doxneed2c-me Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) The leaves seem to go yellow and then fall off it has only been a few from a few of the smaller plants. It does not seem to be caused by pests as they are being grown indoors. There is no webs from spider mites and I do not see any other pests. The one thing which may have happened is they may have been stressed by the cold or by lack of water but I am doubtful it is because of too little water. Any insight is useful. I don't have pictures because the yellow leaves fall off. I would like to add that my columnar seedlings are quite happy in the same indoor greenhouse thing so I doubt it is infection. Edited February 18, 2014 by doxneed2c-me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted February 18, 2014 I'd say too little water, mine do the same if I forget to water em. In fact they love water, this cactus is a fish and aslong as it drains I dint think you can overwater... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted February 18, 2014 Yep not enough water and maybe to much sun! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doxneed2c-me Posted February 18, 2014 Sheesh these things are thirsty! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Botanist Posted February 18, 2014 This is absolutely normal. If you have stock of this you will see that the leaves on the underside dry of also with the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doxneed2c-me Posted February 25, 2014 (edited) Some have lost almost half their leaves the terracotta pots they were in had a bit of white mold on their sides so I transplanted them. Only 4 have lost leaves the other 8 are very content. Perhaps I am not growing them right I see a number of people have them in large Tupperware containers. Mine are in a small indoor greenhouse. Is it possible 4 have gone dormant? Edited February 25, 2014 by doxneed2c-me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theuserformallyknownasd00d Posted February 25, 2014 Are they all in the same pot? It's possible they are competing for root space and water etc. just do to them what ya doin to the good ones and it'll be fine. If it's not fine in your end then I guess you could simply cut em into 2" long sections and replant out to create more healthy plants... Just my two bobs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doxneed2c-me Posted February 26, 2014 I have 2 in each pot but the pots are rather small but most of them are happy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Optimystic Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) I have several individual mature plants in 16 oz styrofoam cups... I water them once per week, and when I want them growing faster I give them half strength organic nutes every other week... works out pretty well.. they went 3 weeks without water recently and lost a bunch of bottom leaves but the tips stayed healthy... Last year I had half a dozen in small 8 oz cups and I let them grow until they fell over... they held each other up til they were about 3 foot tall, nearly a meter and they weren't any less mature than the plants next to them in larger cups... I did water them a few extra times... they balance pretty well if they grow side by side lol I just have one strain of pereskie that grows offsets all over the place that one is a little trickier in those little cups, they still thicken up like others I had in larger pots outdoors (before they froze) and so I don't think root space is an issue with these.. more like food, light, warmth and air... I usually root 7 or 8 cuttings in a cup just sitting in kelp solution before I graft, and im starting to graft to them in the cup before planting in soil because its more convenient and works out just as well... I even grafted to one without roots but it stalled for a month... was a runt scion too tho so I plant to try again... anyhow I mention that because they grow pretty well in cups too! sometimes I get lazy and I just fert them in the cups with organic nutes... and they grow like lucky bamboo just faster! anyhow, if they're in terra cotta maybe they are just drying out quick.. i'd recommend put some in plastic pots or cups and see if the water retention works out better... you can even cut off the leafless stalks a few inches a piece if you want and plant those... I water the ones in cups weekly because they are in small containers but for larger containters you want to water just as the pot is beginning to dry out for best results but they can handle being dry for a little while before going to leaf drop unless its very hot and yes when it gets below a certain temp some will go dormant.. but I find it odd that some and not all of them would... I have some downstairs in a colder room with decent light and they go dormant but grow when its warm again... interestingly all my grafts which were in a colder location too, didn'n't get water either for 3 weeks but they mostly retained their leaves while the ones under lights with warmth (actively growing) had more leaves dehydrate and fall.. so i'd guess that in your case, its because they are actively growing and they want more food, so perhaps the tops are getting nutes from the stores in the leaves which are falling off... My 2 questions would be, how often do you feed them and how cold is it? (i don't know ur climate) when they are growing fast they can deplete soil nutes pretty fast too ime Edited February 26, 2014 by Spine Collector Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bert&Ernie Posted February 26, 2014 Can you take any pics? