How to take care of cacti?

[Full_Throttle]

Hey all,

I have these three cacti in my bathroom that I bought over the summer, simply because I like cacti. I've noticed that some of the needles on my big round one have been turning a darker brown, and my long green one with a big orange bulb on top has had the bulb turn more of a reddish color. Now, I don't know much about cacti, I'm not sure what the species are, and Google hasn't been much help either. I'm wondering if this is just a normal stage in a cactus' life, to kind of die in the winter season like evergreen trees do, or if it's something I've been doing?

I am supposed to leave them in natural light, and I've had them on my windowsill until the past week when I put them in my bathroom which has a sunroof. I've also been giving them water whenever the soil is dry (about every 2 or 3 days), which has been tap water. My guess is that either a) this is normal for cacti in this season, b) the tap water is horrid, or c) the sunroof isn't providing enough "natural light".

Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks,
Full_Throttle

 

[Ugamer_X]

Give them tiny bulletproof vests to wear so as to protect them from any stray bullets.

(Windows filter UV rays)

 

[io]

I used to grow a lot of cacti when I lived in Arizona. For one thing, that is too much water - they can dry out for a while in between waterings. In fact, it is much better for them as they won't be susceptible to fungus and the like.

And no, it is not really normal for most cactus to change much in the winter. They will contract and expand a bit with water availability, but that's about it. Then again, I'm mostly used to native southwestern cacti, and you probably have the store-bought ones that are easier to grow other places (including indoors).

For example, that "long green one with a big orange bulb on top" is actually a graft. The orange cacti is a mutation that can't really support itself (chlorophyll is all messed up - thus the weird color) so they graft them on to a sturdier cactus stock. I don't know too much about those though I had one at one time.

I brought several cactus with me from Arizona to Oregon and they've survived 5 years since the move. I put them out in the yard in the summer and keep them in the garage in the winter to protect from freezing (some rather large ones in pots as well as several smaller ones I started from seed). But to give you an idea about the watering, I have only probably watered them 6 or 7 times all year - and they are under a covered patio outside so don't get much rain either. And then when I have them in the garage for the winter I don't water them at all for 3-4 months. I watered them much more in AZ when it was hotter, but I really don't want them getting attacked by the mold/fungus around here so I keep them pretty dry when it is cooler.

I really mean to repot some of them and move them to an upstairs window in the winter - yeah, no UV there, but it ought to be better than the garage.