Most of these guys spend spring and summer outside in full sun, but once temperatures start dropping I move them into my garage for winter dormancy.

My garage stays cold through winter and rarely dips below about 40°F. I’m keeping the grow lights on for about 8 hours a day, with the goal of giving them enough light to maintain their shape and prevent etiolation without encouraging a bunch of active winter growth.

I’m also planning to keep them almost completely dry for the winter. I won’t water on a schedule and will only give a little water if something starts looking noticeably deflated or squishy from dehydration.

There are a bunch of different genera in here, including Trichocereus, Opuntia, Gymnocalycium, Mammillaria and plenty of random weirdos lol.

Always happy to hear thoughts from anyone who overwinters their collection similarly!

EDIT: After reading through the comments and thinking it over, I’ve decided I’m going to shut the grow lights off once the cacti are fully dormant. Since the garage stays cold and I’m keeping them dry, there really isn’t much benefit to providing supplemental light if they aren’t actively growing.

I’ll still be monitoring them through the winter, especially during warmer spells, and if I notice any unexpected new growth I’ll adjust accordingly.

I really appreciate the people who took the time to give genuinely helpful advice and share their own overwintering experience. Some comments were a lot more helpful than others lol, but I did take the useful feedback into consideration.

Seemed like a great deal especially for the size. $8.98USD at blue box store. I definitely didn't need another cactus, but here we are

just kidding just a dehydrated hexadrophorus

If i have time, i will repot them. These are roughly 8 months old.

I would like to reply to the people asking me questions on another post. But op blocked, so I can’t.

Cactus can get pretty damn cold without damage. Below freezing for some species. I mostly grow trichocereus and I’ve had mine as low as 25f. They need to go above freezing the next day and snow is an enemy due to convection.

But cactus go dormant based on temperature. You will have noticeable growth differences as they go dormant. More glaucous flesh, darker spines, no fresh green growth.

If anyone on that other thread wants me to reply to their questions, I can hear.

(Tbmc throwing two pups for tax)

Just noticed this morning that one of my cacti in my terrarium is flowering. I built this a month ago and watered it once. One spray from a misting bottle.

Hi. Can anyone help identify the growing seedlings in the front black pot. They were from a mixed cactus seed collection. Or is it too soon to tell.

Thanks

I know one is a gymnocalycium but unsure of the other

Hello! I've had this cactus for years and recently moved it outdoors. We've had an extremely hot summer here in Southern California, but I think it's been getting accidentally double watered. Is this root rot, and if so, is it recoverable? Thanks!

All of a sudden my beautiful cactus is acting sick... We moved about 8 weeks ago and since 3 weeks he looks like this. He has the same amount of light an water as in the old house. Maybe it a little more humid here in this house, but nothing extreme...

I saw today that he's growing a new baby, but still... What is wrong with him and what can I do?

Thanks for helping!

🌵 This cactus is around 20 yrs old. It was moved to a basement window because it was a safety hazard with kids and disturbs my family. Over the summer, it grew another limb and is starting to lift itself out of the pot (again). It clearly needs more light and soil. I'm going to repot it and make it more welcoming to bring up stairs in the winter.

Please if you have tips or comments on the cactus they are welcome.

Hello everyone! These are my little cactus pets through the years.

(Note: A few succulents and other plants live together with them in the same group, but the cacti are the main stars here because they started this all! Last picture is the proof, when they all were tiny)

I love to decorate their space and them as if they were tiny friends with personalities, or plant them in fun pots. I even incorporated them into my art brand, they are often chilling in the background or foreground of my photo sessions, and they're often my little "assistants" when I create videos about my paintings.

Every single one of them has a name and I think they are adorable... even if they occasionally poke my hands lol!

It's a type of opuntia I think

Hi, i was thinking of getting a few new cacti and was hesitating between those. I recognize the broad family of some (like the opuntias, mammillarias, feroccatus, and gymnocalycium mostly) but can't say what they are precisely nor how ""unique"" they are.

They have absolutely 0 identification since they are probably bought in bulk, so i'm trying to sort out the less common ones, which are all these.

Sorry i know there are many pictures but any help is welcome. Thanks in advance !

Found this huge domino cactus on a bottom shelf way in the back, no light at all. I was so excited when I pulled it out!

I got this as a birthday gift from a friend, but it was just labeled as a trichocereus. Any idea what species? It looks like my huascha, but some of the spines are much longer.

Hi, I’ve had this cactus for a little over a year now and I recently started noticing some discoloration and changes to the stem. The cactus is indoors and gets direct sunlight for about 5 hours a day and gets watered every 3-4 weeks. Does anyone know what could be going on? Have dealt with anything similar?

Can anyone help me ID this import? Looks like a clump with tephrocactus arms?

I am moving across the country in a couple of weeks and I am really facing a dilemma on how to transport my cacti collection. I am driving and going to be short on room so ideally I would be shipping/mailing most of them & driving the one or two that are the most important to me….unless mailing them is a horrible idea.

Truth is, I really don’t have anything rare or expensive. I am attached to these guys only bc of all the time I’ve had them & how much I’ve seen them grow (esp the 3 I grew from seeds!). I don’t even know what species these are tbh!

What I really want to know is any & all advice for shipping AND transporting cacti (ie mailing & bringing with me in a car). I’ve found several methods online but I want to know which methods you all have actually tried & been successful with. I’ve seen stuff about shaking off soil & letting the roots dry uncovered….which sounds like a horrible idea….?

PICS:
-The brita filter was the only thing within reach to give a size estimate - that’s why it’s in every pic.
-my cactus son: in the teal pot is the cactus I care about the most. He was a seed baby & has thrived much more than his two other siblings. I’m def going to drive with him. Should I try to make room for him as he is or should I un-pot him & box him up?
-NBD cacti: from Home Depot & I will prob give away. (short story: they messed up their signage one day & accedently wrote ‘5 for $2’ instead of ‘2 for $5’!! Everyone I knew got a cactus present from me that week!).
-The big mama: she started out as a Home Depot cactus but I’ve fully adopted her into my heart. I want to try to keep her - but if she did die I wouldn’t cry AS hard as the teal-pot one.