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Il fiore tra le spine

Mese: Dicembre 2017

Al gelo, sotto pioggia e neve o riparate? Succulente in inverno, ecco cosa sapere

I cactus resistono al gelo? In inverno le piante grasse devono essere tenute in casa o possono restare fuori? E quali sono le temperature minime invernali che possono tollerare? Anche tra coltivatori esperti quello delle temperature minime di cactacee e succulente è un tema ancora oggi dibattuto. Affronto l’argomento partendo, come sempre, dalla mia personale esperienza, che è il mio unico modo per avere dati certi, riscontrati sul campo, relativi al mio sistema e alle mie condizioni di coltivazione. In inverno tengo la maggior parte delle mie piante in serra. E’ una serra ampia, di 60 metri quadrati e con un’altezza, al colmo, di 4 metri. Queste dimensioni garantiscono un buon volume d’aria, che a sua volta impedisce il ristagno dell’umidità, primo vero nemico di cactus e piante grasse in inverno. 

Vediamo, nell’articolo che segue, i vari fattori che influenzano la resistenza dei cactus e delle succulente al freddo. A fine articolo trovate anche una tabella con l’indicazione delle temperature minime tollerate dalla varie famiglie di succulente.

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L’artista del landscaping: come ti creo un pezzetto di Messico in piena Toscana

Il toscano Antonello Mennucci non è un “semplice” appassionato di succulente e tantomeno un “semplice” coltivatore wild. E’ un vero e proprio artista del landscaping, ossia della ricostruzione estetica e materica dell’habitat naturale in cui crescono cactus e piante succulente. Guardate le sue fotografie e leggete questa intervista, in cui parla dettagliatamente del suo metodo, e sicuramente ne converrete con me.

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Terra, terriccio, composta, mix: in altre parole, il substrato per cactus e succulente

Sarò tranchant, ma voglio sgombrare subito il campo da equivoci e falsi miti: la terra giusta per i cactus non esiste. Esistono tanti tipi di terricci (o composte, substrati, miscele, la questione non cambia) e ci sono generi che prediligono determinate sostanze e altri che ne richiedono altre ancora. Stabilito questo e depennata una delle prime Faq (Frequently Asked Questions) del cactofilo alle prime armi – «Quale è la terra migliore per i miei cactus? – si può dire semmai che da una parte ci sono le caratteristiche che un buon terriccio per cactus deve necessariamente avere; dall’altra le esigenze delle singole piante.

In origine la questione era semplice e la relativa risposta ce la dava il buon Giuseppe Lodi, il quale, dopo aver osservato “i mozziconi di radici di certe importazioni” e aver notato come questi fossero “incrostati di terra argillosa”, suggeriva un “terriccio base” decisamente “naturale” e versatile: “Si può partire da una miscela di terra comune argillosa (di campo o di giardino), sabbia grossolana e terriccio di foglie, in parti uguali. Di questi tre componenti nessuno può bastare, da solo”.

Salvo forse per la difficile reperibilità del terriccio di foglie (attenzione ad andare per boschi e uscire con sacchi di fogliame decomposto: ci sono multe per prelievi di questo tipo), la ricetta fornita dal pioniere italiano nella coltivazione di cactus e piante grasse era più che sensata, oltre che sperimentata. Al limite, considerata la difficoltà di reperimento del terriccio di foglie (Lodi consigliava foglie di faggio o castagno), che oltretutto deve essere ben decomposto (e anche in questo caso può contenere funghi e batteri pericolosi per le piante), si può sostituire questo elemento con della torba di buona qualità, setacciata fine e privata di grumi e filamenti. Peccato che nel corso degli anni ci si è un po’ persi per strada, accantonando i consigli del Lodi per puntare tutto su quello che per molti è ancora il substrato standard a base di torba, lapillo e pomice in parti uguali. Standard al punto da andare bene per qualsiasi genere e specie di succulenta.

Vediamo in questo articolo quali sono i migliori substrati per la coltivazione di cactus e piante grasse sulla base della mia esperienza e a seguito di prove e sperimentazioni con varie miscele nel corso degli anni.

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