Winter Care

[Nadi]

Good afternoon everybody! So, fall is rolling in and winter is approaching faster than I hoped for! I live in a hardiness zone of 7-8 in GA. Our winters can get cold with frost and the ever so ocassional snow. Last year I brought my succulents inside for the winter but this year I have found myself with far too many plants to bring inside! I'll be trying my luck with keeping them outdoors with a tarp draped over them, hopefully protecting them. Succulent/cacti parents, how cold does your winters get and how do you keep your plants alive throughout it? Is there anything I can do to prepare them so they'll hopefully be a little hardier??

 

[Marck]

Even if you can't bring everything inside, do take cutting of everything and keep them inside. You can put multiple cuttings in the same pot to save space. If it is a single-stemmed plant that can't have cuttings removed, such as some cacti and Euphorbia. I would take the whole plant inside. If I absolutely didn't have room on a windows sill, I would even bring them inside to a darker area, but only when the weather became cold enough to demand it. Keeping succulents in too little light is by no means an ideal situation, but it is preferrable to exposing them to excessive cold and wetness.

Prioritize protecting your more tropical and subtropical species. There are some succulents that can survive outside in Zone 8, very few in Zone 7. Even succulents that are kept outside in cold weather will benefit greatly from being under a a porch roof or overhang. This will protect them both from direct frost, and winter wetness. Of course, with cold weather conditions, most succulents will grow very little and should not be watered until the weather warms.

 

[Chuck]

What you cover plants with is very important. Never use plastic. There is a fairly inexpensive product called Nsulate. This stuff is extremely lite in weight, allows plenty of sunshine through and a single layer of this product protects about 6 degrees of temperature. Two layers about 12 degrees. On plants you can't bring inside, covering with this stuff and a bunch of leaves, it will protect well into the 'teens.

 

[Nadi]

Thank you both! They're protected from above since they're under an overhang. I had no idea you couldn't use plastic! I'll be using that Nsulate product to protect them from the sides. Thank you again!!

 

[Chuck]

Thank you both! They're protected from above since they're under an overhang. I had no idea you couldn't use plastic! I'll be using that Nsulate product to protect them from the sides. Thank you again!!

You can wrap the plant and/or drape it over the plant. An overhang is nice but it does nothing about the actual temperature. You can do the same thing in spring and summer too, to keep insects at bay and to protect from high winds. It does not work as a shade cloth though.

 

[Nadi]

You can wrap the plant and/or drape it over the plant. An overhang is nice but it does nothing about the actual temperature. You can do the same thing in spring and summer too, to keep insects at bay and to protect from high winds. It does not work as a shade cloth though.

Would it be okay to staple it onto the wood of the shelf they're on instead of the plant? Kind of like a greenhouse.

 

[Chuck]

Would it be okay to staple it onto the wood of the shelf they're on instead of the plant? Kind of like a greenhouse.

Not really. The cloth has to be in very close proximity to the plant to have insulation value.

 

[Nadi]

Not really. The cloth has to be in very close proximity to the plant to have insulation value.

Oh okay! Thank you, Chuck!