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Cacti & Succulents

White fuzz on Cactus, plus brown spots?

8 years ago

So I bought this cactus maybe... 2 years ago? It's been just fine but a few months back it got some weird brown splotches on it. I asked on here about it but no one seemed to know at the time, so I just let it be (assuming it was something like sunburn or something) and the plant has been fine as far as I can tell.

But now I've noticed some sort of fuzz at the base of the cactus, as well as some slight oozing.

You can see it at the bottom of the plant in the creases. I have no idea where it came from. The cactus I got a the same time as this one appears to be fine (although it's an Old Lady cactus so its fuzziness makes it hard to spot problems right away).

Any thoughts? The cactus is a... Devil's Horn or Devil's Tongue or something like that. It's pretty hard to find info about this one. Or at least, I've had a hard time with it.

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Comments (12)

cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
That's rot (the brown) and mold (the white) for the daily double. Unfortunately, certain environmental factors (not enough sun, too much water, wrong soil, for several) can cause a cactus to turn to mush - if you depot it I think you'll find the roots gone and a gooey, stinky mass in the centre of the plant, but I hope I'm wrong. Might that be an Echinomastus species or a Ferocactus? It's a nice plant and it would be good if it's just a temporary discolouration.
User
Original Author
8 years ago
Damn... I was afraid it was rot :/ is it too late to save it then? Or is there anything I can do?
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Can you get a close up of the white and brown spots? It looks like mealy bugs and possibly scale to me but I am not an expert at all.
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cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
8 years ago
Sometimes there is, but that honestly looks too far gone to be so.
paracelsus
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
It was Ferocactus latispinus (Devil's Tongue), rip. Sometimes rot on these globular cacti can be hard to spot, and by the time you notice, it has completely melted inside.
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
8 years ago
Thanks, Brad - I knew I've seen it before.
User
Original Author
8 years ago
I can't say I'm surprised but I am sad. That cactus was awesome. Hardly ever stabbed me if I had to repot it haha. I guess it's time to get rid of it then.
User
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for letting me know what was going on with it! Not sure when the problem started so I really don't know what I did but I'll keep an eye on the soil/water/light of the other one (the Old Lady) to hopefully keep it from meeting the same fate.
kaktuskris
8 years ago
The death of your cactus may be a bit premature. Check to see if it is mushy first. If it is still firm, there is still some hope. But if it is indeed still firm, DO NOT WATER. If it is still firm it is still alive, but I would not water it again until March, when you should see affirmation of its viability in the form of new growth.

Christopher
User
Original Author
8 years ago
Whoops, sorry! Didn't get a notification about this message for some reason. It was pretty mushy. Pushing down on the "ridges" caused the "slice" to collapse inward, which had never happened before. Since I figured it was dead, I peeled the various "slices" out of the sides and the whole inside was a stinky, goopy, orange mass. The brown spots were indeed some kind of fungus as that part was kinda gross inside too. I tossed it.
Mark Stephens
6 years ago
I picked one of these up. It us still in the original container as I have not planted it yet. It is turning yellow. I only water it when the soil is bobed dry and then I water the soil until it starts draining out the bottom. Is this a lack of water causing this?
User
Original Author
6 years ago
I never found out exactly what caused the issue in mine. cactusmcharris mentioned it could be any number of factors, and I don't know which was the issue with mine. The discoloration (the rot) was on mine for a very long time before I started getting the white mold, and by the time I got the white mold, the inside was melted. So if you don't have the white mold yet, you might still be able to save yours! Good luck!
Jamie Martin
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Im late but this just happened to mine and this is the only post I could find that looked like it, except mine only had the white mold. Yesterday I did my routine poke check to make sure everything's good and It was perfectly fine, today I walk past it and noticed it had mould all in the cracks of it, I pushed a spine and it cracked open and was full of mush. Cant figure out what caused it either, had it for years and it survived a mealy bug attack and everything. Now I'm on a mission to find another one...

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