Hi, Apologies for the poor quality pictures but can anyone tell me what the white stuff growing on the top of these cacti is? Should I treat it with something or just scrape it off?
Thanks very much, Steve
White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?
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Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?
#1, burn it! That is not a happy chappy. If you're lucky those are mealybugs and you could conceivably save the plant, but it will be a mess. If you're unlucky then it is already dead.
The second looks OK, at least I don't see anything obviously wrong. The white fluff is perfectly natural and can almost cover the plant in some species and growing conditions. Watch out for mealies hiding in the wool though.
The second looks OK, at least I don't see anything obviously wrong. The white fluff is perfectly natural and can almost cover the plant in some species and growing conditions. Watch out for mealies hiding in the wool though.
--ian
Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?
The yellow graft is almost dead, indeed. I would advice you to cut it off, and at least save the green stock it is grafted on. That could grow on its own without the graft to support.
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Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?
Okay, thankyou. How would I go about cutting it off? Should I remove any of the stock cactus or do I just cut off the yellow bit?
Re: White gunky stuff on my Cacti - is it from mites?
Yellow graft, and include a little bit of the stock so you see nice healthy bright green flesh inside. Just allow this to dry out and I am sure some side arms will grow on it during the summer.TheBeardking wrote:Okay, thankyou. How would I go about cutting it off? Should I remove any of the stock cactus or do I just cut off the yellow bit?