Now that the December 2022 big freeze has ended we thought it useful to blog about our experience dealing with the cold, protecting our succulents and caring for the damaged plants.
Our succulent stock plants were all moved into unheated polytunnel and greenhouse spaces over Autumn. Chambers were create within these spaces to increase protection from the cold. When temperatures got to unprecedented levels (-8!), we even added an extra layer of fleece directly on top.
The chambers were made using net curtains we’ve been collecting over the years from charity shops. We are pleased to report that our stock has come out unphased by the crazy low temperatures!
Amazingly, the plants in our unheated greenhouse did incredibly well with no additional protection! This is a South facing construction attached to our main horticultural shed which offers protection from the North. This definitely reminded us how important location is for getting through the winter months.
Seek the sun and utilise permanent buildings to stand pots up against for protection from the North.
Should I cover my succulents in winter?
Simply put… if you can, go for it! However, don’t just chuck a load of fabric or fleece over them and forget about them. Keep an eye on the weather and only cover them when there is a threat of frost and temperatures are low. Succulents need all the light they can get when sunlight levels are low and short in the winter. Keeping fleece on them for too long will starve them of light.
If your plants are in a greenhouse or polytunnel you will also want to open the doors daily to keep air circulating around the plants fresh. Don’t just shut the door in October and hope for the best come spring!
Do I need horticultural fleece?
As you can see from the images above, absolutely not! You can use alternatives you might find around the house such as net curtains or old tablecloths. If you just have one or two larger plants outside you can even use an old jumper on them for the cold patches. It doesn’t have to be a giant bit of fabric.
However, we do use 30GSM horticultural fleece on most of our stock plants during the cold spells of winter. We would be lying if we said this didn’t bring us comfort.. Our tried and tested fleece is available in the webshop if you would prefer to buy something made specifically for the purpose. It is available in 1, 5 or 10 meter lengths and is 1.5 meters wide
When should I bring succulents into the polytunnel or greenhouse?
This really depends on the weather. For our stock plants we tend to start moving them in from September onwards as it’s a massive job for us. We reverse this process around April time once the threat of frost has past.
For mother plant specimens that we keep outside, we will keep an eye on weather forecasts and move them in and out with the predictions for hot and cold weather.
Can some succulents stay outside?
Providing you are committed to protecting them with fleece or fabric during cold spells, larger specimen plants should be fine outside all year around. In fact, succulents thrive outdoors in a bed with well draining/rocky soil. Some of the succulents in our Nursery gardens really showed us they are made of strong stuff this December! Take a look at some of our favourite hardy plants that dealt with the -8 2022 temperatures below… None of these were covered with fleece!
The Aloes did amazingly well outside. They froze solid but seem to have come out completely unscathed!
What to do if your succulents got damaged in the cold...
Remove anything brown black or mushy from the plant. This is dead plant material that will only spread rot to other areas of the plant. It also provides a wonderful home for nasty bugs that you want to avoid moving into your plants!
If the entire rosette of foliage is mushy and brown, we recommend chopping the entire head off. This will give the succulent the best chance of survival. Feel your way down the stem by squeezing it gently. You want to chop back to a point past any soft or mushy parts. If the entire stem is soft and mushy it’s unlikely that the plant will survive.
When you’ve finished removing plant materials make sure you sweep up and keep your indoor plant spaces free from debris. Dead leaves and soil piles on the floor or underneath plants will encourage nasty critters into your space and you want to avoid this!
If your succulent still has a green centre to it then there is hope! Be patient and give it a chance to recover. Succulents are surprisingly good in a come back scenario! For potted plants there is no urgency to water at this time of year. Give them a chance to dry out and re-couperate before watering them in a few weeks time. Smaller baby pots of plug modules may suffer if left without water for too long as their reserves are smaller.
Fresh air around your plants is really important to promote growth and keep pests at bay. Open doors and windows to these spaces on a daily basis to rotate the air and stop things getting stale and stagnant.
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Thank you for the information. You must really love your plants
to provide so much. All my succulants are in the house on window ledges other than one massive unnamed Aeonium
that I have in a lean to against the garage wall among all my many other cuttings and seedlings of other plants. I put 2 layers
of bubble wrap around the pot in the Autumn to stop the compost from freezing.
Thanks again
Michael.
You’re very welcome. And yes! We do love our plants 😀 And we hope to help our customers as best we can because the winter is very tricky for succulents in the UK. It sounds like you’ve got everything in hand though. Roll on spring and warmer/longer days. Rosie
How much water do aeoniums need in winter please.
I’ve only just seen this question! So sorry for the slow reply. Succulents need to dry out completely between waterings, so in the Winter this typically takes longer than in the summer. However, because there are so many factors that effect this like soil, pot size, pot material, location, plant size etc. there is no ‘one size fits all’ answer. If a plant is in a heated kitchen during the winter, it still might dry out fairly fast. However, if it’s in a cold greenhouse it might take weeks and weeks! In short, wait until the plant is bone dry, but when it is, give it a good drink (as long as it’s in a frost free environment). Drought… then drench! I hope that is helpful.