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Cacti & Succulents

rotting cactus

12 years ago

Hello, I am new to the GW I have been reading it for a few weeks now, but there is so much to take in.I hope that you will forgive me if I do not know the botanicl names for most plants and my spelling of them is not the best.

I have a problem with my myrtillocactus geometrizans cristata, I have several plants and in the last week or so I have noticed on the new growth that it is turning yellow and shriveling up it is happening to my best crests and they will be scarred, I would like to know if any one else out there grows these plants and if so has this happened to them, or ideas on what is causing it. I wish I could figure how to post pics. thank you for any input you may have.It is breaking my heart to see these big crests dying at the top.

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Comments (3)

cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
12 years ago
Kat,

As far as the pictures, here's a summary.

Assuming you have an account at Flickr or Photobucket, put your picture in your account. You then want to grab the HTML code (the 'a href .......' line of information) and insert it in your message here. You'll get a chance to preview it here, and the pic should be visible to you. Then post the message, and viola, you'll have done it. Do a search here at GW - there's a post (or 30) which will explain it in more detail, if you need that.

As to your plant, as you intimate, a picture is worth a thousand words, but I'd guess first it's a matter of soil pr the roots being unhappy in some way. If not soil, the weather (it could be sunburn) or another outside environmental factor (insecticide).
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
12 years ago
Here a picture posting tutorial from the hosta forum complete with pix.

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Picture that
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Rachel, it's very hard for me to make an assessment when I am not physically there to examine your plant. I don't quite understand what you mean by soft but not overly. I see that your last picture you had lost a couple of stems, so perhaps if its really rot setting in the base, you need to catch where is the rot happening at. If it's right under all the stems towards the roots, you are better of cutting off as much rot/brown portion as possible until you see healthy green stems, and try to root the cutting as best as you can. At this point, you can try to snap 1 or 2 healthy cuttings at the tip end towards the base. Always let the cuttings dry up and callous before their to root them in new soil. And also make sure when you snap them apart, the stem must be close as to the root base as possible, if you can snap some roots with the stem even better.
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"You can't propagate a cutting of anything without water." This is not true. In fact, most succulent cuttings will melt if they are treated "as if they had roots"---tylecodons, haworthias, othonnas, adromischus, adeniums, and--oh god, don't even get me started on pachypodiums! They can be treated as if they had roots IFF they, in fact, have roots. Water-hungry tropical plants, on the other hand, do root best in water and/or wet soil.
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Assuming you are talking about one with yellow top? That is a Moon cacti (both red & yellow), tops are mutants that lack chlorophyll and are grafted on a rootstock in order to live. But your problem may be that container: are there any drainage holes in it? What kind of soil are succulents planted in? Not to clear in the photo, but I suspect there may be some water damage - rotting. IMO, the plant is not going to make it, and other may have damage too. Succulents need very good drainage, sitting in a drainless container in water-logged soil is a sure way to rot.
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I've saved two that way. After I cut one I left it on a window sill (interior) for about 4 months, then I saw it was starting roots out the bottom, so then I planted it. The other one I just set on a fence and looked at it form time to time, it took fifteen months to start rooting. The second one was outside, pretty much full sun.
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katluvr
Original Author
12 years ago
hi cactusmcharris,
thank you so much for the info , i do know a picture says it all, i am such a dork tho i have only recently learned to send a pic thru emal!i have very little understanding of this machine, i mostly used it to go into debt on ebay lol.
my poor plants this strange thing that is going on with them is happening so fast, today they are drying up now where the 'rot'was, it is only happening to the beautiful new growth and it dosent affect the whole plant, i have not yet fertilized and no insecticide, could be the heat....it has been unreal here.
i was hoping that maybe some one else out there had some of these plants in thier collection and were having the same problem.

tj, thank you so much also for your info on adding a picture, i signed up for PB and tried to load a pic but didnt know what it was doing and only ended up with a pic of my old truck, so i have a loooong ways to go yet before i can ever post a pic i am afriad.i will keep trying, thank you to you both you have been very kind and helpful.

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