Black/brown spots on Bridgesii

[LikeAshesWeFade]

Hey guys my mate scored this beauty from Bunnings! Ever since he's had it home though it's been growing some odd black spots that my mate seems to think will destroy his lovely bridge..

Heres some pics.. Anyone who could possibly ID the spots and let me know if theres anyway to fix them. I've heard of some people using a sort of powder on black spots?

[Optimystic]

I've got two cuts of the same adult bridgesii, and one of them way sensitive... I think the soil was holding too much water.. it got spots like that and base rot... a smaller cutting of another also got spots when it was really warm out.. but on the first one, another cut flourished in the heat... I think the one that rotted was because the perlite didn't hold in the soil and it stayed way too moist... the spots kept appearing and healing and finally bad enough that I had to uproot it and cut off the base to save it... if you avoid watering too much I think you can prevent further damage... I just simply decided to water that plant less ... some are said to be more tolerant though...

Those kinda spots will usually heal over, but dont' water til they do imo.. or if the plant starts looking thirsty then go ahead and water.. I wouldnt worry so much unless they keep growing, thats fairly typical but has to do with moisture but maybe heat... is it hot there?

This is strange to me cause they originate in a part of SA where theres more rain...

Edited January 20, 2013 by Spine Collector

[LikeAshesWeFade]

Thanks for your post bro.. your on the same track as I am hey. I've been telling him he's over-caring for it lol, we've had a week straight of 40+ degrees a few wks back and I'm fairly sure he was watering it almost everyday up until the spots started. He is also a little concerned about the softness of the base-centre, I didn't find it all that spongey but he is concerned that is has base rot.

I will tell him to leave it without water until they either heal over or it starts looking thirsty. If the bottom becomes more spongey I'll tell him to cut it off at the base and save it.

[Optimystic]

I was trying to avoid uprooting mine so bad.. I was so proud I had a super fast growing bridge lol .. I was rotating the damn pot 3 times a day so the sun would heal the base spots... it was a lesson... I could have avoided cutting it if I would have uprooted it early one and discovered the soil issue.. you might ask if he suspects the soil to not be completely drying out and if so, maybe change the soil altogether to one that drains twice as fast perhaps...

Those are the same temps we get here on a regular basis at peak summer, and with the one I didnt' repot, just to be safe I only watered it every 10 days and it kept growing really fast, and even didn't require as much shade as many others that showed some stress in the heat... I hate having one plant that I have on a different schedule so it's going in some super draining soil this season... but yeah, tell him 10 days apart is okay but give a little protection to the pot (from heat so the roots don't cook)

Mine were the same color as that, the nice gray blue.. They really like to dry out, far more than say a pc pach which can stay wet all the time...

Oh and YVW

Edited January 20, 2013 by Spine Collector

[LikeAshesWeFade]

Yeah I'm pretty sure he suspects the soil to be fairly moist down the bottom. I will tell him to go buy a bag of perlite, uproot the bridgesii and repot it with some perlite mixed through the soil.

He has it under his patio and allows the morning sun to hit his cacti so that should be sufficient enough without cooking the roots.

Yeah it's a gorgeous grey/blue colour hey, a good 40cm tall and he paid only $30 for it. I'm keeping an eye out for the next one lol. Or I'll just buy a nice Eileen cutting off a forum member and root it myself!

[Evil Genius]

Hi Likeashes, thats nothing to worry about. Some kind of benign black rot. It is caused by various molds and bacteria so no way of IDíng without microbiological tests. But it´s rather some kind of acne than a real problem. bye Eg

[Optimystic]

Im kinda jealous that you guys can just walk into a bunnings and find a bridge or a scop, or call up a buddy and get an Eileen...
I have heard of ppl finding some crazy monstrose stuff at a hardware store here, but the only thing I've had no struggle finding at a store here in the way of Trichos are the Pc pach's..

By the time those clones make their way to the states, they remain in tight knit circles and shit.. I observe a sort of protectionist attitude here... I would think that the pinnacle of cactus sexuality would be in its ability to spread its genes around as often as possible... the most recommended places here to get a nice cutting don't even have pics on their website lol one of them even charges for a fancy book, given I understand theres not a large enough market here to evade the need for creativity, but I reckon thats a partly to blame of our collective american attitude and perhaps some legal paranoia... ugh

I'll occasionally see an eileen on the auction site for a ridiculous price as its some "rare aussie clone"... Then I come here and see such a nice clone being passed around like a collection plate at a holy mass... Its really nice to know the spirit of sharing is so prevalent somewhere, not just among close friends but just in general.... not that ppl aren't generous here, but I have yet to be an actual benefactor of such cactus philantrophy, other than boxes full of pereskies and seedling runts lol and plenty more pc pach's lol I suppose its in my better interest to count my blessings!

