Cactus Blog

The Las Vegas Review Journal takes all kinds of questions from their readers, including this simple one about some sedum.

Well, I could have told you that. Of course, there’s more to the answer than all that, so click through to find out about build up of salts and the author’s opinion of the rubber mulch too.

Q: I have a graptoveria ‘debbie’ that is giving me some difficulty. it had a bloom spray on it when i purchased it 2 months ago. the spray is still on it and no blooms have opened. it sits in an eastern window and although it is getting leggy (not enough sun) it is getting burn spots on it (too much sun). what do I do with it? cut the spray and move to different soil (currently standard cactus mixed with specialized pumice from garden center)?

Please help. If it is lighting, please tell me how to add extra lighting for them. Thank you thank you thank you.

Stacy

A: Stacy,
Your plant is fine. It’s hard for me to be sure since the photo is a little out of focus, but it looks like there are 2 blooms that have opened on the bottom of the bloom spray. It is possible when moving a plant to a new environment that a bloom can abort, but it doesn’t look like that has happened here. Hopefully the rest of them will open. You might want to get it closer to a sunny window.

As for the plant, it is a tiny bit leggy, I suppose, but not too bad. Basically it looks fine. The “burn” spots you mention are just the plant losing bottom leaves. All succulents lose bottom leaves. Check out my instructional video.
Peter

A customer wanted to know what the name Aloe cryptopoda means. Crypto means false, hidden, fake; poda means foot. Well, that doesn’t make any sense. So I looked it up.

It really is derived from “Hidden Foot”. Because the base of the bloom stalk is hidden by the plant’s leaves. That is the dumbest excuse for a latin plant name I have ever heard.

Here’s a few we’ve ID’ed from photos sent in recently.

Agave attenuata

Ooh, it’s a baby! But clearly identifiable as a Cotyledon orbiculata.

Echeveria imbricata

So far, nothing too tricky.

Well that’s just a common Jade, aka Crassula ovata.

Q: I bought the arrangement in the attached photo and the leaves are beginning to yellow and fall off. I’ve been watering every 10 days or so. Ususally I soak it for a few seconds and then let it drain. Any help?

Thanks
Brent

A: Brent,

It looks like you just have a dead branch, the rest of the plant looks fine. Trim off the dead part and it should be fine. You can also bring it by for us to take a look at…

Take care,
Hap

Well, that was an easy one for Hap to answer.

Q: Hi there,

We bought some plants from you in the little coconut husk pots. Do the plants get removed from those pots or are they planted in them?

Signed,
Cactus-Newbie

A: Cactus-Newbie,

You can just water the plant and pot, plant the whole thing and then water it again and the pot will break down quickly after it is planted.

Hap

Followup: COOL! That’s what we did yesterday, so I was hoping that was correct!

Sometimes we have to interpret the questions we get. In this case, it wasn’t too hard to figure out what she was asking about.

Q: My husband and I were in Arizona and saw a lovely flowering (multi colored) cactus. We think the name was “troia” or “troya”. We live in southwest Florida and wondered if it could survive here and, if so, where could we buy it. We couldn’t find any information when we googled “troia”.

Lois

Sometimes our answers are simple and direct, other times, well, a little wordier…

A: Lois,
The name you are looking for is “cholla”.
There are many different species of plants that are called cholla, all in the Opuntia family (actually the Opuntioideae subfamily), with the genus being either Opuntia, Cylindropuntia, or Austrocylindropuntia.

(Basically, the Opuntia family has been divided into prickly pears (Opuntia) and chollas (Cylindropuntia). And then just for fun the botanists added an “Austro” in front for plants that are native to South America. We don’t actually agree with these divisions, and so our website lists them all still as Opuntia.)

Some common Arizona species include the Teddy Bear/Jumping Cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii) and the Buckhorn Cholla (Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa). We also like the Pencil Cholla (Cylindropuntia ramosissima).

