h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi,

I had a mild disaster during the summer with my small collection of cacti - I went away for a couple weeks, left them with plenty of water, but when I returned several palnts looked a bit sad and eventually rotted and died. I think it was a combination of over watering and the weather not being that sunny while I was away. This had always worked in the past.

Anyway, I decided to put the remainder of the cacti out in the garden in a very sunny (normally) south facing amongst the vegetables. Surprisely, all the plants survived and actually thrived - some have doubled is size and a couple actually flowered for a second time.

Now, my dilema is:

Q1: When should I bring them inside for the winter?
Q2: Should I water them during the winter months?
Q1: Some pots need to be repotted - Do I do this now or in th spring?

I have never consider putting my cacti outside, but the transformation of my plants is quite simply amazing, but now I am not sure how to bring them back inside for the harsh winter months.

I welcome and advice, comments

Regards

PS

1. Cacti should be brought indoors before the first frost is expected. When I lived in London (and before I had a greenhouse) I usually brought mine inside in early to mid September, if I remember rightly.

2. If they're indoors and in a heated room during the winter, you should give them a light watering about once a month.

3. Repotting is best done in the spring, just as the plants are starting wake up after their winter dormant period.

It's definitely a good idea to put them outside during the summer, after the last frost, obviously. The only problem could be if you live in an area that gets a lot of rain or if you have a particularly wet summer. Once I started growing cacti for a hobby I decided that one day I would live in a place where they can be grown outside all year round as ordinary garden plants. I haven't quite got there yet.