Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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aurelie.
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Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by aurelie. »

Hello! I have two Pilosocereus (could be Pilosocereus pachycladus or pilosocereus lanuginosus, posted photos on cacti id and people weren't too sure). I bought them about 3 years ago.

Cactus 1: It has double in size since I got it, though the base is brown and incredible thin (why I now have sticks to hold it up). Thought it might be part of the aging process and never worried me too much seeing as it was still growing. About 10cm (3.9in) tall.
Cactus1 - the base was brown when I got it.
Cactus1 - the base was brown when I got it.
Pilosocereus pachycladus 2-1.JPG (21.76 KiB) Viewed 2785 times
Cactus 1 - close-up - it also has black marks now
Cactus 1 - close-up - it also has black marks now
Pilosocereus pachycladus or pilosocereus lanuginosus 2 -2.JPG (31.8 KiB) Viewed 2785 times
Cactus 2: Since October, this one has a large brown area, and I don't know if it's sunburn or mold seeing as their are black spots. About 7cm (2.8in) tall
Cactus 2 - Full photo of the cactus that became brown in October
Cactus 2 - Full photo of the cactus that became brown in October
Pilosocereus pachycladus -1.JPG (26.27 KiB) Viewed 2785 times
Cactus 2 - Close-up
Cactus 2 - Close-up
Pilosocereus pachycladus - 2.JPG (30.67 KiB) Viewed 2785 times
Was wondering what y'all thought and if I can do anything to make them better (I know you can't really get rid of scars, but can I prevent spreading, are they dying....)
They're downstairs next to a window, at about 11°C (51°F) and am not really watering.
Any help would be great!
KittieKAT
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by KittieKAT »

Could br. A number of things, sun burn from not slowly introducing stronger light over a period of time, scorch from the winter sun which is alot Stronger them u think and it looks, root rot from over watering, stem rot from over watering, frost bite from being to close to a cold window, corking, etc...etc..

Really can't tell much by the pictures but I'm thinking its scorch or frost bite. Or rot/infection. Ud have to unpot it and take a picture of how it looks under the soil to make a better guess. I'm not sure what u use for a mix in the pot but it looks heavy and wet, id suggest changing it to either a coarse medium or 50:50 cacti and succulent Mixx (sifted) and perlite for better drainage and drying time, and make sure its in a pot with drainage holes! Hopefully someone will chime in on what it could be, Goodluck
KittieKAT
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by KittieKAT »

Also what does it feel like? Is it hard, soft, mushy..etc..etc?
aurelie.
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Location: Lyon, France

Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by aurelie. »

Well, it's hard to get in there and tell what its like because of the spines, but it still seems quite hard (at least I can push on the spines to pick it up). I repotted this summer with cacti soil and put a layer of perlite at the bottom, and the drainage holes work fine too. The roots seemed fine this summer (the first cactus was already like this) and they both took well to the new soil. I can see some thin roots poking out of the bottom holes, but they don't block it. They don't get direct sunlight from where they are now, but was in full sun this summer (and they got caught in a summer storm once or twice, swelled up from the moisture, but then they went back to normal size within a few days). Could be the cold from the window, even if they are on another pot and not on the cold floor. I'll try and depot and take a picture!
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greenknight
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by greenknight »

Really does look more like sunburn or frost burn. Try poking it with the eraser end of a pencil - if it's rotten, it will give easily.
Spence :mrgreen:
rgiesecke
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by rgiesecke »

I have one Pilosocereus that has some scarring like that... coincidentally, it happened beneath (under, not behind) the hot-glue spot from a box store sticking fake flowers on it. As others have said, it looks a lot like sunburn... Maybe after-effects of glue-burn? Seems rather far down for that explanation on the first plant. If they are growing and not getting soft I'd think you're ok.
"Horticulture, after all, is a mode of articulating and feeling time."
aurelie.
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Location: Lyon, France

Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by aurelie. »

Hey! I just depotted and they were both quite wet, so think might be too much water, but poked them and it is still nice and hard. Leaving them out of their pots for a bit to dry. Roots like fine, here are the photos:
Cactus 1
Cactus 1
C1.JPG (29.51 KiB) Viewed 2750 times
Cactus 1
Cactus 1
C1 (3).JPG (43.07 KiB) Viewed 2750 times
Cactus 1
Cactus 1
C1 (2).JPG (46.59 KiB) Viewed 2750 times
Cactus 2
Cactus 2
C2.JPG (24.73 KiB) Viewed 2750 times
Cactus 2
Cactus 2
C2 (3).JPG (20.5 KiB) Viewed 2750 times
Cactus 2
Cactus 2
C2 (4).JPG (30.37 KiB) Viewed 2750 times
They are still growing and cacti 1's problems don't seem to spread. I just don't want them to get any worse, I know that once they have a sunburn or something they will keep the scare, but want to avoid anymore of it!
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by Steve Johnson »

Just from the photos, it looks like your mix is way too rich, so I'd recommend leaning it out a lot more with some sort of mineral. Pumice is the best, and if you live in the US, you can find a good source for it on eBay here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-5-GAL-PUMICE- ... 3384a94694" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A good number of experienced growers do well with straight pumice, although you may need to add some soil for better moisture retention if your climate is hot and dry in spring and/or summer. Standard ratio is 50/50 mineral-soil, but with pumice you can (and IMO should) tilt the ratio more in favor of the mineral component.

