I'm growing peyote and I want to know what to do in winter since its cold and its a desert plant. I live in Canada and it sometimes snows here also.
Get a green house and some grow lights. Where are you getting this "peyote" that you're apearantly growing? Do you really have two decades or so to grow a cactus just for a few trips? Maybe you should take a trip to erowid.
i think they're a website for this. http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/mes03.htm Keeping Peyote And San Pedro Alive In Winter During the dormant period (winter) your cactus should be watered only enough to prevent it from shriveling. Don't water at all if it is humid for an extended period. During dormancy water is not taken in as rapidly by the plants roots, nor does it evaporate as quickly, and the result might be root rot. If possible bring your cactus inside the house and place it by a sunny window so it can continue to grow (slowly) through the winter. There are however other methods, as this cactiphile explains. About a couple weeks before the first hard frost (see Farmer's Almanac for dates) I make sure that the soil dries up completely (shielding the plants from rain if required). Then I just move the containers inside my garage to protect the cacti from freezing. The temp in the attached, but unheated garage drops to about 38 degrees during the coldest part of Winter. There is no window, or lights available. The cacti remain sheltered in the garage, in total darkness, all Winter until I bring them out in the Spring after all danger of frost is past. I usually keep them under a shaded patio for a week or so, and slowly move them to partial direct sun, then full sun over the course of two weeks (they are subject to sunburn if exposed to direct sun immediately after emergence from the dark.) They are watered lightly each week unless water is provided naturally by rain. When they are accustomed to full sun (May / June in my zone 5/6 location) I use Miracle Grow plant food (as directed for container plants, even though they are exposed to the rain outdoors.) I usually repeat fertilizing every 3 weeks or so during the Summer. By July there is usually some good new growth which is very explosive in August and continues (slower) into late September. By late October the cycle continues and they are again placed in the dark shelter of a garage.
that, and you could buy an expensive growlight, and grow it indoors over the winter, giving you more buttons. just a thought
Growing Peyote And San Pedro Indoors Under Lights It is recommended that a minimal level of illumination to grow Cactus indoors is around 15 watts per square foot (150 watts/ sq. meter). Fluorescent lighting should be placed 12 - 15 inches (28 - 35 cm) from the top of the plants. High Intensity Discharge Bulbs should be placed considerably further away (depending on wattage). Plants do much better if the day length is kept more or less constant, depending of course on the season. Be sure and use a timer set to 12 - 18 hours a day. Most plants grow best if the light, dark period matches that of their native habitats. When using artificial lights, be sure and use reflectors to catch and concentrate as much light as you can on the individual plants. For maximum growth, your plants should be rotated about every two weeks to assure even illumination. Cactus, like most plants are more sensitive to certain frequencies (colors) of light. This is usually towards the blue and red parts of the spectrum. For best results use a grow light type of tube for fluorescent lights, or for killer results, step up to a metal halide. These kind of lights produce more light in the colors that the plant can use. Metal Halide fixtures also produce a great deal of heat and some UV radiation, your Cactus will love it. These fixtures have proven to work well in an indoor environment as they have been used by closet growers successfully for years.
It takes 10-20 years if you grow it in wild, I found this website that tells me how to grow it in just 2-4 years. I know for a fact that it is peyote. I got the seeds from Germany and its already growing. It looks like little green and red balls growing. I resurched this alot before I started growing. I bought 100 seeds so its not going to be just a few trips.
peyote, if done correctly, is a 3-5 year investment in time and labor. a number of things can accelerate the growth of peyote, most notably grafting, and use of indoor climates. your best bet is to graft the peyote to another cacti, and use HPS or MH lights in a year round peyote harvest. a peyote plant can flower as many as 10-15 times a year if done right, which means 10-15 buttons/year/per cactus. if you run 20-30 plants, thats a lot of peyote for one dude. at least enough to get him and his fiending friends off constantly throughout the year. just my 2 cents
