H.after it had been quite cool the last few days, after all we were approaching the days of the blackbird: Saturday 29, Sunday 30 and Monday 31 January, according to tradition, should be the coldest days of the year. The conditional is a must because precisely for these days the weather did not foresee minimum levels below zero but, on the contrary, maximums around 10 degrees.
Opuntia humifusa. Photo: Wikicommons
The arrival of the first frosts, intense frosts, late frosts, unexpected ones or prolonged ones, rightly give rise to a state of anxiety and apprehension in enthusiasts, collectors, gardeners, farmers and nurserymen.
The new shoots, the young plants, both the buds and the well spread corollas, tropical plants and succulents are among the most vulnerable. If for the former we trust that Mother Nature will make them appear and develop when the risk of late frosts is now averted, the latter, if we are not in mild climates, depend on us, on our attention and our care.
Tropical plants and waves of frost
During a windy, cold, rainy, or even snowy night, many of us will certainly have woken up with a start, or struggled not a little to sleep, due to doubts and recurring thoughts. But have I withdrawn the palm of Madagascar? But with this wind that is rising, will it be better that I get up to withdraw my elephant ears? This night we will go to -8 ° C but the grandmother’s cactus only resists to -5 ° C: better that you withdraw it on the fly or will the temperature change be counterproductive? Raise your hand if you among us have never had these Hamlet doubts as soon as you go to bed or in the middle of the night.
Opuntia humifusa. Photo: Mt. Cuba Center via Facebook
Insomnia is justified, exotic plants and low temperatures do not get along: the more “tropical” the plants are, the more they usually contain water in their tissues, making them vulnerable to frost which literally makes their cells ‘explode’.
However, there are also some tropical ones that should suffer from frost but actually resist several degrees below zero, making us sleep soundly.
Cold resistant cacti
Which? Did you know there are opuntias, i.e. cacti, which can be grown outdoors (and bloom brightly!) both in pots and in the ground and withstand temperatures well below 0 ° C?
We reveal one, Opuntia humifusaa dwarf prickly pear with bright yellow flowers and small cherry red fruits. Native to North America, it is one of the cacti that resists the lowest temperatures: over -20 ° C! Frost and snow included. For several years it has also been spontaneously in the north of Lombardy, in the provinces of Como and Brescia.
Where to buy them
Succulents and cold-resistant succulents can be found at:
Cactis
via San Donato, 88
40061 Minerbio (Bo)
cell. 338.3712597
[email protected]
www.cactis.it
reference: Davide Contis
Uhlig Kakteen cactus and succulents
Lilienstr. 11
71394 Kernen (Germany)
cell. +49.1520.2829454
[email protected]
www.uhlig-kakteen.de
reference: Matthias Uhlig
Central Park Nursery
via Vulpiate, snc
28066 Galliate (No)
cell. 393.9464451
[email protected]
www.mariomariani.studio
reference: Mario Mariani
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