I'm in east TN and have a rather large cactus collection (about 100
specimens). I have a place that gets full (brutal) sun and would like
to plant a cactus that survives East Tennessee winters. I have an
American cactus (from the USA west coast) which I propagated and tried
to toughen it up, but I think it may have died due to frost. I see
large cactus growing in various places (Knoxville, Oliver Springs, Oak
Ridge, etc) that have been growing for years and they produce summer
bloom. Can anyone tell me what cactus will grow outdoors in my
location?

On Jan 13, 11:11*am, Phisherman wrote:
I'm in east TN and have a rather large cactus collection (about 100
specimens). *I have a place that gets full (brutal) sun and would like
to plant a cactus that survives East Tennessee winters. * I have an
American cactus (from the USA west coast) which I propagated and tried
to toughen it up, but I think it may have died due to frost. *I see
large cactus growing in various places (Knoxville, Oliver Springs, Oak
Ridge, etc) that have been growing for years and they produce summer
bloom. *Can anyone tell me what cactus will grow outdoors in my
location? *

a few varieties of the opuntia family (pad cactus) I see around here
growing everywhere (I live in Greeneville now, and the HUGE clumps of
larger pad cactus is astounding) I've just dug up an incredible
jumping Cholla (sp?) at an abandoned site and repotted it, I won't
know if it will resent my relocation from the back of the soon to be
torn down building or not, but given the texture of the cactus main
body, it took me ten minutes to cut it in half to transport it with
razor sharp pruners. It is quite evil. But it IS the jumping
Cholla. originally it was tucked at the back of this building, in
sandy soil but had grown to over seven feet in length, not standing
up, but lying down. The stem was four inches thick and the spine are
formidible. There are also cactus that grow in the fields around here
that are smaller and more prickly in the "hedge hog" variety. Pad
cactus as well, but not as huge as those I've seen everywhere here.
(didja know those "pears" all along the tops can be gathered with
tongs, the spines burnt off with flame and you can cook them down to
make a jam? I was sorely tempted this fall to gather a basket of them
around the area and put my hand to it)

If I think of anymore, I will let you know. There are also a wide
assortment of agave that grow quite well, including the newer striped
one with sharp points on the ends and threads between the leaves. The
more common one called Adam's needle grows wild in pastures as well
around here. Something else you might have not considered, which would
give you a wider selection, is sempervivums (hens and chickens) and
sedums. There are over 2500 different types of semps alone to collect
and grow outside successfully, they don't mind snow, freezes or rains
as long as you put them in a fast draining bed or container with small
rock as a mulch to wick away the moisture. And sedums? The huge
selection of them is amazing as well. I have found different varieties
that range in size to teensy little succulents that redden up with
sunlight, varigated flat paddle leaves of sedums, more than just the
variety of "Dragon's blood" or Kamchaticum that is more common. I
found some more unusual varieties at Stanley's nursery in Knoxville
one spring that are hardy outside.

I hope this gives you a good start. I might add that I have over 150
cactus, including thorny euphorbia's, but they can't live outside and
deal successfully with frost and freezing. I have a Cerius cactus now
that is in a 20 gallon pot that blooms at night around August, that
I've had now as a lot of my gardening friends know I call "Brenda" for
the woman and former neighbor who gave it to me 25 years ago that is
six foot tall in the pot with huge arms, and a wide assortment of
varieties in assorted sizes that I schlepp inside and out after frost
is past. They benefit greatly from cold winters in unheated rooms with
bright light. Keep me posted on your luck in finding hardy cacti and
succulents.

Madgardener gardening now in Greeneville, zone 7a, Sunset zone 36 (as
far as I know until I find out otherwise) just off of the downtown
historical area.

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:45:44 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

On Jan 13, 11:11*am, Phisherman wrote:
I'm in east TN and have a rather large cactus collection (about 100
specimens). *I have a place that gets full (brutal) sun and would like
to plant a cactus that survives East Tennessee winters. * I have an
American cactus (from the USA west coast) which I propagated and tried
to toughen it up, but I think it may have died due to frost. *I see
large cactus growing in various places (Knoxville, Oliver Springs, Oak
Ridge, etc) that have been growing for years and they produce summer
bloom. *Can anyone tell me what cactus will grow outdoors in my
location? *

