What happened here

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gerald
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What happened here

Post by gerald »

I went to check over my plants, as you do, and was very disappointed to see this A asterias had suddenly succumbed to some kind of rot. The roots were fine, but as you can see some kind of rot had set in which destroyed the heart of the plant.

It was the only one I had, about 3 inches across, a lovely, unmarked specimen that flowered several times a year. Very sad to see it go :sad:

IMG_20210413_175917.jpg
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juster
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Re: What happened here

Post by juster »

That’s a great shame Gerald, looks like it was a lovely plant. I’ve given up trying with this species, seems to rot ‘at the drop of a hat’ to coin a phrase, as you have just discovered. Could rot have set in under the spent flower?
Croydon Branch member, growing mainly cacti and Echeverias
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Mark07
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Re: What happened here

Post by Mark07 »

Sorry to see this Gerald. I have one with an almost identical rot patch that appeared very slowly since summer last year. It now looks just like yours. Seems they must be prone to this type of rot.
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el48tel
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Re: What happened here

Post by el48tel »

Could it be the year of the rot? I too had the same at the end of last year.
Endeavouring to grow Aylostera, Echinocereus, Echinopsis, Gymnocalycium, Matucana, Rebutia, and Sulcorebutia. Fallen out of love with Lithops and aggravated by Aeoniums.
Currently being wooed by Haworthia, attempting hybridisation, and enticed by Mesembs.
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gerald
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Re: What happened here

Post by gerald »

juster wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:19 am Could rot have set in under the spent flower?
I was thinking that but it's hard to tell, though it does seem to have spread from the opposite side. Interesting, and sad, to hear that others have had similar experiences with this plant. Very odd as I've not come across anything like this before on any other plant.
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Mark07
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Re: What happened here

Post by Mark07 »

Here is one of mine as of today which, like yours, is pretty much a goner sadly. Mine feels very hard to the touch and not at all “squishy” which leads me to believe it must be some kind of dry rot.
B3A8632D-FF7C-4783-9BED-81F36567C2BF.jpeg
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el48tel
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Re: What happened here

Post by el48tel »

gerald wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 8:15 am
juster wrote: Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:19 am Could rot have set in under the spent flower?
I was thinking that but it's hard to tell, though it does seem to have spread from the opposite side. Interesting, and sad, to hear that others have had similar experiences with this plant. Very odd as I've not come across anything like this before on any other plant.
The early warm spring .... followed by cold ..... followed by warm .... followed by a short hot period .... and the air was very humid.
Did the plant become confused about where it was in the growing cycle? Humid + warm = recipe for fungi and bacteria
Endeavouring to grow Aylostera, Echinocereus, Echinopsis, Gymnocalycium, Matucana, Rebutia, and Sulcorebutia. Fallen out of love with Lithops and aggravated by Aeoniums.
Currently being wooed by Haworthia, attempting hybridisation, and enticed by Mesembs.
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MatDz
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Re: What happened here

Post by MatDz »

Would it be possible to scoop the rot out and see whether it recovers and maybe produce some offshoots? Another option might be to graft the healthy side of it.
Mat
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ragamala
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Re: What happened here

Post by ragamala »

I wonder if it succumbed to old age. But you haven't said about watering. This year I only started watering my plants a couple of days ago. Maybe a month later than I normally would start. This at least gave me time to sort out the goners over the winter, and not worry about whether it was winter collapse or my injudicious watering which caused losses.
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gerald
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Re: What happened here

Post by gerald »

Watered for the first time this year just a couple of weeks ago and no water since. The roots were healthy, no rot at all, not even at the base of the plant. At a guess the plant was 10-15 years old.
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