Aftermath of the HOTTEST summer in Arizona history | Post-summer cactus & succulent update
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Summer 2024 can be summed up in three words: record-breaking heat. We clocked in at 142 days at 100F/37C or higher with 70 days at 110F/43C or higher. Even worse were the overnight lows. We experienced more than a month where overnight lows stayed at 90F/32C or higher. I forgot to mention in the video that we also got almost no rain this summer! The much needed monsoon storms never arrived.
So how did the plants do? Which ones survived? We already experienced a large die-off of Copiapoa seedlings before the summer even began, and then another round of die-off after my yard was redone during the summer. We re-visit the question on whether the plants go into the summer dormancy (hint: some do but many also don't).
I failed to mention in the video on the lesson learned from my Copiapoa die-off theory. The lesson is: do not disturb the Copiapoa when it's hot. If I had left the plants alone - avoided the panic repotting, avoided any watering after major disturbances - I think many of those larger 2 year-old Copiapoa seedings would still be alive today. I even think that watering would have been fine as long as they had not been disturbed. Oh well, consider it a hard lesson learned. Let's see what more challenges the future brings!
Connect with me on Instagram: / cookiescacti
#cactus #garden #succulents #cactusandsucculents #cactusgarden #succulentgarden #copiapoa #astrophytum #mammillaria #agave
Great vid! It’s interesting seeing how people from other parts of the world deal with the extremities of their climates, and how different plants adapt in different ways. Sorry for your plant losses - down here in Australia it’s the winters that usually bring death and misery. Anyway, love your work!
This is where I love UA-cam so much, that we can see examples from all over the world, in different climates. And it really shows that there is no one-size-fits-all methodology, which is what makes this whole thing so interesting and so much fun. I've been enjoying your content a lot lately, and it's amazing how quick you've grown your channel!
Hey there. I'm a retired nursery owner living in Tucson. I know a few of the local people who are very cactus knowledgeable. I grow a reasonable number of cacti and succulents so I think you'd feel at home. If you want to visit Tucson, I have a guest house and I generally find it fun to host plant people. Though I have activities and guests most of November, I can do most dates. Don't be shy about asking. There are lots of cacti in this town and I think you'd have fun and find the location is pretty convenient. You might also like to hear a quote from my friend Tony Avent : "Nurseries are the natural extension of a ridiculously large plant collection." You love growing plants enough that sales are likely in your future. Hope you get some rain today. A little has fallen here in Tucson.
Ha! I just keep growing and growing with no goal or intention in mind, it's just plain fun! I appreciate your offer for visiting Tucson. I love the nurseries in Tucson. With the cooler weather and the holidays coming up with some extra days off from work I'll finally be able to take the drive down to Tucson again. I think it has been a year since I was last at Bach's and Plants for the Southwest, which is kind of crazy.
Tony Avent , with Plant delights nursery is a legend! Many years ago, that was a favorite source for plants, especially agave !
Beautiful airocarpus have a great day
Thank you, Gary! 🙏🙏🙏
haha Mammillaria "they just DO" is pretty accurate. I'm not a big Mammillaria guy but for me that's one of their charms is that a lot of them are just kind of slow and steady. Your Ariocarpus section is glorious. I really love the community pots of Arios. So sad your summer was brutal with the heat but all the things that made it through are treasures
The most wonderful thing was that most of the plants didn't seem to mind the summers so much, they simply are amazing.
I water the mamms, they look the same. I don't water the mamms, they look the same. The most mysterious yet hardy plants!
It was really nice meeting you at the auction last weekend. My apologies for interrupting your filming. I’m hoping to participate more with CACSS; I have so much to learn.
It was really wonderful meeting you in person too, Cindy! I'm so glad you took the time to come say hi. No worries about the filming at all, I have the power of editing. I love meeting people from the internet world in real life. I look forward to seeing you at future club meetings and events!
Jenny I love your collection ❤❤❤ I can’t find the enough words to describe it! And you’re so passionate about them 🥰 thank you for sharing all of them to us 😊
This is the kindest message to read. Thank you, Maggie! I am so lucky that you share this love of plants with me. It is the only reason why I make these videos. 💚💚💚
Dogs - I have the same issue.
The moves and re potting must have been a big project for you. I also think re potting had something to do with the die off. Of course the heat has been a huge issue for cacti these last few years. My cactus in the ground are fine, but I lost some mature cactus in pots. I’m planning to get more planted in the yard this winter. I love your yard and set up. Your videos are really inspiring.
Yeah, the heat made the Copiapoa very susceptible to any changes and disturbances. Next year I know not to disturb them when it's hot and we will see if the losses are far fewer.
Thank you so much for the kind words! Hope you get some nice plants into the ground this winter!
