2 replies to this topic

[lhb2444]

I just scored 2 fairly big pachypodium's (they look like p. lamerei but the people at the nursery had no idea what they were so can't be sure) for a steal as they wanted to get rid of them, however their leaves are looking quite yellow and sickly and I'm not sure why.

I assume it could just be this time of year being cold and wet but then again who knows, I was thinking of giving them some fert but then
thought maybe not at this time of the year as I wouldn't really be giving any of my cactus ferts around this time.

So any thoughts? Do I just treat these like my cacti?

[Paisano]

They are certainly lamerei. They like a lot lot lot more water than cacti when its hot. They thrive in hot humid climates with a lot of rain. They do even better in a hot humid climate than in their natural habitat. Not sure why leaves are yellow and brown..... maybe calcium deficiency? throw some crushed up egg shell into the pot. Pachypodiums loose there leaves in the winter when forced into dormancy. If the temperatures are too cold this must be done. They will die quickly if wet and cold. They cant tolerate any temps below freezing at all and if there wet even higher cold temps can kill them. Id repot those and use fresh soil mix and provide them a full sun spot to recuperate. Be careful of those spines! They are poisonous and cause severe reaction if poked or scraped. I was scraped across the hand and it progressed into a sore that looked more like a third degree burn and took 3 weeks to heal over.

[lhb2444]

Hey Paisano,

Thanks for the tips, the soil they are in now feels pretty damp and cold and so I think a repot is definitely in order next weekend. I usually use about 2 parts perlite, 1 part coarse sand and 2-3 parts commercial cacti mix for my cacti so I assume that same mix or there abouts should serve these beauties well.

Looks like i'll have to start consuming more eggs too!