I considered trying to order a scop from Germany but I just don't have that much faith in international mail delivery...Its the only one I have found for sale and listed as available to ship to usa... Cool enough tho, I spent the entire 2012 fascinated with a 4 ribbed bridgesii, and one arrived at my doorstep at the beginning of the year, bringing all the excitement back I had at the start of last year ... but i'll admit it was one of those "I don't care if my phone bill gets cut off" type of transactions

nevertheless, theres alot of beautiful stuff being spread around here too, some real gems for someone who really really looks..

But I have a dream... that one day every american will have the ability to walk into a home depot and pick up a rooted Eileen for $6.95

and thus I am gonna make a trip to peru myself and do my own collecting ;) whenever I get to that lol

I agree with Evil Genius, and as I insinuated in my first reply, the spots are equivalent to cactus acne, however if the spots continue to grow (as I think should be clarified from my first post) then It would be beneficial to get to the root of the problem... especially if that soil is not rocky or without perlite... and if he's suspecting some base softness, I wouldn't hesitate to dig a few inches deeper into the soil...

Edited January 20, 2013 by Spine Collector

[Kykeion]

I'd have to agree with most everything you have said Spine Collector. It is somewhat difficult to find different species, clones and cultivars here in the US at reasonable prices.

I have your same reservations with regards to importing by mail from other countries. I have done so successfully several times, but each time the $ value at risk was pretty low. Thankfully our postal customs does not seem to be as through as Aus when it comes to importing live plants.

I'd be more than happy to share/trade with you what I can (most of my raries are pretty small still). Propagation and dissemination are ways I have justified to myself spending a bit too much on a cacti. Shoot me a PM and we can compare collections.

And so as not to totally wander off topic and hijack this thread: I concur with the other posters, the threat to your cacti is slim to none. Many trichs in my collection have developed these spots from time to time. I'd really only worry if you are trying to produce an award winning show quality specimen. If your truly concerned then just back off on the watering some.

[LikeAshesWeFade]

Ok so my mates Bridgesii isn't wanting to show any signs of recovery from these spots.. which are now getting moist and gunky. Is it possibly a fungus?

[Optimystic]

Just fyi its more common with bridgesii than other plants for whatever reason.. I have both heard about and experienced that some bridgesii are more sensitive to too much water than others.... it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me cause bridgesii's are in a climate with a greater average rainfall is a little higher and its also a little warmer... but perhaps the commonality of bridgesii spots has to do with them growing out of place or unusual soil or something... Some of the black juice can possibly be the plants immune system protecting itself while there is also black rot... and it just depends on how bad it is ... if its spreading fast then it could be black rot and action should probably be taken immediately to save the plant... Someone told me before that if its inside the plant its too late but thats not absolute true as I have saved a plant with a very bad case of it but not without removing an entire pup and disfiguring it a bit.... but I gave the plant alot of support!

otherwise, if the spots are not growing fast, and if he hasn't already then the plant should be removed from that soil if its staying wet .. you mentioned he was overcaring, and watering daily, and that he suspects the soil was staying wet at the bottom??? Did he removed the plant from soil and repot in a better draining mix? Or even just water alot less???? if its one of the senstive ones then im afraid those are the only choices... it could be that just letting it stay dry will help but if that soil is staying wet, thats not dry. I had a problem with some soil staying moist for nearly 10 days... some plants no problem but with two trichos they didn't like it a bit... I could possibly be absolutely wrong here though and im working with the details you have provided... there may be something else completly going on but it sounds almost like an exact fit for the sorta problem i was able to keep under control with drastic measures...

You said he suspects base rot? what happened with that? Base rot is more obviously to do with the soil moisture... One of my bridgesiis had base rot and spots towards the top... it was one of two bridgesiis, the same clone, in almost identical scenarios, same watering schedule, same size pot, same soil... but one of them got the spots and the base rot... I barely saved it by cutting a bout 2 or 3 inches above the base... I was hoping both pieces would survive, but the base rot quickly consumed the rest of the stump... meanwhile the tip I cut off, all the spots dried up and it was re-rooted very healthily.. .I didn't even water it for like a month and a half, and when I started watering I barely watered and its only watered half as often just like the other of the same plant which didn't show any problems at all.... In spite of getting watered far less often than all my other trichos, its one of the fastest growing plants out of many, bar none... it well rooted and then it was bed time for the winter... Theres only one other possibility... I added worm castings to my soil and I may have gotten a little careless about it on one of these... I remember that day I forgot if I added a handful so I added another lol... I really doubt that was it tho...