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Optimystic Posted February 26, 2014 (edited) Here's an older one in a 16 oz cup next to a standard #2 pencil... i've been harevesting tips from these all through last year.. these are about 3 feet tall... They are kinda ugly like I said I was gone and someone didn't water them for me like they offered... btw they were 4 foot tall yesterday cause I took about 12 inches off each one so frankly more than a meter tall.. I don't plan to let them get that tall again, at least not indoors... lol on the left is is how they looked before I chopped them down to stumps so the process can start all over... actually im gonna plant the stumps in the ground and start all over cause I already have some rooted in cups on the right is after I chopped all the green leafy tips yesterday, and im gonna trim them down summore today to about 1 foot stumps and then im gonna replant some logs and begin the process again.. as soon as my tomato & pepper plants go outside im gonna sew more cactus seeds.... A cup full of roots.... they've been in this cup over a month... I use botanicare pro grow plus kelp solution in low doses eh... I just root in kelp and when they grow I add a little botanicare unless im gonna graft soon.. I had some others with more roots but they look really slimy ... doesn't matter tho they are slime resistant lol they only rot if you don't remove the leaves from the bottoms so they're not sitting in water... I had a bunch of pics last year with grafts I did in the cups but not sure if I backed those pics up before that laptop fried... gonna graft that way again pretty soon tho ... just fyi if you graft with this method, remove all water from the cup several hours to a day before so that its not runny when you cut... otherwise everything else is the same, except i use packing peanuts in the cups to keep the stocks sturdy... I know this post isn't about that but thats just some d'tails. anyhow i hope its helpful info + visuals PS. The tall ones in my pics lost 1/3 to 1/2 of their leaves while I was out... there are leaves all over the place.. plus im running my whole setup on an extension cord now cause the plug sockets went out... and I have to move everything when it gets warm cause I can't run the spare ac until I get the wires fixed ugh... i grow several outdoors too but i prefer indoor grown for grafting because you can cut down further on softer tips, but the also when grown outdoors the spines can be really tough to deal with.... I didn't think about that btw when I mentioned in the "Gloves" post hehe... those gloves with nitrile palms work best for indoor grown stock but still helpful for the others eh... Edited February 26, 2014 by Spine Collector 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doxneed2c-me Posted February 26, 2014 I will be buying those Solo brand cups tonight. Now for a really stupid question because I am new. If they do lose all their leaves will they continue to grow? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hostilis Posted February 27, 2014 They will keep growing and new leaves will come out in the new growth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doxneed2c-me Posted March 5, 2014 (edited) Would it be possible the plants went dormant. It did get extremely cold here and the room they are in can get cold even though it is heated it is not a proper room dedicated to growing plants. Actually it is one that probably gets the coldest in my house. I had gotten a heater however it is timed and I wasn't around to turn it on a few days. It doesn't seem like anything is eating the Pereskiopsis just like they lose a leaf or two per week. It just shocks me as to date none had lost any leaves however I had been home more often. If they did have spider mites I should see the webbing around the leaves and stuff right? I have examined the leaves more closely and the new leaves which have grown are jagged looking. There is definitely some sort of deficiency if it is not nutrients (which it probably isn't) then it is probably from the cold. Edited March 6, 2014 by doxneed2c-me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Illustro Posted March 6, 2014 An interesting little fact about most leafy cacti: they employ CAM photosynthesis in the stem and C3 in the leaves! Meaning, when in relatively mild growing conditions (moderate temps and water regime): as well as making use of CAM psyn. (less 'productive' but far more water and carbon efficent) in the stems, the plants also employ C3 (the far more 'productive' but less water and carbon efficient method) in the leaves. When the weather warms/dries up, they simply abscise their leaves and rely solely on CAM. <3 plants 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doxneed2c-me Posted March 6, 2014 (edited) I transplanted most of them incase they were nutrient deficient or something. I am curious if I should increase the CO2 levels inside the small indoor greenhouse. Damn. I think I figured out why they are losing leaves. I have recently started.leaving the greenhouse open (note it is a greenhouse inside a room it is not an outdoor greenhouse) because the soil seemed to be staying moist for a lot longer then I thought was good for the plants. The leaf loss seems to coincide with me leaving the greenhouse thing unzipped. Bah. Anyone got any idea how I can give my plants a boost to keep them happy outside of closing the greenhouse? Edited March 6, 2014 by doxneed2c-me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J Smith Posted March 8, 2014 We get frosts here. I put my Peres in a sheltered spot outside for the winter and they lose some of their leaves so cold could def. be a contributing factor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
