The cactus is considered one of the most unpretentious plants. But if not properly cared for, it begins to wither and rot. It can be difficult to detect the problem right away, but if you succeed, you can save the “green hedgehog.” Let's figure out why the cactus starts to hurt and what to do in such cases.
Rotting from within
This form of the disease is considered the most severe, and not because it necessarily leads to death, but because the lesion can be seen even when the flower cannot be resuscitated. To avoid losing a flower, take a closer look at it more often. At first, small spots appear on its surface, over time they increase in size and become clearly visible. The spots can be either light or dark, and in most cases they signal rotting from the inside, the scale of which is much more serious in the body of the plant than outside.
Apply pressure to the affected area. If it is soft, then it is time to take rescue measures. Most likely, the flower was affected by one of several diseases.
• Dry rot . It is also called fomoz. The disease is fungal in nature, and its causative agent is the fungus Phoma rostrupin. First, spots appear on the cactus - dry and light, slightly indented. In appearance, they resemble crusts riddled with cracks. Even with slight pressure, this crust is damaged, and a substance similar to mush comes out from under it.
• Brown rot . It makes itself felt when the flower is infected by a bacterium called Erwinia. Brown or brown spots appear between the ribs of the cactus, and the trunk of the plant becomes limp.
• Rhizoctoniosis. The disease occurs as a result of infection of the flower by the fungus Rhizoctonia, which favors young plants. Infection of the entire cactus occurs due to the fact that the fungus spreads throughout all feeding vessels. The rotting in this case is wet and is easier to notice than in all other cases.
• Black rot or Alternaria blight . It is caused by fungi of the genus Alternaria radicina, which provoke the appearance of shiny brown spots on the flower. The disease progresses very actively, so measures must be taken immediately, otherwise the cactus will not be saved. Most often, black rot occurs due to high humidity in the room. Such conditions can also lead to rotting of the root system.
Is it possible to save a flower if it is affected by one of the listed diseases? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not positive in all cases. First, assess the scale of the problem. Remove your “prickly friend” from the pot and inspect it from all sides. Feel it to understand the area of the lesions. If they are small, then there is hope. Just carefully cut out the rot and treat the wounds with sulfur or brilliant green so that the fungus does not penetrate deeper. After this procedure, the flower must be planted in fresh soil, and it is advisable to change the pot.
If you realize that the entire body of the plant has become soft and when palpated, deep indentations remain on it, then you can cut off the top to root or graft to another similar plant. It happens that the top also suffers. In such situations, it is better to get rid of the cactus.
Dry rot
It is quite difficult to identify this disease. usually discovered when the cactus is in its “death” stage.
What to look for during inspection?
When infected by Phoma rostrupin fungi, the plant turns pale and begins to dry out. Most often this goes unnoticed. Then dry crusts covered with cracks appear on the body of the cactus, and when pressed, your finger falls into the trunk. If the stem is cut, the cactus turns out to be empty, dried out inside.
Prerequisites for the disease
Introduction of the Phoma pathogen through wounds on the trunk of a cactus. When replanting or transporting a plant, you can accidentally damage the integrity of its body. In such cases, the fungus penetrates through the damaged areas, and the cactus becomes infected.- Violation of wintering conditions. If wintering is not organized correctly, the cactus’s resistance to infectious diseases decreases.
- Excessive watering. Excess moisture causes rotting of the root system, which weakens the plant's resistance to infectious diseases.
- Vaccination with a sick cactus. Only healthy plants should be grafted.
- Replanting into soil previously used for another plant. If a cactus suffering from dry rot previously grew in the soil, such a substrate should be destroyed and under no circumstances used for other plantings.
Can anything be done?
No effective methods have been developed to combat dry rot. The disease develops quickly and ends in the death of the cactus. To prevent this disease, plants should be treated quarterly with fungicides, and the conditions for keeping cacti and their wintering should be observed.
Rotting at the base
Cacti usually begin to rot at the base due to errors in care. This form of the disease is considered the most common. The chances of saving a prickly pet are usually high, the main thing is to detect the problem in time. To do this, take a closer look at the bottom of the plant. In a diseased specimen, a brown rim forms there. It is easy to identify: it is usually located at the very border of the flower body with the ground. From the slightest touch, the flower can tilt greatly, or even fall completely. Why does this happen?
• Late blight. It is caused by fungi with the appropriate name Phytophtora, which primarily affect the root system.
• Helminthosporosis . The problem is also fungal in nature, and the causative agent is the fungus Helminthosporium cactivorum. Symptoms of the disease are watery brown spots at the very neck of the flower. Most often, recently planted young specimens suffer due to excess moisture. Beginning gardeners who have never cared for succulents before face a problem. Remember that these plants like dry soil, but too much water will cause their roots to rot.
• Lack of light . This is one of the most common mistakes in care. Owners of such plants do not provide enough sunlight during the winter months and do not care about temperature conditions. Cacti love warmth, so the room in the cold season should be at least +12 degrees. Deviation from this norm is fraught with rot.
