Cactus Blog

A redacted letter from a concerned citizen:

Cactus Jungle:

You have on your list Fouquieria xxxx from California, this incorrect (sic)….. Fouquieria splendens is the only one that grows in the United States, all the others grow in Mexico and Baja. Your Fouquieria xxxx looks more like Fouquieria xxxx from Baja….. Do you have any more information on your plant? I have grown all of the known Fouquieria’s (sic) and have been in Mexico many times studying and collecting them.

Mxxx

Mxxx,
Thank you for your concerns. The word “California” can refer to the current political boundaries of the state formerly governed by Arnold Schwartzenegger, or they can refer to the ecological and geological physical area (among other options). We prefer to include plants native to Baja California as part of the ecological area of California.

Thank you,
Peter

Editors Note: Science!

The previous owners left this plant when they moved. It was in bad shape. Neighbors told me to cut it down to the top of soil over the winter so I did. Now this is what it looks like this spring. The clusters of white flowers will eventually turn a light shade of purple.

Everyone keeps telling me these are Hen and Chickens, but I don’t think so. Any help would be appreciated! I love your cactus blog.

Mrs. Chancellor
Brownwood, TX

Aaron asks the classic cactus vs. succulent question, on the Instagrams.

Agave, euphorbia, Pachypodium, aloes and others alike are not cactus correct? They are succulents yes? To be a cactus it has to be under the family of cactaceae? Educate me my mentor! aweezy_27

Aaron,

Yes, you are right! Only cactaceae are “true” cacti. All other spiny plants that look like a cactus are not a cactus. The difference is in the “aureoles” – only cactus have aureoles. On the other side, there are succulents in many plant families, including cactus etc…

Succulent is a strategy, Cactus is a Family.

Science!

@CactusJungle morning:)))) small question…..opuntia seeds… Any tips? They are all hardy ones….

—James Staples (@poorjim6060) April 16, 2013

@poorjim6060 rub gently but firmly between sandpaper, soak in kelp or gibberellic acid overnight + be patient, can take a year to germinate

— Cactus Jungle (@CactusJungle) April 16, 2013

Hello,
We had big beautiful cactus on the balcony, we cut it into smaller parts and planted them in big pots, but they are dying. Our gardener doesn’t seem to be fixing the problem.
we’re not giving them water.. some are at the entrance of the house. no water and no sun (could that be the problem) some are outside on the balcony, so getting water only when it rains and it does not rain much.

I am attaching picture here. Could you please help. Thank you
Hala

Hala,
Two of the cacti are dead and the other two look like they might still be alive. I don’t really know what has gone wrong as there are so many possibilities here. No water and no sun seems like a sufficient cause, though.

I would remove the two that might be alive from the pot and start over in a new pot, preferably terra cotta, and new fresh fast-draining cactus soil. Bring them out to a sunny location. Here in the San Francisco area we would water every two to three weeks.
Peter

Hello, my cactus is getting a light brown discoloration on his arms, I am very worried, please advice on what to do to save my cactus. I stupidly placed the cactus inside a barrel that didnt have proper drainage and when I noticed one of his arms truning light brown i figured it was because of the water, I drilled some holes into the barrel and drained a little water until it was dry. the cactus arms started turning light brown and it seems to be spreading. I am attaching 3 pictures, the first one was taken one week ago, the second one was taken today. Is there any way the cactus can recover from this? What should I do?

Thank you for your time,
ed

Ed,

The branches can be saved, but since the rot has started from the bottom the whole base of the plant, roots and all, can’t be saved.

First be aware that this is a Euphorbia ammak which has a caustic milky-white latex sap. You need to wear gloves and long sleeves and eye protection when working around this plant. Given its height, this is going to take at least 3 people to safely take cuttings. One to hold the plant, one to hold the branch being cut and a third to do the cutting. If it is taller than it appears you may need a 4th person to help hold the branch as it is being cut. Please make sure you feel safe with all this before you start. I recommend using a serrated bread knife to cut, and blankets to wrap the branch before cutting.

Basically you need to cut each branch off above the rot, making sure there is no rot inside at the cut edge. Spray the cut with hydrogen peroxide and set aside to dry for 2 to 3 weeks.

If you see rot when you cut, keep cutting higher until there is no rot in the branch.

