"Rupert (W.Yorkshire)" writes

"white lilly" wrote in message
...

Hello everyone,
I've been hanging around in the background for a while now and would like
to introduce myself. I'm lilly from Dublin. I've been gardening for 30yrs
and this seems like a lovely place to share.

My query this time is about my cactus. They had been happily living in the
greenhouse all summer (unheated) Normally I take them indoors for the
winter, but this year I got them all as far as the garden table and had to
rush off. Completely forgot about them and last night a hard frost hit,
temps went down to -2deg. I've taken them in but does anyone know if there
will be lasting damage?

I guess you may get away with it. A lot depends on the varieties some of
which are frost hardy particularly in very dry soil. Larger specimens are
more likely to survive a cold spell.

It depends on the species and on how dry the soil in their pots is. It
is possible to keep eg Opuntias outside all winter in S England if bone
dry.

If the freezing itself has done damage, I'd expect that to show up quite
quickly, but if they're damp as well it may well be not till spring that
you find out they've rotted off.

I don't think it'll be 'lasting damage' as such - they'll either survive
unscathed or die completely.

I try to keep my greenhouse above 40 deg F but still have a few nights
where it's dropped to 32 deg. The cacti survive, mostly.


--
Kay