in the words of Marvin Gaye...

[JonNo]

..."What's Going On"?! Can anyone offer advice please? I'm not expecting good news... Turbinicarpus Pseudopectinatus, just over 1.5cm across.

[ralphrmartin]

I suppose you knew this already, but either
- some bug has chewed its way into your plant
- your plants has the lurgy from the roots up, and it is bursting out.

I'd unpot it. If the roots are squidgy, I suspect its "game over". If the roots look OK, I'd get a very sharp scalpel, cut out the brown part, dust it with sulphur, and maybe in 5 years or so the wound will be so low you no longer notice it.

Good luck.

[JonNo]

I suppose you knew this already, but either
- some bug has chewed its way into your plant
- your plants has the lurgy from the roots up, and it is bursting out.

I'd unpot it. If the roots are squidgy, I suspect its "game over". If the roots look OK, I'd get a very sharp scalpel, cut out the brown part, dust it with sulphur, and maybe in 5 years or so the wound will be so low you no longer notice it.

Good luck.

Thank you Ralph, much appreciated. The plant is so small I suspect performing surgery on it would be beyond me (and more particularly my eyesight). I guess first things first though, I'll unpot it and see what lurks beneath... Cheers.

[Tina]

Could it be where an old seed capsule was ?, it does not look gooey ( yet)

[JonNo]

Could it be where an old seed capsule was ?, it do enter look gooey ( yet)

Thanks Tina, it is a thought that occurred to me too, but so far as I know the plant has yet to flower (I've had it about six months). I've had a closer look at the "bad" area and it does seem to be completely dry... Another thought that has occurred to me is, could it be where I might have pricked the skin with a needle while trying to spear a mealy bug? Not that I remember having any mealy problems with this particular plant, but I'm always on the lookout for them with my trusty needle. If it is a post seed pod issue, is there anything that can be done or is it best just left alone?...

[ralphrmartin]

If it is hard, and not gooey, maybe it is best to leave it alone, as you say.

But experience tells me that if a plant looks iffy, it is often the best course to unpot it and check what is going on - before it is too late.

[JonNo]

If it is hard, and not gooey, maybe it is best to leave it alone, as you say.

But experience tells me that if a plant looks iffy, it is often the best course to unpot it and check what is going on - before it is too late.

Indeed yes, the benefit of your experience is invaluable, and unpotting is on my list for the weekend... Thanks!

[JonNo]

So I un-potted and found the roots to be dry, sound and as far as I could tell as clean as a whistle. The only thing vaguely of note I found was what may have been the remains of one solitary Mealy Bug at the base of the plant. I have re-potted and sprayed with Bug Clear Ultra. But - this has now appeared on the plant next door (Lobivia Famatinensis, about 2 cm across)... Weird.

[MikeT]

Is that a mouse dropping among the gravel?

[JonNo]

Is that a mouse dropping among the gravel?

I hope not! It's on my lounge window sill... Those bits of whatever they are you can see come in the top dressing I buy. They're some sort of stone.