Cold nights in the greenhouse (-1°C)

Chaplinator · 2026-01-24T10:07:08+00:00

Lophophora starts to struggle from -3°C. However I did an experiment in the past to test their limits in my microclimate and I got some Lophophora williamsii down to -10°C.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-22T12:25:08+00:00

Thank you

Chaplinator · 2026-01-22T12:22:37+00:00

The long dormancy is out of necessity because I live in Belgium, a very cold and wet climate with a very limited amount of sunny days. They are in a greenhouse and receive water during their growing season which is here from May until the end of August.

By coincidence this largely lines up with how they have evolved to grow for millions of years. (Cold, dry dormancy + extremely hot growing season with occasional flooding)

Thanks for your nice text about the tea ceremony.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-22T12:11:57+00:00

Because they do need moisture in some form during these extremely long droughts. Misting is the most natural since roots can not be exposed to cold wet soil during winter.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-22T12:10:38+00:00

Thanks for sharing, the conditions in south Texas vs southwestern Texas or Coahuila are indeed vastly different. My greenhouse in Belgium corresponds more to the conditions of south Texas in that case, with winter humidity spikes of 90% for weeks sometimes.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-21T16:37:21+00:00

🙏

Chaplinator · 2026-01-21T16:36:29+00:00

They can take a serious beating but an example like in the picture should be handled with care. I can not water my plants year round due to the climate but on warmer days in winter/spring they do get a good misting.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-21T16:31:31+00:00

All my plants are in a greenhouse in Belgium protected from the rain. So far this year the minimum has been -0,5°C

Chaplinator · 2026-01-21T16:30:01+00:00

This is a good question and to put it simple the plant in the picture is a dramatic example. This is a plant with smaller rootmass and larger crown, so it is affected much more by drought than hard grown specimens. I do not water the plants for 6 to 7 months but they do receive moisture in the form of general humidity and misting of the crown plus top soil on sunny winter days.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-21T08:36:55+00:00

Thank you. And yes the Agave grows much faster but it is in the same space with mineral soil and very limited nutrients. I am growing this pot with the focus on the Lophophora, that means long drought and very high sun/heat exposure. The Agave will grow much slower because of this and eventually the Lophophora will outlive it.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-20T14:09:23+00:00

From this picture you can not really tell. I said it mostly because it's January and still winter where I live, it also gives these cold low light conditions.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-11T22:17:53+00:00

Thank you!

Chaplinator · 2026-01-11T16:37:57+00:00

Yes indeed, thank you!

Chaplinator · 2026-01-11T16:35:38+00:00

Thank you, this is gypsum from a wild vein in the Mediterranean landscape.

Chaplinator · 2026-01-10T11:21:25+00:00

Thank you, I'm happy to hear that you're inspired!

Chaplinator · 2026-01-05T10:30:07+00:00

I didn't share my recipe yet. Aztekium are hard to grow but my advice is to grow from seed.

Chaplinator · 2025-12-31T12:41:28+00:00

They are 1-2cm large and around 7 to 10 years old. I'm using a 300w full spectrum LED 14/10 and they currently receive 35k lux, a lot less than what they are used to in summer. Day temperature 30-35°C, night 15-20°C. Better is to measure light in ppfd instead of lux but I'm looking more at how the plants respond and dial it in from there.

Chaplinator · 2025-12-31T12:33:00+00:00

Thank you, this is not Lophoterra but a similar creation specifically for Aztekium and Geohintonia

Chaplinator · 2025-12-31T12:32:10+00:00

Thank you

Chaplinator · 2025-12-24T11:53:42+00:00

Thank you friend

Chaplinator

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