Despite the fact that your cacti have extensive root systems, they're not in the best of health. It can take a long time to see problems showing up, which would explain why you're finding sun-scorch now. Cacti in the peak of health are far less likely to scorch under full sun conditions. Lean out the mix, fertilize your plants on a regular basis in the growing season, and they'll start getting healthier pretty fast. If you haven't been fertilizing, I can help you out with a few suggestions.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
aurelie.
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by aurelie. »

Hey steve, thanks for the suggestion. I'll let the cacti dry a bit and then i'll get rid of some of the soil and add in perlite. I haven't been fertilizing because it's winter (cold and dry here in central France) and repotted during the summer. I do, however have a cactus fertilizer which I was going to use this summer (dry and hot-ish, around 25°-30°C/ 77-82°F). Is it best not too water after repotting?
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by Steve Johnson »

aurelie. wrote:Hey steve, thanks for the suggestion. I'll let the cacti dry a bit and then i'll get rid of some of the soil and add in perlite. I haven't been fertilizing because it's winter (cold and dry here in central France) and repotted during the summer. I do, however have a cactus fertilizer which I was going to use this summer (dry and hot-ish, around 25°-30°C/ 77-82°F). Is it best not too water after repotting?
Wish you could get pumice, because it's way better than perlite. If that's the only mineral you have access to, I'd highly recommend a thick layer of gravel top dressing. Perlite floats away whenever you water, and top dressing is great to keep the mix from getting all over the base of your plants. Best thing to do now is unpot them, clean off the roots as thoroughly as possible, let them dry completely, then repot your cacti in fresh, dry mix. Don't start watering until spring, then water every 2 weeks. Based on the way you're describing your climate, you can increase watering frequency to once a week in summer. Then taper off the watering in fall. If you water your cacti at all during winter, it should be infrequent and just enough to moisten the mix -- in other words sip, don't soak.

I'm always leery of fertilizers branding themselves specifically as cactus and succulent ferts. I use Dyna Gro All-Pro 7-7-7, and here is what's in it:
Dyna-Gro_7-7-7_specs.jpg
Dyna-Gro_7-7-7_specs.jpg (33.14 KiB) Viewed 2735 times
This is an excellent nutrient profile, so if you can find something similar, then A. you'll be on the right track, and B. let me know the NPK numbers of the fert you'll be using and I can give you some further guidance.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
aurelie.
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by aurelie. »

I found pumice. The fertilizer I have is:
6% K2O
3.5% SO3
3% N
0.0245% Fe
0.0040% Mn
0.0021% B
0.0003% Cu
0.00004% Mo
0.0020% Zn
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by Steve Johnson »

aurelie. wrote:I found pumice.
Great! Although your climate is dry, your daytimes in summer aren't overly hot, so you could grow your cacti in straight pumice. Only drawback is that you'll have to fertilize every time you water. I haven't had a problem keeping this regimen up, so it shouldn't be a big deal. If you're watering your cacti with hard water, acidifying with 5% white vinegar helps a lot. If you keep your plants outside and you get summertime rain, that's even better.

No Phosphorus in your fert? That's a problem, and I'm not thrilled with the N-to-K ratio either. You may have to spend some time searching for it, but try and find a fert that's at least close to the nutrient profile of the Dyna Gro 7-7-7 I just showed you. While you're looking, I'll contact Dyna Gro and find out if they have any distributors in France. If they do, you may be in luck.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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Steve Johnson
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by Steve Johnson »

Or how about if I just go to the Dyna Gro website? They do have a distributor in Europe, and here's the site:

http://www.dyna-gro.nl/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nutrient profile of the Orchid-Pro 7-8-6 looks really good, and the NPK balance is as close to ideal as you could hope for. I'd highly recommend this fert for European cactus growers, so all you'll need to do is get contact info from Dyna Gro's Netherlands website, then they should be able to find a seller for you.

Now we can discuss proper fertilizer application. The dilution rate I go with is 1/2 teaspoon of liquid fert per gallon of water. Since you're dealing with metric, the conversion is 2.5 milliliters per 4 liters of water. This doesn't need to be totally precise, although it's better to under-fertilize than overdo it for cacti. If you decide to go with a certain amount of soil in your mix, you won't need to fertilize every time. And by the way -- cacti should get fert only in the growing season.

Hope this helps!
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
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greenknight
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by greenknight »

After repotting, you should give the roots time to heal before watering, at least a week during the growing season. This time of year they should be left dry, as Steve Johnson explained - don't water until Spring.
Spence :mrgreen:
aurelie.
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Re: Do these Pilosocereus have mold?

Post by aurelie. »

Thank you all for your help!
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