Dede Sophie

Oh my goodness, my orchid cacti have been absolutely fine wintering outside for the past 6 years, then this year they have been absolutely smashed!  If you didn’t know before, Orchid cactus – Disocactus ackermannii is an species of epiphytic cactus that occurs in the cloud forests of Veracruz and Oaxaca, in Mexico. It is a gorgeous, evergreen plant with an arching trailing habit and produces dark green, long, flattened leaves which are only 2-3 inches wide but up to 36 inches long! Usually tough as old boots I like to grow it outside hanging from my trees. This year however a polar vortex descended on the garden and stayed for a couple of weeks, just long enough to kill a lot of my ‘on-the-edge’ hardy plants. Even the back up plan cacti in the greenhouse were frozen to mush! Luckily it wasn’t a complete disaster as you will find out in this video.

The Royal Horticultural Society gardens at Wisley are not only the best of the five gardens currently under the RHS stewardship but they are also amongst the best in the world! So why not join English horticulturists Lorna and Simon as they walk around and discover the delights of their Desert glasshouse which holds their permanent collection of established cacti and succulents as well as a rolling display of quality pot grown specimens. Keep your eyes out and you will always see a number of extremely rare and unusual cacti and succulents usually only found in the grasp of the most ardent and enthusiastic cacti and succulent collector! We have visit Wisley numerous times over the years and the desert glasshouse is always an absolute treat. If you would like to ask us a question then please leave a message in the YouTube comments section. Also consider pressing the ‘LIKE’ and ‘SUBSCRIBE’ buttons. It is absolutely free and also as helps to support out channel.