A friend of mine mailed out a cacti to me which was on the wishlist for - long story short the post lost the package and I figured it was long gone. Several weeks later, it turns up, and had a chance to open it and the cacti looks like this on one side. https://goo.gl/photos/GZbNypouNyo4rWS28
Above and below this tissue damage the plant looks relatively healthy. Its clearly been in a dark box for weeks. The plant has a spongey feel not very firm, the yellow areas are not mushy or oozing just sunken in. This yellowing of tissue in the middle has me concerned. Is it just mechanical damage, or stress, or fungal? Should I hack above and below or is it just stress from being trapped in a box?
Would appreciate all your expert advice as to what I should do ...
This is just a guess but it's probably linked to not being watered for a while and extreme light deprivation. If it was mine I would give it a bit of water (assuming you will keep it at a decent temperature) and put it in a sunny place.
Other guys will probably give you more well informed advice though Hope it gets better !
TheEconomist wrote:Other guys will probably give you more well informed advice though Hope it gets better !
Nope. Assuming it has roots, pot it up, give it a splash of water, put it somewhere bright and just wait a few days for the tissue to get pumped with water again.
Quick update, I gave it splash of water a few days ago, has been relatively warm inside about 20ishC during the day and 15ish at night. The sunken in tissue is quite tough and the regions above and below are a bit squishy. I noticed these little orange circles today, they seem to be new and usually fungal problems are circular in nature right? I apologize in advance for the picture quality.
If this were in my collection I would say that it was cold damage. Myrtillocactus geometrizans is very cold sensitive and you do not say where this plant was mailed from and how, via air, road or sea. The normal form of this plant is what is commonly used as grafting stock for the red, yellow, orange and pink chloroformless Gymnocalyciums which turn up in garden centres from the far east, and which usually succumbs in the first winter, thereby creating a ready repeat market.
As you are keeping this plant fairly warm and in a dry environment it may well not deteriorate any further, but should it do so them you can always take a top cutting, thoroughly dry it off and then re-root it, none of which should ideally be attempted until the spring.
Hope it gets better !
! I will pot it up, say a quick prayer, and give it a splash of water lol. Will update with how things go.