What are these spots on my cutting?

[Theral]

I bought this cutting the other day. It was stored in the refrigerator, but I didn't ask for how long and I have no idea when the cutting was taken. The base is pretty well scarred over already so it's not that fresh.

cactus1.jpg (57 KiB) Viewed 1786 times

The spots are kind of scattered all over, which makes me think (and hope) maybe it's just bruising or discolouration. This is the worst area by far. It is slightly softer near the rightmost spots, but all the others feel the same as the rest of the cactus. Can I do anything about this? I was hoping I could save a little bit of it, at least, but I'm not sure where to cut since the spots are everywhere.

Thanks for any advice!

[Dodi Russell]

Why did you store it in the fridge ? I don't know what are those spots

[Theral]

Why did you store it in the fridge ? I don't know what are those spots

I didn't store it in the fridge, the store I bought it from did. I assume to prevent any growth, but I don't know!

[Hallow]

It might have gotten to cold. I've bought cactus pads from the grocery store and tried to grow them just for fun. There kept in a cooler as well, they all had the same type of spots. I haven't had any success growing the pads but they were cheap. Hope you have better luck.

[Pereskiopsisdotcom]

It might have gotten to cold. I've bought cactus pads from the grocery store and tried to grow them just for fun. There kept in a cooler as well, they all had the same type of spots. I haven't had any success growing the pads but they were cheap. Hope you have better luck.

I've also done this. Refrigeration seems to put them into a stasis that they have a hard time coming out of. In my experience they have all rotted this way.

[TimN]

It's possible the plant was meant to be consumed as a food/drug and not a horticultural item. The spots look like what I call rust, which is a fungus that can appear in moist-ish, still air (think inside a refrigerator).

I usually see this during winter time, so cool temps may be a factor for some species.

I'd try some anti-fungal spray or powder. Follow the instructions on the label.

[hegar]

The splotchy spots on your cutting, which are surrounded by a yellowish halo to me would indicate an infection of some sort, most likely either a bacterial or fungal one. Are these lesions getting larger or do they stay the same size? There most likely was already something wrong, before the cactus stem was placed in the refrigerator.

Harald