Cold hardy cacti and other exotics

I am Fabian Vincentiu Vanghele, 34 years old, ecologist, living in the southern end of Bucharest.

Ethnic, I am an Aromanian- or Makedonian, Makedo-romanian- all that meaning a single thing: the Romanians from south of Danube. We all Romanians descend from the great people of Thrakians ("the second numerous people after the Indians"- as the Greek Herodot, the "father of history", said), which lived on a large territory from south of actual Poland all the way south to Central Greece, from the "beginnings of time", long before being latinised  2000 years ago.

 Finishing my short, proud presentation, back to plants. If I remember how all beginned, I keep in my mind a really cute plastic cactus in a plastic pot, not more than 5 cm, when 3-4 years old. I liked it. Then the great passion dissapeared in the favour of guns, destroying electric toys to see what's up inside, crocodiles, snakes and other boy things. Later, from 12 years old an aquarist, then a palmtrees lover. Both fish and palmtrees have disavantages: fish needed almost constant presence and palmtrees (I had only some datepalms grown from seeds...) will grow large and decided not to keep something that will become a tall proud tree in an poor appartament. Fish appeared sporadically in my life, and from the last winter, I intent to keep some from now on. Of course, winterhardy species .

Then I saw the cacti with other eyes the first time: flowers, spines, shapes etc! And not so dependent of a human presence and care! At 15 years I started, and at 20, after finding about them growing up to Canada and down to Patagonia, I was fascinated and looked for. The real tough and independent ones! Well, at least less concern about cold... but I put a lot of passion of youth into them!

I received the first ones, Opuntia fragilis and O. humifusa from Dr. Visinescu, the oldest and most reputed cactus collector at that time, one of the pioneers of the hobby here. They thrived and surprised me after the first hard winter.

 Next it was a weird plant from Prof. Dobrota, another "elder" of this field;  now it's weird, because I saw it's not like any plant but has more in common with cymochila then with others. This plant is a really special one, since prof. Dobrota received it longtime ago from the even older cactus pioneer Vida Geza (he was also a known sculptor). That plant should be a very old clone in Europe. 

 Then first order, the Internet and contact with a whole world of hobbysts and specialists. At that time, I was already focused on hardy species, beginning with the most hardy ones; in the '90 years I had the opportunity to read "Winterharte Kakteen" by Fritz Kuemmel/Konrad Kluegling (well, in a way, more intuition between few German words, but the result being quite correct) and so, when seeing a catalogue, checked the most cold/wet location available for every species; so the "location-germ" got me early- many friends didn't understand me first, but now they too collect more locations for the same species -not necessarely hardy species- and take great care to keep the infos accurate- they know themselves!

There is much to tell, but there are forums with many experienced people which discuss and exchange informations. I will describe only the worse winter they indured here:

after 3 dry years (2000-2002) the drought ended in August 2002 with warm rains which gave the plants an impulse to grow and fill with water. The autumn was humid  and warm enough. Until mid-December barely a single frost, but not even the Ricinus plants were damaged. And then, after a day with 8 deg C, a cold wind started in the evening and at 8 AM next morning were already -14 C!!! It was a quite horrible trip to do from work to home, wearing mild weather clothes. Then rain, snow, cold, thaw, freeze- to -27 near Bucharest, where I kept my plants. In the spring, I discovered some loses in the most fragile non-Opuntia plants. Looking around  at one of the places where I kept the plants (in the ground) I saw a small hillside planted with grape-vines, which looked weird: being seen from 500m, half of it was green, but half has the ground colour- the vines planted on that area were dead and no growth till May, so dead for sure, even the roots! Some cacti had some minor damage (at the tips, only to marginal-hardy Cylindropuntia as leptocaulis and kleiniae), but the rest were bone-hard!

Years before that, the winters 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 were very harsh, especially the first one- it beginned  somewhere in October and lasts till next April, with a little snowfall as late as Easter! Months of extended freeze, lacking the usually thawing windows, which normally occur one to few weeks after the cold blasts. The first serious thaw was in mid-February, before cold returns again. Temperature dropped that winter under -25 for sure, but I don't know how low.

The 1996-1997 was not so cold as average (maybe wrong, but I remember so- I was in the army and being quite acclimated with tough conditions, possible in error when appreciate that), but under -25C occured again. Maybe in terms of lowest temeratures that one was the harshest, but the first was quite remarcable- "the six months winter". It was not a very hard couple of winters for my plants, having at that time only the most hardy ones, which handled with those conditions easily .

Then I started to grow some more southern species and kept them with better protection. And so, less and less hardy till I had too many for my possibilities. Recently, I decided to restrain myself- no time, money and room for more plants, even for the ones I have. I will thin out my collection, keeping only hardy plants. But I will always love all of them and remember the good old times!

Old Opuntia cymochila clone (from prof. Dobrota) experiment- for all the "friends of the defeated and lost (?) causes"

It was the first/most abused species of mine, being the first I had many individuals from, and exposed it to all aggresions: cold, wet, shade, heavy soil, only sand, overheating etc. and survived undamaged to all.
 
I also planted a number of their seedlings in a very poor, heavy and thin layer of soil in a remote place in Bucharest (I call it "The Crater"), and checked it regularly. In the 4-th year, they still struggle, surviving floods and drought, and already becoming visible, with larger pads. The only reliable companion there is a dwarf Artemisia species, any other weed finding those patches too difficult.

Looking at them, in the silence of that place, I can say that those are plants with "spirit"- rugged, independent, integrated and subtle accorded with their environment. Mines, at home, are beautiful and strong growing, with lots of flowers, but lacking this feeling when looking at them. There in The Crater they are like native Americans in their confined reservations: not giving up dignity and humanity even under the worse conditions. Enduring in silence all that it is. They grow slow, but implacable. The spines are only for the most daring and aggresive intruder, not for the beings sharing the same spirit. They are a symbol of the threatened equilibre- at human and other levels- fighting without violence, only by patience and determination to endure, with no compromises.

When last visit there, a skinny stray dog watched the cactus patch- strange, since no humans there and so, no food source. The place was left even by the few nomadic Gypsies which builted a temporary dwelling there. Maybe he lives on rodents and lizards only, but it seemed not willing to live the place. Another symbol- when it will go too, it will be the end...The end there is maybe the real estate interest for that wide space- rumours heard about a hippodrome, a casino and others in plans.The swampy nature of most of that place hopefully will stop any action there.
The dog stayed a little further till we left, and than returned. I looked at it and named it "The Coyote Spirit", a brave defender this time, not the oldest of tricksters anymore... but who knows??