I live in a unique/difficult climate for most dessert type plants. A northern Maritime climate. It's cool and the air is damp in summer. Average temp is 75°f during the summer. Winters are often cloudy with minimal sunny days. But I figured out a tricks that my sound strange to people. The Winter months are the hardest on some types of cactus/dessert plants. I found a lot of plants from extreme environments grow only when the conditions give them the chance. Like in the winter months here, nothing grows outdoors. Even native plants. They can, it's to cold and dark. I use that same idea with dessert plants. A lot of dessert plants won't grow if they don't have the moisture. But they won't die because they store water. I found a lot of desert plants if kept cool and dry can make it through the whole winter with minimal light. ( When a plant grows without proper like the growth new is often poor) so I intentionally keep them from growing During the winter months. I have a large aloe vera I water only 2 times during our 5mo. Of winter surprising it shows no signs of dehydration. It does turn kind of pale but it recovers quickly after I put it outside in spring. But not all plants work the way. A simple guide I use. If it has anything that resembles leaves that strategy won't work. Like a Jade plants. They need max sun all year otherwise it will start dropping whole branches not just Leaves. During the winter months I water every 2 weeks. My wife often asks me what to water. I tell her "anything with leaves" the rest gets watered very sparingly. During the growing cycle most go outside and I let the rain take care of them. But there is some that don't like it outside during summer. Those plants are chosen because of trail and error. Lithops don't go outside."too wet" my crown of thorns stays inside too. I don't know why, whenever I put it outside it freaks out and drops most of it's leaves. That plant seems to do that even if I move it a few inches from "it's spot"
