use the HTML codes in your post... on preview.. if you see it.. we will see it if you already sprayed it for bugs ... then you do not spray again ... is it a recent transplant where are you did you spray it in full blinding blistering sun .. how hot was it? what is the mystery spray ... isnt it planted awful close to the house... or did you fail to mention its potted ... how big is the pot ... whats the potting media.. was it recently repotted?? ... did you recently fertilize it .. welcome to GW ... need more info ... ken

Is the crest as soft as it looks? I sure does look like rot. The plant is a Euphorbia lactea crest grafted onto another Euphorbia. Often, these grafts fail. That may be what is happening to your plant. I just had one rot after doing fine for several years. Here's the discussion. It's heavy with pictures. http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3767333/e-lactea-crest-problems-and-questions I hope that helps and I hope you can save your plant.

Art, excellent! That's the best choice! Your Yucca desperately needs to have the old soil exported and new soil imported, and probably a bigger pot. I don't know if those cracks in the trunk are normal or not. This thing about letting the soil dry out leaves so much room for interpretation, but if it really is drying 100%, that is extreme, and at some point, any/all plants can die from desiccation. If the soil is causing issues with root rot (overwatering) without going to such degrees of dryness, that's a horrible situation for the plant, constantly fluctuating between extremes. If the pot is unglazed clay, the roots are able to access oxygen all around the inside of the pot, even if the soil is quite dense and airless. If the soil is more chunky/porous/airy, so that it has oxygen in it while moist and does not cause roots to rot, the only care needed is to water often enough so that it does not dry to the point of damage to the roots. This is a much easier care regime over trying to intuit some magic moment when soil has dried to just the right point where adding more water won't kill the plant because of the airless soil. Nobody should have to be psychic to keep a potted plant alive. Best luck! These concepts are explored in much more detail in the 2 posts linked below: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1490818/good-growing-practices-an-overview-for-beginners?n=189 http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/1497307/ukeeping-u-them-looking-good?n=38

They’re stretched out because while it was growing new pads the cactus didn’t recieve enough light, so the new growth grew long and lanky. I would cut the etiolated pads off with a clean sharp knife. Let the wounds callus over and the cactus will be fine. Keep the fresh cuts dry so there will be no chance of fungus creeping into your cactus.