I've tried searching.... very confusing that way. Here is a cacti, mammalliara, I think. It's having babies, too. Pups is the right word. I believe I have to rtepot simply because there is NO WAY any pups will grow in this 4" pot with the parent plant. The rust is powdery- looking, but will not rub off. been there a while, only on bottom hemisphere if the plant. Soil is bone-dry, hasn't been watered since christmas. Questions: how do I treat/ replant? repot all in a 6" pot? remove babies...? and please, just HOW do I do this? Someone mentioned quarantine the mother... is this the same for cacti ( was in the houseplant section looking for "rust") pic 2 & 3 are different pups in the same 4" pot with parent plant. my mother said to destroy them all! is she right? Any way to separate the babies and have them live, if not parent plant as well?
Difficult to say, but it looks to me like old spider mite damages. Should be ok if the mites are gone. Watch it and see if it spreads, if so it is probably a fungal disorder. All the plants or just the offsets? If you want to remove the offsets you should remove the soil first, then cut them off as close to the main body as you can, using a clean (sterilized) knife. Let heal for 2-3 weeks before repotting, the wounds will come in contact with the soil so they will be more susceptible to infection. Or you can just put the clump in a bigger pot. It is easier and will look better, but if you want to get rid of the brown spots you could of course reroot one of the pups and get rid of the rest. The pups must be left for weeks to before putting them in dry soil and adding only a few drops of water to encourage root formation. Rooting cacti can be very frustrating before you find out how to do it. Most failures are due to rot or nold (too much moisture too early). And yes, it is a Mammillaria, perhaps a magnimamma. (But don't take my IDs of Mammillaria for granted, I have poor knowledge of this genus.)
