Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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Storm
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Joined: Thu May 28, 2015 12:23 pm

Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Post by Storm »

Hello! :)

I have a small collection of Cacti in my workshop, and earlier today I noticed that there was something wrong with one of the cacti (a graft one) that was previously very happy and healthy looking... the first two images attached show the weird brown marks on it; the green part looks thinner than it was before at these points and the yellow of the top part is a lot less vibrant than it was. The small brown spot on the lower middle left of the green part of the cacti in the second image is a red colour in real life (would a close-up image of this bit help too in identifying the issue?)... is this pests or something else?

Also, I've had the Succulent in the third image for a while now... it seems to have come from a poor cutting as it has had a lot of health problems since I first got it a couple of years ago, but I thought I had it stable... until it appeared to mysteriously start dying again recently. The third image shows how it looks now... Is this the same problem as the other Cacti? And could it have infected the other that is now sick? (they are near each other on the shelf with another Cacti that appears to still be healthy between them, as shown in the fourth image)

The room I keep them in does get quite cold in the winter. I water them monthly, with less water being given in the winter when they are dormant. The grafted cacti has been completely healthy until this and I have had it for about 9 months now.

Can I save these two? I am quite fond of them and am really hoping that there is something I can do to help them! (And make sure that this isn't something that will kill off my other cacti as well). :'(

Thank you in advance for your help! I really appreciate it! ^^
Attachments
Sick cacti (pic 1)
Sick cacti (pic 1)
cacti1a.jpg (21.34 KiB) Viewed 822 times
Sick cacti (pic 2)
Sick cacti (pic 2)
cacti2a.jpg (31.02 KiB) Viewed 822 times
Unwell succulent
Unwell succulent
cacti3a.jpg (39.95 KiB) Viewed 822 times
Where the cacti and succulent sit in relation to each other
Where the cacti and succulent sit in relation to each other
cacti4a.jpg (24.7 KiB) Viewed 822 times
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7george
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Re: Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Post by 7george »

Looks like the graft stock (lower part) of the first cactus is dieing. The scion (upper part) can not exist without being grafted onto a healthy one cause it doesn't have chlorophyll, the green pigment.

The second picture is too small for me to see what is wrong with that plant, some kind of Euphorbia. The left part looks dead, try to remove it, esp. if it feels dry or roted. Try to inspect the roots as well, those will tell you more.
If your cacti mess in your job just forget about the job.
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brixtertabun
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Re: Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Post by brixtertabun »

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Storm
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Re: Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Post by Storm »

7george - Thank you for the help. ^^
Is it worth trying to save the scion by re-grafting it to another healthy cactus, or is this likely to cause more complications and just damage the poor new host cactus in the process?
I had problems with uploading a decent quality file for the Euphorbia Enopla... I think this file is a bit better quality. The left part is completely dry and shriveled up, and the base of the right part (where it is very dark brown) looks like it might be going the same way. It had lovely red spines when I first got it, but the poor thing had rot (hidden under the soil) which I discovered shortly after buying it when it began to spread. The spines went brown and none of the new ones ever grew red after that. When it had that rot, it went all mushy instead of dry so I didn't realize it was the same problem ... I was worried I might have been giving it too little water and made it dry up but wanted to check here before watering it again and glad I did - as more water wouldn't help rot at all! If it is rot and has spread into both sides I'm guessing the only way to try and save any of it is to cut off the remaining green part and try to get it to re-root... do you know if I need to keep it in a warmer place to do this? I'm not sure if cacti can re-root if they are dormant/kept in a cold place?

brixtertabun - Thank you for letting me know - I thought I must have let something horrible happen to it somehow. I didn't realize they had such a short lifespan... when I was a kid I had a similar one with a pink scion that lived for many, many years and only died when I had to leave it in someone else's care alongside the rest of my cacti when I went to university and they all died while I was away... I guess I must have got very lucky with that one! (the same person actually bought me this one as a gift about 8 months ago as they remembered I used to have that pink one! ^^)

I really appreciate all the help - you are both awesome. ~ :D
Attachments
Larger pic of the Euphorbia Enopla
Larger pic of the Euphorbia Enopla
Euphorbia Enopla.jpg (164.58 KiB) Viewed 776 times
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greenknight
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Re: Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Post by greenknight »

Whether it's worth re-grafting your moon cactus is subjective - they're not real valuable, but if you would enjoy doing it it's worth it to you, or if you want to practice the technique of grafting. There's no reason you couldn't. You could make 3 of them if you wanted, by grafting the offsets separately.
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brixtertabun
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Re: Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Post by brixtertabun »

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hegar
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Re: Sick Cacti - please help! ~ <3

Post by hegar »

Grafting your Gymnocalycium scion onto a healthy root stock like another Hylocereus sp. would be one option, as long as the rot has not yet worked its way into the grafted cactus. You will see a vascular discoloration, if the rot organism is present. You may not be able to save the cactus on top, if the discoloration has spread into that plant.
As far as the Euphorbia is concerned, cut the healthy stem off above the soil line and check, if there is a discoloration present. If so, you need to cut yet another piece off, until you see a normal color. Make sure, that for the last cut you do use a knife blade that has been sterilized with either a bleach solution or rubbing alcohol. The cut end of the Euphorbia should not be placed into the growing medium right away, but left to lie on its side for a week or so, until it forms a callus layer. Then you can transfer the plant into a pot with fresh, clean growing medium. I do not know much about Euphorbia spp., but I assume, that they respond to your care in a fashion similar to cacti. If that is the case, do not water the plant for several weeks after placing it in the new pot. Make sure, that your "potting soil" is made up of well-draining material, which does not stay wet too long after watering. I would suggest a desert cactus mix as described in the "Growing Help" section of this site.

Harald
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