As for how well they will do in Florida, well… Not well. It really depends on your humidity, which is generally too high throughout SW Florida. The chollas are a pretty dry plant. Some of the other Opuntias, the prickly pears, will do better in Florida. You can even find a list of those that are native to Florida.

Peter

First we get the question, trimmed for space.

Q: Hi there,
Just wondering if you could give me some pruning advice…. Euphorbia candelabra on her terrace… overlooking the River Thames… too big for the space….

Is it possible to prune it back? One of the cactus experts at the Hampton Court Flower Show here told me it would die if I did so… it will have irritating sap…

Any info you could give would be much appreciated. I don’t come across many outdoor cactus here in London, usually just red geranium and buxus balls and so could do with a bit of your much more expert guidance.

Look forward to hearing back from you

Best Regards
Elle

Then we get the compact answer:

Elle,

Yes, you can prune the Euphorbia, if it is done right it will not kill the plant, but it will cause them to scar and then branch over the next few years. You should prune now during warm weather so it has a chance to heal before your wet and cold winter. It should be easy to cut with a pruning saw or a serrated knife. The sap on Euphorbia candelabra is very toxic so make sure you wear safety glasses or use a full face shield, chemical resistant gloves and long sleeves. You do not want the sap in your eyes, as it can cause blindness! To stop the “bleeding” use 3% Hydrogen-peroxide from a druggist, put in to a spray bottle and spray the cut heavily as soon as you are done cutting. It will make the sap stop flowing fairly fast, but watch for splatter while you spray (a real good reason to wear a face shield).

Good luck (and we would love an emailed photo of a before and after to put up on Cactus Blog).

Hap

…about the question people ask us, “Why is my cactus/succulent (turning yellow) (losing leaves) (turning brown) (dying)?”

But then I decided that I didn’t want to answer that question.

If I were to answer it, I’d have to ask questions back to the questioner. For instance, I might ask, “Do you know what the species is?” or “When was the last time you repotted it?” and of course, “How often do you water?” and finally, “Can you bring the plant in or send a digital photo?”

Often people try to describe the plant, “Oh it’s green and it’s got long thingys on it, but it’s not too spikey…” or “It’s got round leaves” so I’ll point to a plant and they’ll say, “No that’s not it, it’s taller than that” or “More round”.

That’s enough whining for today. Go back to enjoying your Saturday afternoon. Go on…. You don’t have to go outside, but you can’t stay here…

Q: I’m trying to find a succulent that my paternal grandmother had. It’s been referred to in the family as hens and chicks, mother of thousands, string of pearls, and tears something-or-other. She lived in Bakersfield, CA.

It has long leaves, and produces ‘babies’ on the edges, which fall off at the gentlest touch, and root easily.

Can you help?

Thanks,

Ellyn

A: What you are looking for is what we call the Mother of Millions, or I suppose, if you have less ambition, Mother of Thousands. Definitely not Hen and Chicks or String of Pearls which are completely different.

The latin name is Kalanchoe daigremontiana. We do carry this plant at the nursery.
Peter

It’s not good to have Pachypodium problems, I always say.

Hi Hap! What’s going on with my Lamerai’s?

Matt

Matt,

It looks like you have at least two insect problems: Scale, the brown and tan bumps here and there on the leaves, as well as spider-mites. The leaf burn and curl is a combination of not liking the brand of Neem Oil you used on the tender new leaves and the bugs draining too much sap. The good news is it should grow out of it, but if the first application of Neem did not kill all the bugs (watch for little crawlers) I would suggest using a lower dilution of your Neem oil and respraying in a week, so it does not burn the new crop of leaves. If that does not work we can discuss more drastic measures….

