Issue with one of my cacti. Help needed please

[squidgygoanna]

Hey all, the cactus in the middle of the picture below seems to have stopped growing. I've noticed it's changed colour to a much lighter green. All his brothers and sisters around him are growing super fast, but old mate here seems to stay the same height. He also feels a bit softer than my other cacti. Wondering what could be causing this?

Edited February 24, 2017 by squidgygoanna

[☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ]

looks like what a few of mine have arrived like and I was told nitrogen defficiency on here as a noob back then  ... so i added small amounts of diluted piss to them over a month or so and they returned to green ... it began with dark green bloches and then filled out ...

emphasis on small amounts though..

 

i haven't seen it much since , and there are other reasons for yellowing ...

so just figured I'd throw that idea in

but would wait until some of our more experienced members pipe up since I could be wrong..

 

[Evil Genius]

Not enough nutrients. It needs more fertilizer. It´s probably nitrogen deficiency, but there are other nutrients it could probably use as well. Just use a good all-in-one fertilizer and it´ll be back to normal soon.

[squidgygoanna]

I thought that might have been the issue. Would something like seasol work OK?

Edited February 24, 2017 by squidgygoanna

[waterboy 2.0]

Seasol isnt a fertilizer, but you get the benefits of alginates and other bits of seaweed goodness. Wont give you a significant N boost.

 

Powerfeed (made by the makers of seasol) or Miracle Grow as examples will do the job. Everyone has different preferences for fertilizers though

 

Nothing wrong with diluted piss either for N deficiencies.....

Edited February 24, 2017 by waterboy 2.0

[Change]

If its growing significantly slower than it did in previous seasons, Its possible its starting to stall its growth due to being root bound. 

Some trichos seems to handle being root bound ok for a few years while others will just stop growing and slowly turn yellow more quickly. 

This may account for why the brothers and sisters are doing better. or i could be totally off the mark 

 

Liquids ferts will fix the problem caused by stalled root growth temporarily but i find for the fastest growth above ground you need space for the roots to expand below.

Either Way, Happy Gardening.

[squidgygoanna]

I treated with powerfeed, few months later and nothing has changed. My other cacti have grown atleast a foot, this one hasn't grown at all. I don't think it's rootbound as it's in the same sized pot as my other cacti and it's got quite a bit of room.

 

Any other ideas anyone?

[☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ]

is there lime in the growing medium?

i found this stopped my first ever trichos growing for 2 yrs, took the lime out n they caught up fast as fk

-just a suggestion

[zelly]

Any other ideas anyone?

 

time for the lawn mower........

[DualWieldRake]

sell it on ebay as a rare variegated cactus for 200 bucks

[Drildo]

 

sell it on ebay as a rare variegated cactus for 200 bucks

I hope I don't bump into you on ebay... lol

[DualWieldRake]

I guess you don't like variegated cacti, well in that case my friend i can offer you this for 20% off on a crate, your cactus will be green again in no time

 

 

 

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

put it out the pot and have a look at the roots, if theyre alright change the mix and feed the fk out out it in spring. 

 

 

[☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ]

yesss i got an idea what about additional Sequestered Iron with Magnesium & Manganese!

but aye theyre right check roots , never know , might be ..like, those weevil things ?

[squidgygoanna]

I believe I did add lime to the soil mix, was a while ago. I thought cacti liked lime or is that a no go?

I might pull her out and have a look at the roots, have had mites attack the roots of my loph before so could be something similar. Project for tomorrow

Edited April 7, 2017 by squidgygoanna

[DualWieldRake]

correct me if i'm wrong but i think overall plant rather go without lime, just some tolerate it better then others (giving competitional advantage)

[DualWieldRake]

[☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ]

yeah i read it assists them in making alkaline blood chemicals but just prevented any growth at all and ultimately they seem to do fine without it being added in my experience - there is probably a little bit in john innes maybe? 

 

this (unless lime was added to the new mix) would've been fixed by changing the soil like hillbilly said but hopefully you can deduce to pinpoint an exact problem to solve if not at least reduce to a few sure-like possibilities

[DualWieldRake]

A calcicole, calciphyte or calciphile is a plant that thrives in lime rich soil.[1][2] The word is derived from the Latin 'to dwell on chalk'. Under acidic conditions, aluminium becomes more soluble and phosphate less. As a consequence, calcicoles grown on acidic soils often develop the symptoms of aluminium toxicity, i.e. necrosis, and phosphate deficiency, i.e. anthocyanosis (reddening of the leaves) and stunting.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcicole

[squidgygoanna]

Uprooted her today and removed as much soil from the root system as possible. Repotted her in new soil, hoping this will make a difference!

[☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ]

back once again with the hillbilly master p for a repot with the ill behaviour

[waterboy 2.0]

Change of potting mix is a good idea.... could be nitrogen draw down going on also....materials in the mix not being composted down and the bacteria takes all the N.  Mixes with heaps of bark can do this.

 

I've come across some more toxic mixes recently.... cheap arse ones. Its amazing what some "commercial" folk will attempt to make a mix out of. I've raddish seed tested a few of these and they failed miserably , and I'm pretty sure its a metal toxicity going on....

 

lifes too short for shit.....

Edited April 9, 2017 by waterboy 2.0

[sagiXsagi]

change of soil was a cool idea, it should recover.