When the branches are fully healed over you can plant them in dry cactus soil and keep dry for a few more weeks. Water only every 3-4 weeks. Do not re-use any of the old soil as it is possibly infected.

Good luck

Peter

Hi! Any idea what my pleiospilos is doing? It was looking happy before the winter, but has slowed transformed into this strange shape. Should I be concerned?

Thanks,
RC

RC,
I think they are looking fine. They are a little oversized, which may indicate too much water. But basically you got new leaf-pairs through the winter as is normal, and in one of the plants the old leaf-pair dried out as is also normal.
Peter

My Echevierias are blooming, which is nice, but most of the flowers are covered with aphids. What’s your recommendation on controlling that?

As always, enjoy your blog posts a lot (even the dog ones)
Reilly

Reilly,
There are 3 answers to the aphids on succulent blooms issue:

1. Cut the blooms off. This is a very reliable solution.

2. Spray – We prefer either Neem Oil or Natural Pyrethrins. You can also clean them off with a paint brush dipped in alcohol.

3. Ant control. It turns out most aphids on succulent blooms, including echeverias, are being farmed there by ants. Check for ants in the area and do what you need to control the ants. We do have a couple organic products for this as well.

Peter

Hi Cactus jungle,

A friend sent me a spineless prickly pear pad from Texas. I planted it and place it outside in a sunny southern exposure in Michigan. It sprouted 2 more paddles right away.

I was wondering. Can this plant get scales? I asked because in the process of wiping the dust off the paddles I noticed that the surfaces look like they were covered with scales. I took a damp cloth and removed as much as I could…most of them wiped right off. If it is scale, is simply wiping the plant down the best way to treat it?

Thank you for any and all insight. A neophyte cactus person
Lorraine

This little guy was grown from a seed mix. Have any idea what he might be?

Roland

Roland,

It’s too early to tell for sure, but it does look like a Ferocactus.

Peter

I have recently seen this appear on my cactus it is hard to the touch. Could you tell me what it is and how to treat if I can.

Neal

Neal,

From the photo it looks like it could have been beetles chomping on your cactus, or a simple case of winter rot. Since you say it is now hard to the touch you probably don’t have to do anything, however I would spray with hydrogen peroxide and follow up in a week with an organic fungicide like Neem Oil (never use any neem product called Rose Defense) just to be sure. On the other hand if you see it spreading then send me another picture, a closeup in good focus.

Peter

We bought some black bamboo about a year ago from you guys. They are doing great and wow does it grow fast!

I had a question about an agave that we’ve had a little while longer. It has been sporting these little yellowish spots on it lately and they seem to be multiplying. We’ve been watering it about once a month over the winter. This one and another one we bought are the first we’ve owned so I’m not quite sure what its ailment might be. (the other one seems fine aside from re-potting shock it endured a little while back)

Is this indicative of something wrong? Pic is attached. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

-Jared

Jared,
It looks like your Agave attenuata has taken some winter damage from the freeze we had in January. Over time these damaged leaves will die off and be replaced by new leaves that will come out of the center of the plant. In the meantime there’s not a lot you need to or can do.
Peter

First of all, let me just say that I love your blog. You guys are wonderful. I have gotten so much of my (admittedly limited) knowledge about succulents and cacti from reading it that I just can’t begin to thank you enough.

I have two questions. One I’m a little worried about because I suspect I won’t like the answer. In the second photo here, you can see my new Euphorbia Ammak up close… and there’s some discoloration, both pink and brown. The brown looks like it could be rot; it was just replanted, and it seems (see: right side of photo) perhaps someone at one point cut away some rot, which scabbed over. The brown is just at the bottom there; it does not continue up and is not soft or mildewy.

The plant itself is about 5′ and seems happy otherwise. The odd pink continues up the plant in a few vertical patches but ONLY one one side.

I am hoping you will say that the pink is just sunburn and the brown was rot that has apparently been handled, as the top looks good and has grown several feet past the brown at the base. If you do, I will do a happy dance. I love this baby and don’t want to have to lop it off at the top. But I’m a little worried these patches are something more serious. Boo!

Two, in the first photo (which also shows the euphorbia’s height), I would love your help ID’ing that beautiful purple plant in the hanging basket. I bought it when it was just a few spindly arms and, since repotting it, it’s grown and segmented quite beautifully, with tiny pink blossoms along the length sometimes blooming. However it does seem the segments are a bit thinner and I am wondering if I am not taking proper care of it. It gets some direct morning light and then a good deal of bright shade the rest of the day.

