SICK T. Peruvianus - Purple areas and sunk in flesh. WHY ???

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
Post Reply
User avatar
jheaton
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2020 7:39 pm

SICK T. Peruvianus - Purple areas and sunk in flesh. WHY ???

Post by jheaton »

Hello, I just noticed this when I when to water these today. 1 cactus is severely messed up at the top with purple areas and sunk in here and there. It's been about 2 weeks since watered. I have several but only a couple are like this. Hopefully it stays that way. I'm sure I'm going to have to cut the top off, I just really want to know Why is this happening to try and prevent it in the future. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. These are Trichocereus Peruvianus grown from seed.
Attachments
PXL_20221201_225043716.jpg
PXL_20221201_225043716.jpg (111.51 KiB) Viewed 866 times
PXL_20221201_224903086.jpg
PXL_20221201_224903086.jpg (118.94 KiB) Viewed 866 times
PXL_20221201_224947568.jpg
PXL_20221201_224947568.jpg (111.4 KiB) Viewed 866 times
PXL_20221201_224842469.jpg
PXL_20221201_224842469.jpg (106.33 KiB) Viewed 866 times
Last edited by jheaton on Fri Dec 02, 2022 4:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Elevation: 4900 ft.
Andrzej1972
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 8:58 am
Location: Norfolk, UK

Re: SICK T. Peruvianus - Purple areas and sunk in flesh. WHY ???

Post by Andrzej1972 »

Certainly some feat. Don't wait and don't even try to treat the symptoms. Cut off the sick part and cover the wound with some protective agent.
User avatar
Steve Johnson
Posts: 4514
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Re: SICK T. Peruvianus - Purple areas and sunk in flesh. WHY ???

Post by Steve Johnson »

jheaton wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 11:15 pm Hello, I just noticed this when I when to water these today. 1 cactus is severely messed up at the top with purple areas and sunk in here and there. It's been about 2 weeks since watered. I have several but only a couple are like this. Hopefully it stays that way. I'm sure I'm going to have to cut the top off, I just really want to know Why is this happening to try and prevent it in the future. Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. These are Trichocereus Peruvianus grow from seed.
You have a fungal infection. Good news is that it's in the upper part of the stem. Bad news is that'll go down the meristem, so I agree with Andrzej1972 -- cut ASAP before the situation gets worse. Here's what to do:
  • Sterilize a sharp knife with alcohol.
  • Cut below the infected part. If you see nothing but healthy green tissue, you're safe. But if you see even a tiny spot of discoloration, cut more until you don't see any at all.
  • If you need to cut more than once, sterilize the knife with each cut.
  • Make sure to cut at an angle so that water won't pool up on the top of the cut.
  • Give the exposed surface a liberal dusting of sulfur powder to prevent fungus or mildew from being a problem as the cut forms a callus. Don't even think about watering the plant until the new growing season begins next spring.
Your T. peruvianus are well beyond the seedling stage -- they should be dormant now, so I'm not sure if watering them is a good idea in the fall and winter. Watering when they didn't need it after the end of summer could explain why you got the fungal infection.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
User avatar
jheaton
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2020 7:39 pm

Re: SICK T. Peruvianus - Purple areas and sunk in flesh. WHY ???

Post by jheaton »

Thanks for your reply guy's, I really appreciate it!! Is there a concrete reason why this happens?
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Elevation: 4900 ft.
User avatar
anttisepp
Posts: 1348
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2010 12:00 pm
Location: Suomi - Finland

Re: SICK T. Peruvianus - Purple areas and sunk in flesh. WHY ???

Post by anttisepp »

Cold, humidity, low light...
User avatar
Steve Johnson
Posts: 4514
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:44 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)

Re: SICK T. Peruvianus - Purple areas and sunk in flesh. WHY ???

Post by Steve Johnson »

anttisepp wrote: Fri Dec 02, 2022 9:48 pm Cold, humidity, low light...
Exactly -- a good argument in favor of not watering T. peruvianus during fall and winter once seedlings safely pass the "tender" stage and become juvenile cacti. IMO this rule should apply to all species of desert cactus, not just peruvianus.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
Post Reply