I have 3 cactus. The neighbor gave them to me last year (they came off of her "mother" cacti that she had already given away) and apparently, the 2nd smallest one bloomed prior to giving them to me. First, how do I care for these? The biggest one has yellow spots at the bottom of it (I dropped it the first day I got it, transferring from the neighbor's house), but it's not soft or it's not wiggling at all. It's really sturdy. I just don't know if it's still alive! The other two are smaller and one of them bloomed last year, the neighbor said. I haven't seen any growth of any kind. I water it when the soil/sand is really dry (1 - 2 weeks). They are sitting next to a window that gets full sun during the day. Could you tell me more about them? How do I care for them? I'm going to take them outside when the weather is for sure to stay warm (Missouri weather...). I guess my main concern is to find out what they are AND IF THEY ARE STILL ALIVE!
Well, your cacti look alive to me. Full sun, warmth, and keeping them dry (esp. in winter) is good. However, I am concerned about the blotches on your big fella. Wondering if these are an infestation of giant scale insects...? Do they come off when gently nudged with a Q-tip moistened with rubbing alcohol?
Oh, no... after looking at it closely and while nudging the yellow blotches, I noticed that where the spikes are, they have turned black (but not all of them yet and it looks like it's working its way up). The yellow blotches don't come off, but when I pushed my finger nail through it, it was making crunching sounds. When I tried this where it's green, it was still bouncy yet firm. :( I think my cactus is slowly dying, if it's not already dead.
Ooh. Also had the thought that maybe the blotching was that 'corking' thing that older cacti do, which can look pretty scary...but can't say I've seen it spread up in separate areas like that. Am hoping that our cactus-maven members will see this post and lend you their opinions. (Hey, mandarin!)
Well, I don't think I'm going to toss it just yet. I'm going to wait until I'm certain it's dead. Some of the blotches are actually starting to crackle, and while I was pushing around with my fingernail, one of cracked and fell off. Underneath it was still yellow-greenish color. Thanks, Togata. I hope others see this post, too! =)
The big one is an Echinopsis oxygona (or a close relative or hybrid), and at least one of the smaller (the one one the right) is an Echinopsis too. They are relatively easy to care for (for being cacti, that is), treatment is the usual for cacti. Dry and cold in winter, in summer they should be watered as you are doing now :) Caveat: the Missouri climate is not my field of expertise, maybe there is a better way to overwinter them where you live. They can be grown outside in summer in Sweden, so that should be possible in Missouri, if it is not too humid (= increased risk for fungal infections). Just let them acclimatize to the sun slowly, cacti get sunburned surprisingly easily. Your soil look peat-based, which means that it is difficult to re-wet when dry, and becomes hard and compact with time. I have seen Echinopsis plants grow in such soil for many years, so it is not disastreous, but you might want to add something like pumice or perlite next time (or, rather, more of it, I can see some stuff like that on the soil surface). I don't recognize the spots. If they are not scale insects I would leave them and see if they spread. If not, just ignore them. The plants look alive.
Oh, darn. I'm going to toss it. I was hoping it would come out of it, but it has bright orange things spreading (from the inside, it looks like). Not sure how to explain it... like it just sucked in a lot of orange liquid and now it's bleeding "out" of the plant. Anyway, tossing it this time. Thank you.
Orange-coloured flesh means a fungal infection (I don't remember the name right now), destroy the plant.
I know, Togata. :( Thanks, Mandarin. I wish I could've saved it or I just wish it didn't have that fungus in the first place. I don't think it spread to other plants because they each have their own container (I have 3 cactus total). Also, the other ones, which are smaller, look very green and seem to be doing just fine. While I'm here, do you guys know how I could get my little ones to flower? They flowered for the lady I got them from last year... :) Thanks, guys!
They flower relatively easily, we have a few where I work, and they flower now and then despite that they are growing in not so favourable conditions and nobody seems to care much about them. I don't think they have been repotted in many years. I think that is one reason why they are so common. They must grow to a certain size before they can grow and carry the big flowers. I don't have much to add to what I wrote before; dry winter + lower temperatures, water in spring and summer (carefully first, before the roots have come to life again after the dry period).
