my mom bought a blue desert gems cactus a few months ago and i’ve been trying to take care of it since. after doing some digging around two months in, i’ve found that i’ve been overwatering it and i’m trying to correct that. recently i’ve been noticing some of the blue blooms disappearing and being replaced with smaller patches of a white fuzz-like substance. from what i can see, it could be mealybugsd, but once i tried the suggested method of scraping the white fuzz off with a toothbrush, nothing happened. i’ve done more research but i can’t find anything that might suggest what the problem is.not only that, but there have been some white chunks forming in the soil. i asked my grandmother and she said it was normal, but it seems like some type of fungus to me. maybe it was caused by my overwatering? all help is appreciated!
Apparently, these cacti are painted or dyed to produce bright, day-glow colors. The new growth will be their natural color, possibly with a trace of the dye. I suspect that the white patches are spines on the buds of flowers or new stems.
Correct, it has white spines that have been dyed blue. I think it is a Mammillaria vetula 'Arizona Snowcap', search for that and you will find lots of pictures of how it is supposed to look.
