October
Now we have got the preparations for the Autumn show out of the way it is time to start thinking about settling things down for the winter. Sadly the growing season for cacti has come to an end for another season but, if you are lucky you may still have the odd Ariocarpus in flower and a few Mammillarias might be flowering for the second or third time. However, most cacti should be kept dry from about the end of the month until conditions start to improve next March. There are exceptions of course. Many epiphytic cacti flower during the winter including the many hybrids known as "Christmas Cacti" and these will need watering until after they have flowered. Remember that they do not like being moved once their buds have formed. Some South American cacti such as Notocacti can also be watered sparingly on bright days during the winter months.
Lithops and Conophytum are giving an impressive display of flowers this month. Watering of Lithops can be discontinued as soon as they have finished flowering but Conophytums are usually treated a little differently with watering continuing at least until Christmas to help the new leaves to develop. Haworthias are also growing strongly at this time of year and should be watered accordingly but they do need to rest for a couple of months in mid winter.
Because there are so many Mesemb flowers at this time of the year, flower thrips may be particularly active in your greenhouse. They love lithops and conophytum pollen and they are not averse to taking the odd bite out of the epidermis of the plant in passing. Once the flowers have died they hide in the nooks and crannies between plant bodies and in the soil. They are partciularly difficult to get rid of and a combination of methods may be needed to control them. It is said that biological control (predators) is the only way to control them and that may not be 100% successful. The Pravado bug aerosol is useful and a powdered insecticide in the soil during the winter months could help. Also watch out for mealy bug on succulents at this time of year - they love to get down between the leaves where you cannot see them until it is too late.
