Astro seedlings sudden death

[mmcavall]

I have three pots with about 25 Astrophytum seedlings each. Or I had. Today morning I was surprised to see that one of the pots had only four seedlings left, the others died suddenly and very fast (they look fine yesterday!).

The epidermis are there, translucid, empty inside or filled with a juice.

I read that Astro seedlings are root rot prone, and this may be the case here.

Although not closed in bags, they are permanently wet since I spray water twice a day. Also, yesterday I had increased shade to protect the seedlings of other species, but maybe the Astro seedlings did not appreciated that because it reduced also ventilation.

This said, may I reduce soil humidity and/or shade? May I let the substrate surface dries out a little before watering again?

They don’t look sun stressed to me, which means they don’t need to be shaded as the other species I have need, but I’m very new to this and would like to hear opinions here.



My concern is to save the other two pots, so any advice is welcomed.

Thanks in advance

[Pushrestart]

I dont grow too many cacti, but looking at your seedlings they look very very red- Im going to assume its too much sun if they go translucent and turn into mush. I would shade them significantly.
Hope others can offer more constructive advice!

[mmcavall]

thank you Pushrestart
they are shaded now, let's see if someone has complementary advices

[iann]

I haven't found Astrophytums to be rot-prone, but others say they are. That usually means they are not tolerant of conditions outside a narrow range. Try to reduce the humidity and add a little shade.

[mmcavall]

thanks Iann, done!

[mmcavall]

Do the Astro seedlings prefer alkaline soils than acid ones?