Cacti and Euphorbia at Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA.

I like it. Low maintenance and attractive. Hywel would like that (I think)

Good news for my sister who has taken herself for a few days to the coast south of LA today .
So good news short term , but maybe not long term ?

WOW!! i couldn't cope with that heat bet the plants are amazing.

I love it. I've considered doing a cold-hardy cactus garden here. No idea where I'd put it though.

I like it.
What might surprise the UK'ers of this board is,that type of garden doesn't need hot weather to do well. All grow very well in comfortable for people weather.

And there are many, many cold-hardy species. I bring mine in only when the temperatures dip below 20F or so.

we get too much frost to leave them out in the winter Stan510. but they do enjoy a summer holiday outside for a few weeks in the hight of summer

Sandra, you might be surprised at the cold tolerance of some of these guys. It gets cold here - people always think of Georgia as hot but I'm in the northwestern part of the state and winters can be nasty with nighttime temps frequently in the teens and below. For example I have an Echinocereus that is hardy to the teens at least. I could throw a blanket over them and just leave them out but it's easy enough to move them indoors.

Thanks for all the comments! :>)

Driad:

Your sister picked the perfect weekend to visit LA. It's been really hot up there, also (actually it's been very warm all winter...just like last several winters).

Sandra:

If you don't like the heat...you wouldn't want to be here in Southern California. It's been pretty consistently hot and dry for the last several weeks.

Most of these plants need pretty warm to hot conditions. They do tolerate colder conditions with the exception of the large Euphorbia ingens (Cadelabra tree). Most cacti and Euphorbia do not like cold wet soil or they rot. Cold and dry they tolerate very well.

most of mine are in my unheated shed...they have tolerated -5/6 some nights but as you say its the wet they don't like so i do keep them very dry through the winter.

I will never complain about a hot and dry winter. I'm sitting here with my giant cup of hot chocolate, a hat, heavy sweatpants and three fleece shirts.

I'm miserable. But, just like my battered windmill palm, I will rebound come spring!

Sandra:

I do know some species of cactus will tolerate quite a wet and cool conditions. I can think of Cereus repandus (syn. Cereus peruvianus) as an example. There's a very large one (50' or 15m tall in San Leandro (close to where I used to live in the San Francisco Bay Area). Even though, freezing temps are not too common there, it does get cold and wet. This large cactus survived the big freeze of Dec. 1990 (the worst freeze to hit the SF Bay Area, ever) the temps went down to around 20 - 22ºF (-6.6 - -5.5ºC) and daytime highs for a few days were barely above freezing. The nights were below freezing for 6 or 8 days.

Lauram:

I've been hearing about the big freeze hitting most of the east coast. It sounds horrible! At least you're far enough south where the temps should moderate soon. I know the Northeast has been hit with a tremendous amount of snow and bitter cold.

I know windmill palms (Trachycarpus fortunei) are extremely hardy. It should come back well in spring.
I have two of these palms just different species (Trachycarpus martianus and T. wagnerianus) these species are very hardy; however, not quite as hardy as T. fortunei. (Hardiness isn't an issue here where I live because it never gets down to freezing here, actually the temps almost never go below 40ºF and frost-free).

I hope it warms up for you soon!

Tonight will be the worst night with a low of 7 expected, and windy, but in less than 2 weeks we'll be enjoying 70 degree weather. I can't wait.

I love my windmill palm. Extreme cold does tend to kill the fronds, but it does bounce back very quickly. It's nearly 9' tall now!

I'm glad to hear your weather will be warming up. :>)

It's cooled down here from the really hot days and nights. It's now only in the mid-70's during the day (here where I live in inland San Diego). This is perfect weather for this time of year (especially if it's not going to rain). When the temps get up into the low 90's like some days last week and this past weekend the plants dry out too much and may burn.

It was 72f at my house, a nice day loads of sun. I should have got more done..but not in the mood for weeding..

I'm so glad the weather is continuing to be warm. I am going up to the SF Bay Area next week.

They'll always be time for weeding. lol! :>)

I love that garden, would not be any good here though, it is always the constant wet that finishes these plants off, one night ok but several in a row no way!!

Dottydaisy2:

Yes, these plants don't like constantly wet soil. They do rot. Most prefer warm conditions, especially the tall Euphorbia species (which will not tolerate freezing temps without damage).