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The Corroboree

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Today I noticed two Knuthianus cuttings had scale. I've had them for nearly five months & both came from the same seller, could they have had scale all along; or is it more likely they've been attacked recently? (the cuttings were moved to a more sunny location in the last month, I'm pretty sure stress triggered the attack; just not sure if the scale was there all along).

So far I've quarantined the cuttings & given them a good ol scrub down. They appear scale free for the moment, but I don't think I'm out of the woods yet.

Looks like I'll be paying close attention to my collection for the next few weeks & hopefully with enough repeated toothbrush action I won't need to resort to spraying...

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Dam that's some bad news I hate scale.

Where there any ants hanging around the scale?

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Not that I noticed, although it was overcast & cool, so they might have just been chilling out for the arvo. Ant's just nom on the sugary scale poop right? Or is their presence / absence a possible sign of something worse ?

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They should be ok

Ages ago when I only had a couple of pachs a friend of mine was looking after them for a while when I was away

And they had scale really bad it can spread really quickly

he looked around on the net and found some easy home style remedy

Of mixing some kind of oil I think with just water and spraying them with it

I think once a day or something and it slowly disappeared and has never returned again

Can't remember wat exactly it was check around on the net I'm sure you'll find something

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white oil, a mixture of soap and cooking oil.

i had a loph graft on a pach and the pach was covered by scale in a week. it even looked like little tenticals coming out of the scale waving around. I had to destroy it so it didnt spread

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Cheers for the remedies guys, haven't noticed any new scale on the cuttings yet, but it's still early days. I think I'll get some spray solution prepared to combat the problem if it persists.

Unfortunately I've noticed something else on a Crassula capitella 'campfire' in my garden, maybe mites or another form of scale? I'm not the best at Id'ing these sort of ailments, somehow I've managed to evade them so far.

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The Crassula is growing in a different part of my garden away from where the Knuthianus were. The white bits are slightly powdery & don't have individual form visable to the naked eye. Also I've noticed a few ants loitering around what looks like small structures of plant debri (second photo). Maybe this has something to do with what jwerta mentioned earlier?

It's not all bad news though, the cactus gods must have taken pitty on my predicament & have sent me a cutting.... After staying the night at a friends place, I was walking to the train st in cannington & literally stumbled across what I think is a branch of Opuntia Cylindrica, laying on the side of the road.

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It's a little beat up & has lost a few sets of spines, but mostly scar free. I couldn't believe my luck, although it did take a some commitment carrying it on the train to perth, having it at work & carrying it home on the train + bus. Totally worth it though :)

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it did take a some commitment carrying it on the train to perth, having it at work & carrying it home on the train + bus. Totally worth it though

 

I have done the whole transport thing once Get some awsome looks from people haha. Good one mate!

edit.. I had no idea there was such an Opuntia! Defs gonna look into getting me one of them!

Edited by Rumple Foreskin
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