Foo Posted December 15, 2011 Had this cut in the dark for ages now. No roots ect. A while ago it pupped, i gave it some light and it greened up then starting pupping from the tiny pup. Looks weird to me A few other recent pics attached. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
noshiewa Posted December 15, 2011 thats awsome bro :-) also love the melted cactus 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ambient Posted December 15, 2011 I've a few big unrooted cuts throwing pups, but none with pups on pups, must be one really healthy cutting you have there Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tipz Posted December 15, 2011 worlds first pachenoi caespitose ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted December 15, 2011 Hi eatfoo, sorry to be a buzzkill but this could also be a fungal infection. Witches broom causes growth like this. Infected areas dont grow lenghtwise, they just pup. One on another and another. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted December 16, 2011 Well i didnt asume it was caused by good health I havent seen any signs of fungi ect though. Is there anything i can look for other then pups. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ambient Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) Interesting, I'd not heard of this disease before. After reading what EG posted I wondered weather it could be a good thing keep infected specimens for their cosmetic value, but with a little research I'm not so sure. (this info wasn't speaking directly about cacti, but relates to the disease mentioned) "Symptoms in plants include sterility of flowers, virescence (the development of green flowers and loss of normal flower color), phyllody (the development of floral parts into leafy structures), proliferation of axillary shoots or auxiliary shoots resulting in witches'- broom appearance, generalized stunting and decline, bunchy appearance of growth at the stems, yellowing, phloem necrosis, and dieback of branches in woody plants. In general, the range of symptoms attributed to phytoplasmal infection are indicative of detrimental effects on plants. The damage due to the growth disorders induced by phytoplasmal infections ranges from partial reduction in yield and quality to nearly total loss of the crop. The subtle interactions between the phytoplasma and poinsettia result in dwarfing and moderate branching growth habit, which happens to be a trait that poinsettia growers desire." http://ddr.nal.usda....IND43805943.pdf (page 5) & some interesting pics of an infected christmas cactus. http://www.ndrs.org....e.php?id=013034 I wonder which would be the best course of action for the cutting if it truly has been infected with Witches broom. Destruction, propagation or treatment...? Edited December 16, 2011 by Ambient Forest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Foo Posted December 16, 2011 Im interested too. Dont really want this to spread to my other cacti, but i do like this little freak. Wonder how it would go grafted Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) It's always been my understanding that a witches broom is a more of a descriptive term applying the appearance of the growth rather than a disease itself. A witches broom can be caused by many different things, pests and diseases being the most likely, but they can also be a mutation (again pests and diseases are the most likely candidates for this, but sometimes no pathological evidence can be found and the plant remains healthy) If it is caused by a fungal or bacterial pathogen some times there will be multiple instances of the different growth habit, where a spontaneous mutation is more likely to be an isolated occurrence. I'd be tempted to isolate it and see how it develops, maybe move it to a mates house with no other cactus for it to infect if it is a pest or disease problem. Edited December 16, 2011 by SallyD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