a few varieties of the opuntia family (pad cactus) I see around here
growing everywhere (I live in Greeneville now, and the HUGE clumps of
larger pad cactus is astounding) I've just dug up an incredible
jumping Cholla (sp?) at an abandoned site and repotted it, I won't
know if it will resent my relocation from the back of the soon to be
torn down building or not, but given the texture of the cactus main
body, it took me ten minutes to cut it in half to transport it with
razor sharp pruners. It is quite evil. But it IS the jumping
Cholla. originally it was tucked at the back of this building, in
sandy soil but had grown to over seven feet in length, not standing
up, but lying down. The stem was four inches thick and the spine are
formidible. There are also cactus that grow in the fields around here
that are smaller and more prickly in the "hedge hog" variety. Pad
cactus as well, but not as huge as those I've seen everywhere here.
(didja know those "pears" all along the tops can be gathered with
tongs, the spines burnt off with flame and you can cook them down to
make a jam? I was sorely tempted this fall to gather a basket of them
around the area and put my hand to it)

If I think of anymore, I will let you know. There are also a wide
assortment of agave that grow quite well, including the newer striped
one with sharp points on the ends and threads between the leaves. The
more common one called Adam's needle grows wild in pastures as well
around here. Something else you might have not considered, which would
give you a wider selection, is sempervivums (hens and chickens) and
sedums. There are over 2500 different types of semps alone to collect
and grow outside successfully, they don't mind snow, freezes or rains
as long as you put them in a fast draining bed or container with small
rock as a mulch to wick away the moisture. And sedums? The huge
selection of them is amazing as well. I have found different varieties
that range in size to teensy little succulents that redden up with
sunlight, varigated flat paddle leaves of sedums, more than just the
variety of "Dragon's blood" or Kamchaticum that is more common. I
found some more unusual varieties at Stanley's nursery in Knoxville
one spring that are hardy outside.

I hope this gives you a good start. I might add that I have over 150
cactus, including thorny euphorbia's, but they can't live outside and
deal successfully with frost and freezing. I have a Cerius cactus now
that is in a 20 gallon pot that blooms at night around August, that
I've had now as a lot of my gardening friends know I call "Brenda" for
the woman and former neighbor who gave it to me 25 years ago that is
six foot tall in the pot with huge arms, and a wide assortment of
varieties in assorted sizes that I schlepp inside and out after frost
is past. They benefit greatly from cold winters in unheated rooms with
bright light. Keep me posted on your luck in finding hardy cacti and
succulents.

Madgardener gardening now in Greeneville, zone 7a, Sunset zone 36 (as
far as I know until I find out otherwise) just off of the downtown
historical area.


Thanks Maddie. I almost have the guts to ask the used-car lot owner
in Oliver Springs for a cutting. That way I know it will grow,
unless it gets eaten by deer. Once I admired an orchid cactus at a
garage sale in Oak Ridge and although it wasnot for sale I asked the
lady about it. She offered me a slip and now it is 3 years old with
4-foot arms, patiently waiting that 7 or so years to bring it into
bloom. I have another orchid cactus, over 20 years old--sometimes
these things are like children--that blooms every spring. It is a
monster and is now on a high wooden workbench borrowed from my shop.
The brilliant-red blossoms are huge and fragrant. The mother plant
was growing outdoors in a shady part in LA, Calif. I usually feed
the orchid cactus with an organic fertilizer like manure tea or fish
emulsion and it spends spring through summer under the deck where it
gets the morning sun. I have 3 kinds of zygocactus that bloom at
slightly different times--they like the same kind of fertilizer but
can be more fussy. I think the fastest/easiest way to kill them is
to allow them to soak in water.

Phisherman wrote:
I'm in east TN and have a rather large cactus collection (about 100
specimens). I have a place that gets full (brutal) sun and would like
to plant a cactus that survives East Tennessee winters. I have an
American cactus (from the USA west coast) which I propagated and tried
to toughen it up, but I think it may have died due to frost. I see
large cactus growing in various places (Knoxville, Oliver Springs, Oak
Ridge, etc) that have been growing for years and they produce summer
bloom. Can anyone tell me what cactus will grow outdoors in my
location?

There are numerous cacti, almost all Opuntia of one sort or another, which
will grow in Knoxville. Getting a pad or two to propagate should prove to
be no problem if you approach the owner in a friendly way. Or you could buy
some starts. One source is:

http://www.coldhardycactus.com/Pages/Opuntia.htm

I've never used them but given the prices it would be hard to go wrong.

