What’s Wrong with my Christmas Cactus?
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5 years ago
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rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
5 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRelated Discussions
New to Cacti...is my Christmas Cactus supposed to look like this?
Comments (14)Interesting to see how many different opinions one plant can generate. Mentha, perhaps Xcacti are different but many plants -- particularly orchids and succulents develop a purple/red cast when growing at the upper end of their light limit. Growing them at that point is not necessarily a bad thing. Bleaching/burning, at least IME, general occurs when such limits are exceeded or, even more commonly, when plants have not been properly hardened off. I do see the one bleached/beige spot I believe you are talking about but if the plant was getting too much sun there would be more than just that one spot affected. So I would have to disagree with "too much light" I also don't believe I would up the pot size. However, a number of the segments do seem to be lacking in "plumpness". I would suspect a watering issue -- either insufficient watering, or too much water resulting in root loss....See Morespots on my 'christmas' cactus
Comments (5)I've always been told that 'C' is a fallacy, that burning thru a magnified drop of water is hogwash. I'm not the most careful waterer, some of my plants are in a west window w/ direct sun. I'm sure I leave some drops of water on the leaves (except AVs) & that does not happen. I'm more inclined to think it's from uneven water take-up (maybe pockets of compact, dry soil in the mix/rootball, preventing some of the roots from getting water). Once in a while, I'll see a damaged segment or 2 like that, if it's on the tip of the branch, I remove it. Otherwise, I ignore it. As long as the rest of the plant is healthy (which looks it), I'd ignore it....See MoreCactus is grey and brittle, does anyone know what’s wrong??
Comments (4)Well, it´s dead. But some plants in the same container seem to be doing OK, which have obviously had the same conditions. We can only really guess at the reason, could even be some obscure infection, or no real reason at all, but like other folks say, your soil does look a bit suspect. There are as many favourite soil mixes as there are growers, and I have now firmly settled on a well-draining gritty mix with a good proportion of limestone for my desert cacti, with just a little organic material. I totally avoid soggy peat, which means any commercial ´cactus mix´, as they are invariably full of peat or even worse - ´forest product´- read sawdust. A gritty mix in unglazed terra cotta pots will set you up. Err on the dry side rather than overwater - it is quite difficult to kill a cactus through underwatering. They are succulents - they will store water when it rains heavily, then be well able to survive drought conditions for weeks or even months....See MoreWhat’s wrong with my succulent?!
Comments (2)Your succulent is a Sempervivum:). Tbh I would just throw this guy out and here’s why. It looks like this plant had been in not enough light, then all of a sudden it was put in too much light too fast. All plants should be acclimated slowly to stronger light, even succulents. Semps are definitely an outside plant. I have yet to see a nice Sempervivum plant grown inside. They’re very hardy down to -20F. So outside they should go;). Next succulents need the best drainage around, and from the looks of it your mix looks water retentive. Most store bought cactus mixes are peat based which either retains water when watered too much. Then if let to dry out, which most succulents need, the peat will become hydrophobic and repell water. I find peat when dried out chokes the roots too. An easy fix is 50%-60 rinsed strained perlite or pumice combined with cactus mix. Pots should always have holes. Can succulents be grown in pots without holes? Yes, but it’s a tricky thing. Drainage holes are a must. Lastly if you decide to buy another Sempervivum they are monocarpic. Which means they bloom once and die:(. Most of the time they’ve produced little babies for you before they kick the bucket;). I have a few starting to bloom now. Goodluck;). ps- I hope I didn’t discourage you. Low light causes weak growth and it can be hard to bring them back. I’m just trying to save you time, but if you want to see what happens with your little plant that’s fine;). Just repot in the mix I suggested, try to get all the old mix off the roots before putting in new mix, and acclimate slowly to stronger light. Morning sun afternoon shade is a good start, and tbh that could be enough sun for your Semp depending on what your climate is like. Sempervivum fry in my summer sun no matter how slowly I acclimate;) edit: I was writing my long winded comment while Poly put up a nice short sweet one....See Morenanzjade z5 MA
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRob Blomquist
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rina_Ontario,Canada 5a