Btw, I apolgize for hijacking the thread before I don't know where my head was that day but I got a friend out of it, but I feel silly now reading back...
Im realzing that not everyones personality types are made to be a perfect fit for friendships and such, but I appreciate anyone who treats their trichos with respect

P.S. If you want I will post some pics of what mine went through... there is some correlation cause it was in July of last year when it was scorching hot, over 100F here which is 37 Celcius... I was also watering my plants more often when this started but not even that much I was watering like every 5 days and they were in clay pots and still had the issue... so let me know if you wnat me to post the pics to help your friend determine if the problem is as serious or not...

Edited February 27, 2013 by Spine Collector

[LikeAshesWeFade]

Yeah as far as I know he took it out and replanted it in some better draining soil. So maybe the rot has already taken over? That'd be sweet if you could post some pics and I'll show him later on.

[Optimystic]

Okay so here is the plant that had the problems
growing with a snake like charm I miss looking at him in this stage but he'll be back!

And here is the base rot after I had dusted with sulfur powder thinking it would do the trick
I had never seen base rot unitl this plant, and with two plants of the same clone I had a little on both

Here is the other... I actually just stopped watering this one for a while and it healed up fine...
They have enough water stored up to last a LOOONG time unless the ribs begin to shrivel
and then you know they actually NEED water...

Here is what the base looked like after I dug him up... I thought this was gonna heal up since I
took it out of the soil but it had obviously grown...



And look at those dots on the cut end... I was so freaked out, I didn't even want to cut the plant
but lucky I did... those spots were rot moving up through the column... So I re-sterilized my blade

and I cut another time.. and If I recall there was still some spots so I re-sterilized again til I found nothing
but healthy looking flesh...

This is what happened to the stump I was sad but luckily I took action in time.. I was kinda embarassed
cause I knew it had something to do with something I did wrong...



The good news! I didn't lose the plant entirely some of those spots you see healed were where root buds came out... most of my bridgesiis like to shoot out roots when its humid and when they give up they just heal over leaving calloused spots.. but those larger ones you see were actually black and mushy... there may have been a couple more on the other side I can't recall... unfortunately this plant etoliated but at least I still have a nice plants! I could already feel that the roots had taken hold before the season was over..

And here he is rooted a month later, already trying to grow even with very little watering... I think I may have watered once or twice im not sure but I know the first time was just a sprinkle not a drench...

This plant definitely grows nicer in full sun

Here he is after rooting for a while In all his etoliated glory!

Lastly, here is another bridge, shorter spined with already a healed spot and two more spots at the tip.. I simply cut down on watering on this little guy and the spots healed up... these guys are anxious to grow in 2013

So bottom line is that if the spots are growing he should act quickly... base rot can start as something that will heal up on its own but if the conditions remain which helped create the issue, then it could invite things to live in there that you don't want in your cactus... I don't know whats going on to your friends plant without looking, but as you can see theres not much difference between the one that healed and the one that kept growing... in fact they started off about the same but the one that had more problems started showing more spots around the base and I knew I had better get on it...

So I hope your friends issue is minor... I don't want him to overreact but in case there is a good cause to react then maybe these pics will help to make sure he is able to take the proper precautions and preserve the plant

Edited February 28, 2013 by Spine Collector

[modernshaman]

Those look like 'sun/heat burn' that lots of Trichocereus get. It happens when the cactus suddenly gets high sunlight after a cloudy day or in your case very intense sunlight. The marks will not go away and are permanent however as your cactus grows it will be less noticeable. If they haven't already they may start oozing and than it will callous. (some in the pictures seem to have already calloused)

I don't think its black rot like Spine Collector had (notice his doesn't look like a boil/pimple like yours)

[Optimystic]

well those original pics are kinda old, well over a month now, and they should have calloused by now I would think

but hopefully you are correct modern shaman...

It would help alot to see updated pics... especially if there is still any suspected base rot at all...
thats what I was getting at but I think my spots were related to that...

Though ModernShaman may have a good point in that both of our issues were happening during extreme heat..
thought i'll say on my little one, the spots showed up in shade and when I put the plant in greater heat they healed up quick.

Edited February 28, 2013 by Spine Collector