Cacti grow all the way up into Alberta, Canada IIRC. Some of the prairie
cacti are totally inconspicuous, growing very close to the ground and
protected by the surrounding plants. I have collected cacti in the wild far
up into the mountains in Utah, far above the snow line. All of those were
Opuntia also.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

On Jan 13, 2:44*pm, Phisherman wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:45:44 -0800 (PST),
wrote:





On Jan 13, 11:11*am, Phisherman wrote:
I'm in east TN and have a rather large cactus collection (about 100
specimens). *I have a place that gets full (brutal) sun and would like
to plant a cactus that survives East Tennessee winters. * I have an
American cactus (from the USA west coast) which I propagated and tried
to toughen it up, but I think it may have died due to frost. *I see
large cactus growing in various places (Knoxville, Oliver Springs, Oak
Ridge, etc) that have been growing for years and they produce summer
bloom. *Can anyone tell me what cactus will grow outdoors in my
location? *

a few varieties of the opuntia family (pad cactus) *I see around here
growing everywhere (I live in Greeneville now, and the HUGE clumps of
larger pad cactus is astounding) I've just dug up an incredible
jumping Cholla (sp?) at an abandoned site and repotted it, I won't
know if it will resent my relocation from the back of the soon to be
torn down building or not, but given the texture of the cactus main
body, it took me ten minutes to cut it in half to transport it with
razor sharp pruners. *It is quite evil. *But it IS the jumping
Cholla. *originally it was tucked at the back of this building, in
sandy soil but had grown to over seven feet in length, not standing
up, but lying down. * The stem was four inches thick and the spine are
formidible. There are also cactus that grow in the fields around here
that are smaller and more prickly in the "hedge hog" variety. *Pad
cactus as well, but not as huge as those I've seen everywhere here.
(didja know those "pears" all along the tops can be gathered with
tongs, the spines burnt off with flame and you can cook them down to
make a jam? I was sorely tempted this fall to gather a basket of them
around the area and put my hand to it)

If I think of anymore, I will let you know. There are also a wide
assortment of agave that grow quite well, including the newer striped
one with sharp points on the ends and threads between the leaves. *The
more common one called Adam's needle grows wild in pastures as well
around here. Something else you might have not considered, which would
give you a wider selection, is sempervivums (hens and chickens) and
sedums. There are over 2500 different types of semps alone to collect
and grow outside successfully, they don't mind snow, freezes or rains
as long as you put them in a fast draining bed or container with small
rock as a mulch to wick away the moisture. *And sedums? *The huge
selection of them is amazing as well. I have found different varieties
that range in size to teensy little succulents that redden up with
sunlight, varigated flat paddle leaves of sedums, more than just the
variety of "Dragon's blood" or Kamchaticum that is more common. *I
found some more unusual varieties at Stanley's nursery *in Knoxville
one spring that are hardy outside.

I hope this gives you a good start. I might add that I have over 150
cactus, including thorny euphorbia's, but they can't live outside and
deal successfully with frost and freezing. *I have a Cerius cactus now
that is in a 20 gallon pot that blooms at night around August, that
I've had now as a lot of my gardening friends know I call "Brenda" for
the woman and former neighbor who gave it to me 25 years ago that is
six foot tall in the pot with huge arms, and a wide assortment of
varieties in assorted sizes that I schlepp inside and out after frost
is past. They benefit greatly from cold winters in unheated rooms with
bright light. Keep me posted on your luck in finding hardy cacti and
succulents.

Madgardener gardening now in Greeneville, zone 7a, Sunset zone 36 (as
far as I know until I find out otherwise) just off of the downtown
historical area.

Thanks Maddie. * I almost have the guts to ask the used-car lot owner
in Oliver Springs for a cutting. * That way I know it will grow,
unless it gets eaten by deer. * Once I admired an orchid cactus at a
garage sale in Oak Ridge and although it wasnot for sale I asked the
lady about it. *She offered me a slip and now it is 3 years old with
4-foot arms, patiently waiting that 7 or so years to bring it into
bloom. *I have another orchid cactus, over 20 years old--sometimes
these things are like children--that blooms every spring. *It is a
monster and is now on a high wooden workbench borrowed from my shop.
The brilliant-red blossoms are huge and *fragrant. *The mother plant
was growing outdoors in a shady part in LA, Calif. * *I usually feed
the orchid cactus with an organic fertilizer like manure tea or fish
emulsion and it spends spring through summer under the deck where it
gets the morning sun. * I have 3 kinds of zygocactus that bloom at
slightly different times--they like the same kind of fertilizer but
can be more fussy. * I think the fastest/easiest way to kill them is
to allow them to soak in water.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

