Could it be sunburn from watering in the bright sunlight? they are also etiolated. One could cut the tops off just below where they bulb out nicely, callus for several day after a dusting with cinnamon them, and plant them in a fast draining mix.. mist, don't water till you feel resistance. Some are even making roots already. The would get rid of some of the scarring and give it a healthier appearance as long as you give them enough sun to maintain their plumpness. I might cut The bottom segment somewhat close to the ground in hopes that it should pup.

I am hoping that this url pulls up right . At the bottom of the page it has a good photo of sun burn . Some of the high altitude cactus live in areas with trees and more rain in the summer. they get Bright shade not full day sun and it is not necessarily brutally hot.

I burnt my Astrophytum ornatum. It had been fine where it was till it got 104. ooops. One day and that was all it took. to get some scarring. I saw it so I moved it fairly quickly. Character marks. Poor thing has a lot of character.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sun burn of E . pachanoi

Thanks for the advice! I'm not sure it could be sunburn, though I agree it does look similar to that San Pedro's affliction. While I've been gone and this malady developed, it was always inside, with a south facing window, but one that had nearly all of the direct sunlight blocked. If anything I think it wasn't getting enough, so I put it outside about a month or so ago and it seems to be doing better (I notice some fresh green spines are starting to poke out the top). Also, it doesn't get anywhere near 104 here in central Alberta. It's maybe 85 on a hot day and those are few.

I had thought that cutting and repotting would be an option, but now that it's nearly September and the weather here will cool considerably, it seems like maybe I should wait until the spring? I've never heard of dusting with cinnamon, but that's a good tip, thanks.

Also, you can't just put your cactus out in direct sun light after its been inside all winter, you have to adjust it to direct sun light over time. I think they didn't get enough sun light in the begining of there life and now they got enough sun that there growing healthy now.

Also, you can't just put your cactus out in direct sun light after its been inside all winter, you have to adjust it to direct sun light over time. I think they didn't get enough sun light in the begining of there life and now they got enough sun that there growing healthy now.

My cactus are pretty hardened and loved the98 degree sun but then the all of a sudden 108 blasted it. I am careful of moving cactus into different sun situation no matter when it happens, in the spring and in the middle of the summer.

I say sunburn also. As 100mph said, you can't take a plant that has been inside for so long and then just plunge it into full sun outside without risking sunburn. It has to gradually acclimate to the full sun, by placing it in shade at first, and slowly giving more sun. I have burned a few, I know from experience.

Christopher

disregard, multiple posting

This post was edited by kaktuskris on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 22:38

Computer error, multiple posts, wish i could delete my own posts on this forum, instead of just editing...

This post was edited by kaktuskris on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 22:43

error

This post was edited by kaktuskris on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 22:39

multiple posting error

This post was edited by kaktuskris on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 22:37