I have a cactus I bought in florida planted in the ground. It has done well all summer but i'm not sure if the winter here in north ga will be to cold to leave it in the ground. I'm not sure what the name is but it has small paddles which others keep connecting on to them and they are smooth no pickers. They also grow purple flowers. Should I take it out of the ground for the winter?
cactus
Sounds like opuntia (prickly pear). I have one that is hardy with large yellow flowers. I've also seen giant ones in some yards and I know they don't remove them for winter. What you can do is remove a couple of pads and root them in fast draining soil (lots of sand) and leave the rooted part outdoors. That way you can test for hardiness but also have some insurance in case it's not.
I was on a garden tour here in Atlanta on Saturday and one of the gardens had a lovely 'southwestern garden' area. I was most surprised to see so many plants I never thought would live here.
You should check out the following places as well:
Atlanta Botanical Gardens has agaves and cacti outdoors but on raised berms.
Plant Delights Nursery has pushed the envelope on a lot of tropical plants including cactus and succulents (mainly agaves).
I myself had an old man cactus that survived the winter years ago but then collapsed when we had a "freak" snow in early April. I thought that was strange that it was solid through many 20 degree nights and colder but then fell over after the snow melted. I think the sap must've been up and took in too much water?
Here is a display at the ABG.
This message was edited Sep 18, 2006 11:34 AM
One more picture from ABG. Looks like DG has problems with pictures today.
What is the word on the picture snafu with DG? Anyone know?
Try this again on pictures
#1
#2 opuntia
here's my Atlanta cactus pix again - see post above:
Many cactus can take cold temps. deserts can be scorching in the day and then freezing at night.
It isn't the cold as much as the wetness that kills C&S whether it be winter or summer. Check out PDN and Ruth Bancroft Gardens for ideas on cold hardiness for C&S and how Ruth goes to great lengths to protect some of her specimens through winter - another true labor of love. She covers a lot of plants with a simple wood frame covered with thick plastic and keeps a six inch air gap at the bottom for air circulation but this is just to keep any water off the plants during winter. She also learned what plants could survive and which ones couldn't but has a magnificent garden (her garden has been in many magazines).
It is best to have a very fast draining soil (sand and gravel) and elevation (berms are a great solution) so the plants won't be sitting in water during winter (and summer for that matter).
I have no idea what these plants are - they were a "Southwestern' garden part of a garden tour I took of the Chamblee Habitat Gardens. This was in the first garen we visited and a real knockout! http://home.comcast.net/~sterhill/habitat/tour.html
It looks too narrow for yucca, it could be agave stricta or maybe nolina or dasylirion. I lean towards the agave.