What's going on with these cacti--something wrong? Echinocereus & Melo

[tomo]

I have a few cacti I'm not sure what's going on--to my untrained eye, something looks a bit weird, but I'm not sure what (or even if) anything is actually wrong. What do you guys think?

First up is this Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp. pailianus. I've had it about a year and a half--the color has always looked a bit odd to me, but maybe it's supposed to look like this. Also, it always looks sort of shriveled (even when I give it a really good drink of water). Now I noticed it has sort of an odd looking white spot (and I can't tell if it has some sort of feathery webbing among the spines above the white spot). What can I do to get it in tip-top shape--and maybe even bloom?

Echinocereus reichenbachii ssp pailianus 1-21-17.jpg (128.43 KiB) Viewed 1706 times

Next up is this melocactus (?). It has a couple of spots and I don't know if that's normal either.

melocactus 1-21-17.jpg (91.42 KiB) Viewed 1706 times

I'd appreciate any tips or insight, thanks in advance!

[toadstar]

That white spot on the first one looks a bit like a spider egg case, although it's a little hard to tell from just that picture. Does it span across between the ribs? If so, just gently rub it with a toothpick to get rid of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_si ... 22-001.jpg

[tomo]

Thank you for the advice! I did what you suggested and the whole white spot sort of flaked off in one piece, and there was some spider webbing above it, so I guess it was a spider egg case (I'd never seen one before!). I'm glad that was an easy solution! Any other tips on how I can make it better/healthier? or does it look OK as is?

btw, I like your tag line re: the loyalty of the cactus.

[greenknight]

Yes, some spiders like to lay their eggs under the protection of the cactus spines. I had that on my E. stramineus, no way to get at them at all.

The color of your reichenbachii does look kind of pale, and that being always shriveled doesn't sound good at all. Does it have a ball of dried out peat around the roots or something? Could it have a buildup of salts in the potting mix? When a cactus isn't thriving, for no apparent reason, check for root problems.

The marks on the Melocactus just look like scars. Nothing to worry about unless they're spreading, most cacti acquire some scars somewhere along the line.

[tomo]

Thanks for the advice, that's a good idea to check the roots, I think I'll do that soon. I repotted it sometime in the past year and moved it to a larger pot, maybe it's time to repot again. Would the pale color indicate it's not getting enough sun?

Thanks also re: the melocactus, I'm relieved to hear it just looks like scars. I'll keep an eye on them to make sure they're not spreading.

[greenknight]

Lack of light causes new growth to be elongated and have weak spine development, this is called etiolation. The etiolated growth is paler than normal, but not the older non-etiolated part of the cactus. Yours has a normal shape and good spine development, looks like it's getting enough sun.

[Brontosaurus]

Are spiders harmful to cacti or is it more of a cosmetic thing? I've had egg cases on cacti before but if they're not hurting anything I'd rather not worry about them.

[greenknight]

Spiders are harmless to cacti, might even help protect them. Young ones hatching out on them won't provide any protection, since they disperse before they start feeding, but they're harmless.

[7george]

Next up is this melocactus (?).

This plant is I think an Echinopsis sp. Scars like this can be seen for different reasons but those are OK, it will survive this time.