Looking good and healthy your collection 😎🌵 Beauty Ariocarpus flowers 🤩
How often you water your two year old Copiapoas during the hot weather ? and your Lophophoras, on the same wheather conditions ??
Thanks for sharing your collection, nice evening for you 😎🤙🌵
You mean gymno var nudum 😉. All the squeezable cactus I use the squeeze test, when they have give, I water. For the 2 year old Copiapoa my watering was so erratic this summer that I don't have a good answer besides that it was very roughly once a month, but this summer was full of uncertainty it's far from a recommendation or advice. I'll have another chance next summer to trial (and hopefully not too much error) again.
On my cactus in this record summer, I check the soil and, if dry, I water well. On many I can pick up the pot and if lightweight I water. I do not like black pots are all. I try not to use them. I love your Copiapoa that survived! And all your cacti! They look great! I am hoping for winter rain too. No rain where I am in Sun Lakes in over 6 months. Cookie seems to be doing well in her nice spot.
Thank you for sharing your watering technique, Nancy! Sun Lakes isn't too far from Chandler, we really didn't get rain this summer.... So terrible. I heard other folks around Phoenix were more fortunate on the rain front. I really hope we get those winter rains, I mean, at least once a month isn't too much to ask for, right??
I'm currently dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. I took down my greenhouse and put all my plants in my windowless garage, then left them there for almost a month while dealing with clean up, work, ect. I am just now putting everything back in its place and have so far had far less losses than expected (maybe 5 or so plants out of hundreds). If you ever have to move everything again maybe you should try your garage if you have one? I think all my plants being in the dark triggered dormancy and helped them survive all the changing conditions. Just a thought, granted it was a HELL of a lot of work moving everything from my backyard to my garage and temps were in the low 80s not 100+, but would rather spend a day moving them all then dealing with hundreds of projectiles flying around my backyard during a hurricane lol.
Omg I can't even imagine dealing with a hurricane! Thank goodness you're safe and almost all your plants survived 🙏 it must have been really scary...
Unfortunately, my garage may be even hotter than my porch. At least the porch has air flow. The garage is basically an oven for the entire summer (but cookie seems to love the heat!). Otherwise, I would love to have my grow shelves in the garage rather than in the house!
good job i like cactus ❤❤
Thank you. You know they say about great minds 😉
Love seeing your whole yard and collection update. Do the thrashers not attempt to go after the bigger plants that are out on the shelves and up against the wall?? Ps this video made me buy more seeds from mesa garden, whoopsie!! More Mammillaria and I’m finally going to give Copiapoa a shot🤞🏻
Surprisingly, the thrashers have not touched those pots! I have one small community pot of Mamms on the ground over there and they dug a little bit of the soil but not too much. Now that you mention it, that is odd why they leave those pots alone.
I'm excited for your seed sowing! May you end up with way too many plants and face endless space challenges 😁
16:49 WILD
If only, right?? Hope the parent plants learn the heat and pass it on to the seeds (if I can keep the parents alive long enough 😪)
Hi, I’m down here in Southern AZ. Have you considered scraping away or replacing the rock mulch in your cactus bed? I’ve found that heavy rocking like that reflects and retains too much heat. A finer granite mulch with soil and minimal organic retains groundwater and seems to be much easier on them.
Thank you for this suggestion! I have not considered replacing the rock. That's a good observation though. I will think about it.
Jenny you must be the most patient person,I think your neighbours behavior is very rude and antisocial,I have 0 tolerance for people letting their totally neurotic small fiffis drive on the nerves of all the people surrounding them. . .
So glad many of your beautiful plants survived this extreme conditions 🍀
I think I got used to it after being barked at on camera for over 2 years 😂😂😂 it is what it is, oh well. The good thing is the dogs are very quiet at all other times. They just bark when they hear "disturbances".
The hardiness of these plants is one major reason why we love them so much 🙏🙏🙏💚💚💚
Where I am, not so severe but also we can get stretches 38c - 43 or so c in summer, the Copiapoa seem to go dormant only in the hot months, the rest of the time even winter they seem to have new spines slowly growing. I dont repot Copiapoa in spring like others, if it's approaching the hot dormant months , but prefer Autumn once some new growth starts up, but also late winter or very early spring and kept dry after repotting if it's still cold. Other cacti that are more summer growers I find I kill if I repot at the end of the growing season so maybe this is the same thing happening but in spring as it's thier end of main growing season approaching. Lots of Copiapoa growers warn of water during hot spells (although I used to more than now and didnt kill any) so I think the combination of water, repot, heat and more water plus stress as mentioned at a time that the roots may have been preparing, for dormancy did the deed. Coquimbana seemed the worst affected, I find them the trickiest to get steady growth from where I am and it's probably no coincidence they are the southern most species, probably cooler area than the others and slightly more regular rainfall.