Take care,
Hap

Would you kindly identify this cactus for me?
I have included several shots.
Thank you..
RObert

Echinopsis thelegonoides

Hello,

I was wondering if I could get an opinion from one of the experts about a disease(s) my cactus seems to have acquired. I spoke with someone on the phone the other day, and he suggested I e-mail some photos. Here’s the gist:

I purchased a beautiful 4′ cactus at Cactus Jungle about 10 mo ago. About 1 mo ago I noticed it had developed what appeared to be a nasty case of scale. I applied a potassium-based organic miticide to the surface 3 or 4 times over the course of a month, and the scale seemed to mostly disappear, but at about the same time, I noticed two additional types of lesions on the cactus:

1.) Raised, blister-like lesions, filled with a black tarry liquid, began to break out up and down the shaft of the cactus (see photo #1 below). The began to multiply and coalesce into lesions several inches in length. Some appear to be drying up and turning gray now, but others are still popping up.

2.) Flat, dry brown speckled patches that don’t scrape off, some reaching up to several square inches, have formed near the bottom of the cactus, but appear stable (see photos below).

I was wondering if you might know what either of these two types of lesions are. Do you think they relate to the original scale problem, or might they be related to the treatment I used, or perhaps just stress? What would you suggest as treatment?

Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated
Many thanks

Sincerely,
Andrew

Andrew,

It looks, from the photos, like the plant has a chemical burn. It is also possible, if you scrubbed the dead scale off that the plant’s skin was damaged. Either way, it appears to be cosmetic damage, for the most part, and the plant will probably come out of it fine, with some scarring. If there are still any soft spots on the plant, then gently clean these areas with household peroxide.

Good Luck,
Hap

Hi,

I love Cactus Jungle (!) and it looks like I’ll be needing to make a trip soon to replace my indoor Euphorbia Ingens. The plant was gifted to me by a friend many years ago when it outgrew his little apartment. It was about 5′ tall at that time and it is now at least 6-1/2′ tall with several branches. It used to produce a multitude of little green leaves and grew a few new “arms” and then about five months ago I swapped it’s location with my Euphorbia hermentiana, so the hermentiana could have the best light for a while (although all the light is pretty good). I was about to swap them around again when I noticed the Euphorbia Ingens was dying. It started getting soft and rubbery at the tips of each branch including the top of the main trunk. Now about 2″ of each branch is very soft and yellow and I’ve noticed a brown creeping area on the largest branch. This is happening pretty fast. I think one of my [bleeping] cats decided to use the trunk as a scratch post as I’ve noticed some old healed pinprick patterns on the base side facing the wall. I don’t know what caused the dying — lack of proper sunlight, cat damage, virus, other. Should I try cutting the plant in half (the bottom half below the branches does not appear to be sick) or simply have a funeral for the entire plant? My camera is on the blink so unfortunately I can’t send a picture!

By the way, the Euphorbia hermentiana is growing insanely large even with pruning new branches and I’ll bring a picture to the store to see if you guys think I should have it repotted. I can’t repot it myself without risking life-threatening injury…and I don’t want to damage this lovely plant.

Thank you,
Regina

Regina,

If all the branch tips are showing signs of soft rot, it sounds like a virus. You could try cutting off all the infected parts, cleaning the cuts with Hydrogen-peroxide and hope it will stop the infection… but if it is a virus it is likely throughout the plant. Please be careful and remember the sap is toxic and you do not want it on your skin or worse in your eyes! Wear chemical resistant gloves and eye protection if you start cutting.

Please bring by photos and we will be happy to give better advice.

Take care and good luck,
Hap

Yes we can!

We have many different kinds of cactus where we live, some growing wild and some either given to us or we purchased. My wife was very excited yesterday when she went our to water our many plants and trees. She noticed one of the cactus plants had a beautiful flower. We have had the cactus for approximately eight years and have never seen it flower. My wife asked me to take a picture of the flower and use it as my desktop background on my PC. I have searched the internet trying to identify the type of cactus it is and get some information on the specific plant and had no luck. I have attached the photo to this email. Could you please identify the cactus and tell me where I can obtain information about the plant? I am glad I took the picture yesterday because when I checked it this morning the flower had really drooped and is not pretty at all. We live in Chaparral, NM, just outside of El Paso, TX.

Thank you. Roy

Roy,

Your plant is a very nice Echinopsis subdenudata, it use to be called Lobivia subdenudata but all the Lobivia got “Lumped” with Echinopsis…. It is native to Bolivia. We have a little more information on our website here.