• Lack of moisture . The fact that a cactus loves dry soil does not mean that it does not need watering at all. Find out how much moisture your flower needs depending on its variety and type, and strictly follow the recommendations.
If your hedgehog's roots have rotted, follow the proven procedure. First, free it from the soil, wash the roots under running water and examine them to determine the extent of the damage. Remove rotten areas of roots with a reserve so that the fungus does not continue to spread throughout the healthy tissues of the flower. Be sure to treat the cut areas with copper sulfate or sulfur. When the root system of the cactus dries, fill a new pot with sand and plant the reanimated flower there.
After this procedure, water your green pet rarely and through a tray. This will require little water. Keep the flower in such conditions until it takes root, and then transplant it to a new place.
How to cure a sick cactus? Signs of cactus diseases.
Emergency surgery.
How to save a rotten cactus?
External signs of cacti diseases , which should alert you and prompt you to study the specimen in more detail.
The cactus “turned pale”, the epidermis began to turn yellow and stopped shining.
The cactus has shrunk a lot, especially if this happens during the growing season with normal watering.
The cactus looked sideways.
Spots appeared on the cactus (wet, dry, depressed, suberized, differing in color from the color of the epidermis of the cactus. )
A sort of “dent” appeared on the cactus, on one side, usually closer to the top of the stem.
Stunting and dropping during the season with normal care and the condition that this species should be growing at this time! (Let me explain, there are species for which it is completely normal to go into a dormant state in the middle of the season when the weather is especially hot. These include ailostera, rebutia, etc.)
Also, an indirect sign of dying or rotting of cactus roots may be soil in a pot that does not dry out for a long time. This is especially noticeable when you have several cacti watered at the same time. For example, after a week, the soil under all the cacti is already dry, but in one pot the soil remains wet, as if it had just been watered. This suggests that the cactus for some reason “does not drink” water. Upon examination, it often turns out that such a cactus has problems with its roots.
Treatment of a sick cactus
Rotting cactus without external signs
The first thing to do is to exclude all watering and not even spray the sick cactus. Treatment of all cactus sores is based on removing the affected areas and then drying them. This is where the scalpel from the cactus grower's first aid kit will come in handy. The next step, when “ something is wrong with the cactus,” but there are no obvious signs yet, is to remove the patient from the pot and study the roots, if any are found. If there are no more roots, then follow the instructions below and immediately proceed to pruning for rooting.
V n
Normally, cactus roots should be grayish-white and not crumble or break. Are your cactus roots healthy? Then this is the place for you. Rusty-yellow and crimson-brown spots indicate the presence of a fungal infection on the roots of the cactus. To cure a sick cactus, proceed as follows.
What to do if mold appears?
To treat mold, which often affects young plants, manifests itself in the form of plaque and leads to rotting, folk remedies will help. Prepare a solution from one tablespoon of baking soda, the same amount of laundry soap and a liter of water (preferably boiled). Spray the flower once a day. An alternative to this remedy is a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate: about five crystals per liter of water. Treat a diseased cactus once every three days and at intervals of three days. Mustard powder in the amount of half a teaspoon dissolved in a liter of water also helps.
You can prepare a preparation from five grams of copper sulfate, 15 grams of liquid laundry soap and 200 milliliters of boiled water. Please note: first you need to dilute the copper sulfate, and then, stirring constantly, add soap.
If the disease on your succulent is severe, try using fungicides. Give preference to topaz and foundationazole, which are more suitable for indoor flowers. When preparing the product, strictly follow the instructions on the package. Three or four sprays are enough.
The best cure for all diseases is prevention, which, in fact, is no secret. To make your cactus resistant to diseases, fertilize it at least occasionally. Mineral, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are suitable for this. At the same time, spray the cactus with sulfur. The best time for prevention is summer and early autumn.
How to resuscitate when a flower is completely damaged?
If rotting has spread throughout all tissues, then the cactus is difficult to save. The plant is removed from the pot, the dead parts are removed with a clean knife, and treated with Fundazol or Topaz. If the crown is intact, then the stem is cut in the form of a blunt pencil. The area is powdered with activated carbon and left to dry for a week in a place without sun. After 7 days, the patient is fixed with sticks over a pot of sand.
Do not water for a month, only spray.
What are the chances of rehabilitation?
The more the cactus is damaged, the less opportunity for regeneration. If the disease has affected 80% of the tissue (especially on top), then treatment will not help. Large specimens with a fleshy stem can be put on intensive care, but small ones and seedlings often die.
Rotting of cacti is a dangerous transformation that is caused by care errors, diseases or parasites. To prevent a problem from occurring, you need to follow the rules of agricultural technology. The amount of watering for succulents depends on the time of year and temperature. If the plant is sick, then resuscitation must begin.
How to care?
Cactus is a plant that does not require special attention.
However, certain rules must be followed to avoid infection with rot. Caring for a cactus should be approached carefully and responsibly, although it does not require as much effort as other indoor plants. With the right approach, the cactus will delight its caring owners for many decades.
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