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Ferocactus yellowing
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Posted by hedgelayer (My Page) on Sun, Oct 1, 06 at 8:04
Hi, I'm new to this forum but I hope someone can help me. I live in Northern England, where the climate is generally cool and moist. I have a Ferocactus, but I've never been sure of the actual species. It's about 12" in diameter and I've had it 11 years.
We've had a really hot summer this year so I kept it outside from June through to September. It seemed OK and put on some new growth but then it stopped. It has gone a pale colour along all its ribs, and the outer edges of the ribs are a pale yellow. They've been like this since August when the weather turned cool (down to 60F with a few heavy showers).
There's no sign of any insects above soil level, and the plant is still firmly rooted and hasn't gone soft. All I can see is the stalled growth and the yellowing. I've brought it indoors now, to let the wetted soil dry out, as the weather is cooling towards autumn.
Can anyone please tell me what might be causing this yellowing? I'd hate to lose this plant. It's like an old friend to me.
I can re-pot it if necessary. It's currently been in an 18" tewrracotta pot for 2 years, in a mix.ture of soilless compost, sieved garden loam and grit. I don't water it when it's outside, and haven't fed it since re-potting as I felt the compost would have enough nutrients for a couple of years at least. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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| It wasn't cold enough in August to be a problem, although it was certainly wet enough! Since you say it is well-rooted and not soft, I'll assume it isn't rot. There is a possibility that it got overheated in July. Sounds unlikely for a Ferocactus outdoors but the roots may have got very hot in a dry terracotta pot and stresswed the plant. Usually the effects show up very quickly on a still sunny day. I'm going to go with lack of nutrients if you haven't fertilised since you repotted. A couple of years is enough to suck the nutrients out of the soil. The problem is it is getting a bit late in the year to be trying to water a big plant, let alone fertilise. There could be other problems such as root mealies. Normally I am the first to suggest popping a plant out of the pot to at least take a quick look at the roots but this would be quite a job! If I was confident that there are no pest or rot problems then I'd say wait until spring, repot if it needs a larger pot, otherwise give it some dilute fertiliser and see if it improves. |
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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| As shrubs_n_bulbs suggests it sounds like the thing's hungry, considering the heavy rain we had, if there was much of it getting onto the soil, it may well have leached out whatever nutrients were left. |
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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| Whatever you do, don't fertilize or repot it! It will be going dormant, so it should be put under some eaves to help it stay dry, and brought in before a heavy frost. I keep mine (7", 33 years) dry from mid-October to May, at about 50F or less. Repot in early spring with fresh soil into a slightly larger pot, keeping it dry until it warms up again. Good growing to you! |
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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| Yes, that's what I meant. Nothing until spring unless it has pest or rot problems. Then either repot or fertilise. |
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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| Is it possible the yellowing is sunburn? Im not familiar with your climate, but down here if I move a plant to a new location and new growth emerges, I can get sunburn on the plant. It dosent sound likely from your description but you never know. Another thing to keep in mind, especially with Feros, always keep the south side oriented south. If the plant is moved with the previously north side facing south there can be problems with burning. |
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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Thanks everyone. I don't think it's sunburn. I've kept cacti long enough to recognise it when i see it. It came on very gradually too, not all of a sudden.
I suspect it's lack of ntrients, although I'm worried it might be a tie -in with root mealy or root rot due to excessive wetness in August. Is there a way of id-ing root mealy without de-potting?
Incidentally I've brought it indoors now, to an unheated room, near East facing patio doors. The soil is still moist but drying out slowly.
How do i know which side is the south side? The crown of the plant is oriented to one side - is that it? |
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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| Ferrocactus are very succeptible to humidity. Even here where you can see them as tall as 2 m they can suffer of wet foot. I lost one (70 cm tall) when I transplanted it to a silty location, it first turned yellow as you said, hopefuly yours is not in the same situation, cactai are very complex, you never know. Right now I have about 50 seedling, they grow very fast compared to echinocereus, about 10 cm in diameter in 3 years osprey |
RE: Ferocactus yellowing
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ospreynn: Do you think I ought to take it out and examine the roots, risking at worst a bit of a check in growth (it's heading for its winter rest anyhow)? I could then repot it in a more gritty rocky soil. The soil it's in now is a bit too loamy I suspect, and holds water too much. The plant still looks the same as 2 weeks ago - no signs of rot but a bit pale in general, and pale yellow on every rib.
I don't think I can stand seeing it sitting there in my kitchen all winter looking ill - I'll have to have a look at the roots. I suppose it's a risk of losing it to rot vs a risk of "upsetting it" a bit. No contest. |
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