peasy. If anyone is interested I’ll put up a list of what I have…. if not we might just visit them again in August to see how much they’ve grown!
They’re beautiful! I had a packet of mixed cactus seeds (probably still do, somewhere..) that I never had the courage to plant. Yours are stunning! Did you purchase or start from seeds?
Thanks! They’re a mix of purchased and passalongs. I think the only one from seed is the tall thin cactus -which my dad grew from seed many years ago, and I ended up with a piece. I usually add one or two new ones each year and hope it will be a couple more winters before I get sick of lugging them in 🙂
[…] the winter).The summer vacation did them well, and many have come close to doubling in size since I put them out in April. Cacti and succulents always seem so slow growing, but then all of a sudden you have a 5 pound […]