Viewing post #761627 by Esperanza

tarev said:My early cold damaged succulents

Euphorbia milii
Our freeze watch last Dec did its job..but I think the plant is still okay. The stems are firm and hard. Just the leaves are in such a sorry state. So I am just keeping it as dry as it can. Thankfully our temps are just on the nice warm side and overnights are not bad either.




These noid cacti, has always pouted big time during winter. My mistake in previous years was putting it in a big container thereby it takes longer to dry out during our wet winters. I ended up chopping off rotten parts these past couple of years, so it is now so short. I have given each cacti its own container, making the media as gritty and porous as it can. I even protected them inside my growcamp to keep them dry.
But this one is just so out of it...the body is still firm to touch, just the color is too yellowy bad.


Its sister cacti is doing okay on the other hand, they were side by side inside the growcamp..but for some reason, that first one is just not enjoying it. oh well...


Now this is a true survivor..I though I have already lost this plant last summer, it just continued on to rot, but I left it outdoors this winter regardless. My Senecio kleiniiformis:
It used to be this nice last April 2014:


Photo last Sept 2014 - after summer..just so bad

Now this Jan 2015, on my return from my trip..woohooo..hope is rekindled! I see a new growth, a small one, but it is hopeful, at the smallest stem:


The succulents are teaching me well...not to wave the white flag yet....I am learning and adjusting as I go.

I hope you have a learning experience and not too many losses. I am also in a can keep as my hubby calls"foo foo" plants in this area but some years such as the last one I lost some good friends. Things that can not be replaced. I no longer will ever chance the weather forecast. The way the weather has changed so drastically for our winters in the last two years I have just resigned myself to living in a jungle this winter. We had an unexpected hard freeze last year that I was literally in tears for days if not weeks. Forecast said one thing and the actual weather hit suddenly. My homemade green house had no chance at all. With these new "polar vortex" I think all of us in semi temperate zones need to be extra careful. I hope the best for you and your babies.