Hap

Cactus Jungle: Greetings,
I am very worried about 12 bamboo plants (Psuedosasa japonica) I bought from you a little less than a year ago, which I have planted outdoors in large redwood planters in an alley behind my house in Noe Valley, SF. The alley is fairly narrow E-W running - the plants get direct sun during the mid-day hours because the hill I’m on slants towards the south. I water them once every week or two, and this spring have given them one dose of fish emulsion. While there are new shoots coming up at the base of the plants, a noticeable portion of the leaves are beginning to yellow or brown - worrisome during the fair springtime weather. Additionally, there is an apdhid infestation on the plants - they exude an oily residue covering the leaves. Do you have any experience with this problem?

I have invested both time and money into these plants and am not thrilled to see them fail in less than a year. Please see the attached jpegs: I would be most grateful if you have any advice or information which would help me care for the plants. As far as I can tell the species is appropriate for the climate, but let me know.
Many thanks,
Benjamin

Benjamin,

The yellowing leaves is from stress, from the aphids (sucking like
vampires on the leaves) and the fact we have had a very dry spring and
the plants are thirsty. Aphids are usually not a problem if the plant is
getting enough water and nutrients, all though they are often an issue
while recently planted plants are getting established. As your plants
mature they will become less prone to aphid problems.

You should spray the aphids off with a blast of water from the hose.
There are easily washed off and be a soft insect are usually fatally
injured by a good jet of water. You can also use insecticidal soap or
Neem Oil, but only use them after our “hot spell” that has just started,
is over. Hot weather and insecticides are a bad combination for your
plants! Spray in the evening, not during the day or morning as the soap
and or Neem Oil can cause leaf burn in the hot sun. I would recommend
using a hose end sprayer and really coating the leaves to kill off the
remaining aphids and eggs glued on to the leaves.

In a raised wood planter like yours, the bamboo is going to need a bit
more water than if it was in the ground (where its roots could pull in
moisture from all around). The wood breaths and so the soil inside dries
out faster. Water well, at least once a week, dry soil can be hard to
re-wet, so a slow soaking with a trickle of water is usually best, a
soaker hose ran down the length of your planter, twining between the
plants is an easy way to water your bamboo. Give it more water if it is
warm and windy, as this dries the bamboo out faster through
transpiration in the leaves. After a year in the ground you should be
able to water less, since the plants will have better established root
systems to pull in available water, but remember that raised beds always
take more irrigation.

They should “Out Grow” the aphids and stress pretty quickly as long as
our projected drought holds off long enough for them to get established.
Psuedosasa japonica is a great drought tolerant bamboo but like all
young things needs a bit of care to grow up strong enough to face the
big, bad world… I think your will take off with a bit more water and
knocking down the aphid infestation.

Good Luck,

Hap

Q: Hello,

I bought a Cactus for my wife about two years ago from a local home depot. For the life of me I dont know what kind it is and I dont know how to take care of it. Attached is a picture of the plant. My wife and I would be very happy if you could help us out and tell us what this thing is and how to take care of it.

-Chris

Chris,

Your cactus is most likely an Opuntia subulata monstrosa.

It looks like it needs more light, so try moving it closer to a west or
south facing window. It also looks like your potting soil is too rich,
with way too much organic material in it. Re-pot in a quality cactus
soil that does not have any “forest” product in it. If you can’t find
that locally mix two-thirds pumice or Perlite with one-third standard
potting soil. Do not add sand (it stays too wet). Water about every two
weeks during the summer, once a month in the winter. With better light
and soil your cactus should take off and grow into a cool lumpy mound
that looks like a “star-trek-ian Xmas tree” in a few years. O. subulata
is a very fast growing species and the monstrose mutation of it is too.