I feel like what I experienced this year is right in line with what you wrote. In the future, as we're approaching hot season, I will avoid disturbing the Copiapoa. And if circumstances require that I disturb them, then I will refrain from watering no matter what. The sad part was that my panic repotting was applied to all my favorite seedlings. Coquimbana was not a favorite so I left them alone.... And guess what, they were the lowest number of deaths and highest number of survivors 😪
Yeah mamms are super hardy. They do shrink or recess when they are dehydrated
They really are! Most of the time they seem to want no intervention. Incredible plants.
Hi from Spain (it's been a really difficult time here).
I have experienced that the South American cacti offspring tend to be much more heat tolerant than their parents.
That is interesting! It's like they learn through their parents'experience with the heat. I'm so sorry it was a tough time in Spain too.
Maybe growing seedlings austerely, and slowly, is the way to go for a more resilient plant? Cruel to be kind?
You have quite a few columnar varieties, I'm surprised by what appears at the periphery of the frame sometimes. Nice Oreocereus.
So sorry for your heat losses. Very sad.
Can't imagine what you'll do with all that free space. 🙄
Boojum!
Boojum!! I'm sure that's the key to resilient plants - avoid pampering and see what lives. It's interesting you mention the columnars in the periphery, I often forget about them which is probably why they're still alive. I have some in the ground and they're just wonderful, they need little attention and they stay alive and grow well.
I have an Agave Macroacantha you can have to replace that one that died in your yard. Its been growing in pot for few years. Its an amazing agave, love the color
Oh dang, thank you! You are too generous! Do you think it can be acclimated to full sun over time? This area in my yard is very challenging because of the amount of exposure it gets. My agave did so well over the years until this year finally did it in 😪
@@cookiescacti It was one of two pups I had cut out a few years ago and growing in the sun since. I believe it will do well in the ground. Its well rooted as its been growing for few years. I believe its tougher than most. Some/most I have more in the shade and some do fine in the sun.
@donv6686 that is perfect! Will you be at the CACSS meeting this Sunday?
@@cookiescacti I haven't decided if I will go or not yet. Its a bit far lol What usually happens at the meetings?
@@cookiescacti I left it with Ty for you to pickup 😁
Yes mams are drought tolerant however you'll get root rot if soaked at the wrong time which means water when you see growth after dormancy & only a little, then after a time a decent amount.
Get yourself a moisture tester it'll take out the guesswork. Soil may appear dry even when looking under the pot or scraping into it ,however around the middle & lower part it can be very moist but you can't see it.
Rule of thumb research what their habitat is like & replicate as best you can,majority of cacti tend not to grow in much organic material.
Watch other cacti growers on yt you'll get ideas,if its a specific cacti you have issues you may find a specialist
@@scorpnz4433 thanks for the notes. It's tricky figuring out how to read signs from each genus. The squeezable ones are easier, whereas the spikey ones are not as easy to touch and see. I would've guessed that Astros and Mamm care would be the same, but over time, it seems Mamms are even more drought tolerant and need less attention than Astros. Very interesting. Are you based in Arizona?
@@cookiescacti Assuming when you say read signs relates to active growth vs periods of dormancy. The spikey cacti will have lighter colors in the top crevices since cacti grow from the top, it's quite noticeable.
Here mams seem to like it, then again we have high humidity up over 80-90% which may have something to do with needing less care if they can absorb water from the air which i had no idea cacti could do until two weeks ago.
Cactus caffeine does vids & is based in either california or nevada & may have info your looking for regarding cacti in hot dry climates & how to water in the fall (< has a vid on this) as well as colabs with brent wigand & a couple of other dry area nurseries.
Think hobbits & you'll know where i'm
based & it ain't europe. You'd like it here as its sub tropical & cacti that are so called slow growing are anything but, either that or its all the blood & bone pellets with what smells like amonia i put in the soil. Apparently cacti like battery acid so brent said lol
@scorpnz4433 Ana is in Las Vegas, similar to the climate in Phoenix. I am quite lucky to have a lot of local expertise and resources here, which is really nice. The benefits of having an active local cactus society and lots of cactus nurseries ☺️
Could it be that they get cooked in the plastic pot. I noticed a lot of die off when I had mine in plastic pots so I switched them to terracotta but now to save space I switched them back to plastic but I do focus now on astrophytum which I feel they are more heat tolerant.
I also want to focus on growing heat tolerant plants like Astrophytum. I haven't noticed a correlation on plant loss vs plastic pots so far. Although I lost a lot of Copiapoa seedlings this year, more stayed alive than died and they're all in the same type of plastic pot. I'm almost certain it was disturbing them when temps were nearing 100 that led to their demise.
i killed 5 expensive cactus in this summer.. T_T
Sigh.. I know how you feel.... Which plants did you lose (if it's not too painful to write)?