you're more than welcome, Phish..........I'm sure that the used car
dealer in Oliver Springs wouldn't mind sharing a few pads. If you
don't get up the courage, there is a house just down the street from
me across from the high school that has three HUGE clumps of giant pad
prickly pear that I can snip you a few pads off of. They are larger
than dinner plates. Quick notation about how to take cactus, you will
need your best leather garden gloves, a GOOD set of kitchen tongs (I
used my institutional ones that have rounded edges, and open like
scissors but you could even use canning tongs in a pinch, something
you can grasp and use as a second hand that is impervious to spines).
GOOD hand pruners. I took my red handled ones, which were razor
sharp, but a sturdy serrated kitchen knife is also handy for
unexpected sawing capability. And either a cardboard box or small
plastic trash can to house the snipped pieces in. plastic bags
regardless of construction grade thickness is a joke.
When you cut the pads, cut at the small part that attaches with
other pads on their tops.......cut straight across, holding the pad
with the tongs and cutting in hopefully one whack. The pads need to
dry for at least a few days. If they're huge pads, three or four
days. Smaller ones, a day or two. Enough time for them to dry out on
the cut ends and callous. This is natures way of propigating pieces
easily for quick rebounding. I wouldn't start them outside right now,
but go ahead and have some sandy, crappy soil in a pot that drains
well, and I use the small rock that you find in the building section
of Lowe's (or Despot) because it's a smaller grade rock than the rock
they have in the garden center. Busted bags are half price......you
can even mix some of that small rock in with the sand and soil and
crappiness. the poorer the soil, the better. Clay will give you a
problem. No soils that have moisture pellets. I would even hazard to
tell you that the cheap Lowe's "topsoil" is probably the best as it's
crap.......if you look at a busted bag, it's sandy, chunks of mulch
and something that resembles soil. It's perfect for rooting cactus
pieces into. 3/4 fill a three gallon pot with that stuff, and take
those tongs and plunge the pads after they've dried somewhere for a
few days where they'd not freeze but be cold, up 1/3 way up from the
bottom, pushing soil and stuff around to secure it. then pour those
little rocks all around it which will secure the pieces and pads more,
completely, water it a bit, let it drain and put it in your garage or
cold room where there is sunlight. Don't water it again for two or
three weeks unless it's warmer than 40°. I'd say if you cut at least
five or six pads, to pot at least half of them into one pot. water
slightly every three weeks just a little, making sure the soil isn't
wet or too damp. Come sunny days, I'd even set the pots outside, and
you could even put them against a south or western wall once you pot
them up. Give them time, they WILL root......I will let you know the
success of my saved Cholla and you let me know if you get some pads of
Opuntia from Oliver Springs. If not, I'm sure the folks down the road
will give me some pads and I can find a way to pack them off to you if
you'd like. (try driving down country roads, I came across a gate last
spring when looking for a place to rent and there was a clump of pad
cactus that was as tall as the fence! almost six feet high, and five
foot wide. There was no way they'd have missed three pads out of
those tens of them......gbseg but I usually ask first. unless a
place looks like it's abandoned or empty for a long time. which is
why I rescued that jumping Cholla, and a couple other plants I
stumbled across before they bulldozed the place.....

maddie cold in the unheated downstairs portion of the house and
dreading Thursday and Friday's single digits............

On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 11:11:04 -0500, Phisherman
wrote:

I'm in east TN and have a rather large cactus collection (about 100
specimens). I have a place that gets full (brutal) sun and would like
to plant a cactus that survives East Tennessee winters. I have an
....

Got this yesterday, locally outdoors. Currently in my truck bed, in a
garage near a row of windows. I think I might cut it into 3 parts,
each with a node. Although the mother plant is hardy, I need to keep
these from freezing until I can figure out what to do next.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31395753@N05/?saved=1

I'd appreciate anyone to identify this cactus cutting.

I rooted a pad cactus (different kind) last summer in a gravel-filled
clay pot, outdoors morning-to-noon full sun, with just enough water to
wet the clay saucer. Conditions must have been ideal; it grew roots
in a week.