emeuller0204 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 05, 2018 7:00 pm
I have a lovely EA and I just noticed this eve it’s getting what I think is rot at the base.... I have a couple of pics attached.
Things I thought I was doing correctly..
-And I’ve only watered it twice in 2-3 months..
I immediately took it out of the pot to let it dry as it was moist to the touch in the dark areas at the bottom..
First, there were NO pix attached. Not callin' you out on this, or fussing at you, or trying to be rude to ANY extent, but being able to see it MIGHT have been useful in helping to determine what kind of advice anyone would give you.
I've got a pair of E. ammak of which I am inordinately proud of and love like my breath, so i'll post a couple of pictures here along with some history, HOPING that it will help.
I bought these in Dec of 2015 and they were already fairly good sized.
- A 043 2015-12-05 Euphorbia ammak - taken on the date of purchase (577x1024) 2.jpg (66.25 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
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They didn't put on much growth by Oct of 2016 ... only about 2-2.5" ...
- B 043 2016-10-05 Euphorbia ammak DSCF6746 (1024x577) 3.jpg (110.34 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
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I took these two pictures today, brushing away dirt so that you could see the damage MINE had received when I noticed it in April of 2018. Keep in mind however that this picture is from today and the damage has been "repairing" for two years. I noticed that one of the pair was rotting at the base, and immediately came here for advice. And boy, let me tell you, the advice I got was GOOD advice (
you seeing this greenknight?)! You say that you've only watered yours a couple of times in 3 months ... but that it was wet to the touch. That has a tendency to tell me that your soil mixture is staying wet
too long ...
maybe you should mix a good bit more pumice in it.
- C 043 2020-10-07 100_0002 (1024x768) 10.jpg (119.78 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
- D 043 2020-10-07 100_0003 (1024x768) 1.jpg (121.17 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
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It was suggested that I separate the two plants (
despite the fact that the roots were as big as my pinky finger and circled the pot they were in 2 or 3 times) and put them in their own pots. Also that I go to a grittier soil mixture. I did so, and you can see by the above pics how much of my soil is PURE GRIT. But in the process of separating the two stalks by SAWING through the roots (
they lost about 50% of their roots in this process), I crushed the top of the tallest of the pair by dropping the waterhose on it. The damage was MUCH worse than the following picture suggests. After cutting the top off and "rounding" the ribs (
so that it would look more natural ... I thought I was going to cry ) I put them in their own pots with a mixture that was about 80-85% inorganic and 15-20% organic because of something that I had read that talked about how they liked a little more organic material than cacti do while STILL wanting a quick draining soil.
- E 043 2018-04-21 Euphorbia ammak DSCF5170--Damage from waterhose while lying on ground after washing roots 094731 (1024x768) 5.jpg (49.39 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
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The stalk with the damaged top didn't do much of anything in 2018, but by July of 2019, each of the five ribs were making SUBSTANTIAL growth on a set of arms ... ONE for EACH rib.
- F 043 2019-07-23 Euphorbia ammak - Closeup of each of 5 ribs growing an arm - DSCF7128 (1024x768) 6.jpg (69.24 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
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In November of 2019 the arms were substantially larger. In fact, by the end of they growing season the stalk was 21" tall and the longest arm is 8.75" long for a total of almost 30" of height.
- H 043 2019-11-30 210249 (1024x768) 8.jpg (66.5 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
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Unfortunately, the 2020 season only gave me about 3" of growth as is evidenced by this picture.
- I 043 2020-09-29 100_0159 (1024x768) 9.jpg (69.24 KiB) Viewed 22846 times
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The storal of the morey is ... Your ammak CAN survive serious damage ... as is evidenced by these pictures . Make your soil mixture grittier, and let the soil go
almost completely dry between waterings. PAY ATTENTION to the state of your soil. In transplanting the rotting stalk, I cut off dead roots. You may be able to see that
that stalk has developed a new set of roots. If your "rot" is too bad ... CUT IT COMPLETELY OFF just above the rot and go through the re-root process that is so popular with xeric plants. It WILL survive such a drastic trim job... and probably be better off for having grown a completely new set of roots.
It is true ... this is a xeric plant, and can withstand a fairly high degree of drought ... it will SURVIVE ... but it won't THRIVE ... it's a plant for goodness sake, and it NEEDS it's water ... just don't let it STAY wet.
Lastly ... and I am VERY reticent to offer this, but I know how much I love mine and how I would feel if it dies ... if NOTHING you do helps, and yours dies ... send me a PM and I'll cut off one of the smaller arms of MY
ammak, root it and send it to you. The people here at this forum have been VERY good to me ... I think it only just and condign that I return the favor where its needed and where I CAN do something.