Thank you for any help you can provide. Love you guys! Wish you were closer! (I’m in San Diego!)

Lindsey

Lindsey,
The pink does look like sunburn – when it was repotted maybe it got turned around?

The brown does look like some rot as a result of the sunburn, caused probably by a fungus. It should be able to heal. I recommend spraying, out of sun, with an organic fungicide like Neem Oil – though don’t use anything called Rose Defense. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t continue spreading. If it does, it may be prone to a virus which can then spread quickly throughout the plant.

The hanging basket cactus is a Lepismium cruciforme and probably wants less direct sun than it is getting.

Let me know how it goes
Peter

Can anyone identify this succulent? @CactusJungle #succulents

Cheiridopsis candidissima

Hi,

I have a plant that I purchased about 2-1/2 years ago from you. While I left it in the pot, it continued to grow and looked heathy. Last summer, I transplanted it into the ground in a sunny spot. It stopped growing, and developed a yellow tinge. Now, the yellow spots are turning soft.

I have a new raised bed with much better drainage and a bit less sun. My question is: can I move it right now, or must I wait until it warms up? I live in Sacramento. Is it too late to save? It is soft at the top of the plant, not near the roots.

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer,

Kathryn

Kathryn,
If when it was in the pot it was in a less sunny location, it may have sunburned from being put out into full sun, especially in a Sacramento summer.

And then in winter, it looks like you have automatic watering at the plant? If so that could make the problem worse in winter. It is possible that the soil was moist when we had our freeze in January.

So it looks like it is rotting from the tip. In general that means you want to cut the rotted tips off down to where you can see fresh clean green tissue on the inside of the plant. You will then have to protect the tips for a few weeks while they callous over. Given how far this has progressed, I would recommend doing the cutting now, turning off the water and protecting it from any rains, and then waiting until April or May to transplant it. Basically you want it to start getting better before you cause any transplant stress.

You should spray the cut tips with hydrogen peroxide to help them heal over. Watch for further rot and if needed spray with an organic fungicide like neem.

In the future it is best to water Opuntia subulatas in the ground very very sparingly. Once established you don’t have to ever water them unless you are getting over 95F.

Good luck

Peter

Elizabeth has a question for Yahoo Answers. I thought I would post it here so you all can join in and pass along your cactus expertise to Elizabeth.

Cactus for Valentines Day?
So my boyfriend and I have been together for three years now and I always make him crafts or get him odd little things for Valentines day and he loves it. So this year I was going to get him a Venus Fly trap that said You caught me ;D but all the fly traps were dead and i bought him a “Golden Ball Cactus”…

The cactus has a yellow straw flower actually hot glued onto the poor cactus… stupid people.. and all the others were like,,, dead and such and i was wondering if there is any way i can keep this crinkly little flower alive. I wasn’t sure if it was fake or not.. but im assuming fake flowers can’t die although it has obviously been glued on.

I’ll start it off by saying that if all the Venus Fly Traps and all the Cactus except one were dead that the store she bought the one from is not doing a good job taking care of the plants and I would watch the cactus carefully for signs of stress and not worry about the straw flower.

Can you top my advice?

I saw this very large succulent planted outside along the beach at a Santa Monica. Can you identify it? Do you sell it?

Barbara

Barbara,
That’s an Aeonium, probably Aeonium subplanum. We do have it in stock, as well as many other similar ones as well.
Peter

Ask.com has this question up:

How Long Can a Cactus Survive Without Water

And then the answer includes this part:

…although (cacti) may show some signs of death when it lacks water, in most cases, it never dies completely…

What a bizarre answer.

Felicia posted the ID question on Yahoo Answers and already has her answer, so you don’t need to click through to help her out and answer.

But can you ID this cactus anyway?

Hello Cactus Blog,

My succulent grew a baby plant. Should I put it in its own pot? Thanks!

Yvonne

Yvonne,

I would definitely cut it off and put it in a new pot – BUT – wait for spring. It will be fine for a few more months as it is. When you do take the cutting, I recommend letting the cut end dry for a week before planting it in fresh dry cactus soil.

Also, not that you asked, but it looks like your Echeveria could use a bit more light. These are full sun Echeverias and would do best with 3-4 hours min. direct sun, without a screen.

Peter