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Whinter test 2003: Individual participant card
Nr. 037   Uve Schriefer
Germany  ~  Barsinghausen (Near Hannover)

CACTUS ART
NURSERY

Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.

That’s the view of Barsinghausen (Deister mountains), a little town about 30 km in the southwest of Hannover (Germany, Lower Saxon).
Site  
E-mail uwe.schriefer@epost.de 

My name is Uwe Schriefer and I live in the northern of Germany (Barsinghausen, near Hannover,). I got a greenhouse without heating for the cultivation of mostly Mexican plants (like Astrophytum, Ariocarpus, Thelocactus, Lophophora) during the summer period. First frosty nights in October and last frosty nights in April where defended by using an electrical heater. In winter, from early November till  late March, these plants have to stay in our winter garden where they have to wait for the next spring at a temperature range from about 6 to 12°C (depending from the sunshine). But there is still an other group of plants like Echinocereus, Escobaria and Opuntia that stay in the unheated greenhouse during the whole winter. The lowest temperature in the last winter (January), that was the coldest winter since 96/97 in this region, fall off about  -15°C. During this time the plants have to be completely dry and they thanked this treatment in the next spring with rich blooming.
The location of our garden and the greenhouse (9°27´E, 52°19´N) is exactly on the border from the North German Lowlands to the so called South Lower Saxon Mountains (Deister). The weather in winter is characterised by fast changes from cold and dry (continental) to wet and relative warm (Atlantic) periods. Snow don't exists very long but there are very often frosty periods without a snow blanket on the ground. The daily maximum and daily minimum temperatures of the last winter and the average climate from the weather station Hannover/Langenhagen (about 30 km in the northeast) where shown in the following figures
on left.

   
left figure: orange = hours of sunshine / green = humidity (%) / lines = min. and max. Temperatures
 min. and max. Temperatures
right figure:  average of monthly rainfall (mm) / blue line above = rainy days
That’s me and my little greenhouse in our garden.
The view from our garden (altitude about 100 m over sea level) in the North German Lowlands (averagely 60 m over sea level). The distance to the horizon is nearly about 40 km.
 
 The test plants just repotted in their new home


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September 03 2003: I received the 3 plants on Tuesday, September the 2. Thank you very much. They are in good conditions.
Picture 1 shows the Sclerocactus and one of the Pedios in a little bed with some other hardy cactus in my unheated glasshouse. There they are protected from the moisture of the soon coming wintertime but they have to hold out many days with frosty temperatures.
Picture 2 shows the two-headed Pedio which will stay with the other non-hardy cactus (and hardy ones on jusbertii) in our winter garden at a temperature range from 6 to 10 °C .
Picture 3 shows the winter garden.
Uwe Schriefer

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    April 24 2004 Hi Valentino,
winter has gone and today April-24 the Pedios started to bloom.
Picture 1 shows the blooming plants. Picture 2 shows the two blooming ones, they stayed all over the winter in the unheated glasshouse on a table with a bit more sun as the free planted one (front left). The two headed one (front right) stayed all over the winter with the other non-hardy plants in our winter garden. The temperatures in the winter garden ranged about 6 to 14 °C, mostly about 8 to10 °C. This plant shows no flower buds. It seems that lower temperatures are necessary for blooming. Picture 3 shows the Sclerocactus. It started to grow a few weeks ago. The last picture shows an other winter hardy Plant - Toumeya papyracantha - also with some nice flower buds.
This winter was relatively mild. I noticed the following temperatures in the unheated greenhouse (in the sun):
  • November max. 21,4 min. -1,7 °C
  • December max. 10,6 min. -6,5 °C
  • January max. 10,8 min. -5,9 °C
  • February max. 25,3 min. -6,8 °C
  • March max. 37,4 min. -6,9 °C

From the end of march up to now there are no temperatures below 0°C.
I hope that there will be more interesting results from other participants and locations for the winter test. It was a pleasure to take part in this test. greetings to Italy, Uwe


1
Blooming plants


2
Pediocactus despainii


3 Sclerocactus


4 Toumeya papyracantha

 

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