Good luck,
Hap

Q: Hi there,
I have a Pachypodium lamerei (I am pretty sure based on the pics from your site) from you guys that I have had for about one or two years. It fell over!!! It looks like the base of it was too skinny for it’s thicker top. What can I do? I love it, the leaves look healthy and it never looked sad to me, so it was a surprise when it just fell over. I don’t over water it, if anything I under water it. Any suggestions?

I really appreciate it,
Heather

Heather,

Could you email us a photo of the plant and a close up of the base where it fell over? If not please bring it by the nursery so we can take a look it. Pachypodiums will sometimes loose their roots to an infection over the winter, if that is the case, it will need treatment and help regrowing roots. It could also just need to be re-potted in a larger pot with fresh soil.

Take care,
Hap

Resolution: They brought the plant in, and it wasn’t too skinny, and the roots hadn’t rotted. The base had rotted from an infection, and the plant was dead. We were sorry we couldn’t help save it. It appeared they had really underwatered it. We recommend watering every 2 weeks.

Today’s question comes from concerned parents. Well, not so concerned that they didn’t ask the question before the son had taken care of the problem.

Q: My son recently dug out a cactus while landscaping. The lady told him the neighbors called it “the cactus from hell”. When he was done he had tiny needles, the size of a hair, all over his body and around his head and neck, even though he never touched the cactus, except with a shovel. It took him hours to get all of the needles out, and had to throw away his shoes, they were covered in them. This happened in Indiana. What kind of cactus is it? Thank you.
Jim and Joy

A: Jim and/or Joy,
Opuntia microdasys is most likely. The spines will go aerosol when you
whack it with a shovel. It is also known as the Cow-Blinder cactus, and
we spray it with soapy water before we handle it.
Peter

We Get Questions always prefers to have pictures to go a long with the questions, and here we have a nice portrait of a cactus.

I have had a cactus for approximately fourteen years. I was living in Chicago when I bought him and currently reside in Fremont (northern) CA. I love “Borus” and have only recently discovered that he is a Cereus Montrose. I have always kept him in a clay pot until 1 1/2 years ago when I transplanted him to a plastic pot because of his size. He is now 4″1″ tall from the base of the pot. He is currently in a pot which is 22 1/2″ diameter and 21″ tall. Unfortunately I keep him outside. In the winter I have put him in the garage during rain and at night when the weather is cold.

I would like to know if I should transplant him. His pot is cracked and his top roots are as wide as the pot on one side and 1/2″ from the side on the other. I do not know how deep his roots are since I can”t lift the pot. I have been looking for a clay pot but can’t find one any larger than the one he is in.

I did find a ceramic pot which is somewhat bowl shaped, 22″ in diameter on top, but 26″ three inches down. I know he should be transplanted into a pot two inches larger, but would five inches hurt? I found the internet to be too expensive for pots and could not find the right size.

Attached, are some photos of him. He has never flowered. I didn’t know he would flower. I thought I was caring for him properly. but now know I was wrong. I did recently water him with Cactus Juice fertilizer a few weeks ago and have noticed the top branches which were getting soft, have hardened up a bit. His yellow tinted color has also faded a bit.

Please look at the attached pictures and advise me on what to do to make him a healthier and happier cactus. He has been with me for so long, I would be heartbroken if anything should happen to him. I don’t know if your answer will be on the internet or you will send me an email? I’m new at this. Thank you in advance.
Sincerely,
Janice

Janice,

Your Cereus monstrose would be happy with a much larger pot, though clay would be best, plastic just holds too much water in the winter. A five inch jump is not too much for a plant that size. You could also plant
him in the ground in Fremont (where he would soon become a tree) as long as you amended the soil so he had good drainage. Cereus like yours are hardy enough to be happy planted outside in the Bay Area. My own Cereus monstrose in planted in a raised planter in my Berkeley backyard and handled 25 degrees without damage.

Yours looks like he could use a bit of fertilizer and minerals and that should green up the yellowing. We use slow release organic nutrients with great results, cactus are slow growers so they like slow food as well. If you use a chemical fertilizer only use it a low strength and not very often. Make sure to use a fast draining soil without a lot of organic material.

Good Luck,
Hap