A rather nice surprise.....

[iann]

I'll note that down: only water three times before July

[countrydudeuk]

Misting? Is it good to give cacti an occasional misting then?

Superb flowers Vic.

[Vic]

Yes it's a good idea Marty to regularly mist especially during hot still conditions- the main reason is to try and prevent or minimise rsm infestation as they don't like humidity along with mealies. I also sometimes mist or spray more heavily when the plants look like they could do with a drop of water but conditions aren't ideal to fully water them, for instance at the start of spring when you want to gradually increase the amount of water. Watering heavily at the start of the season can lead to plants swelling up to much and then splitting, especially soft bodied plants such as Turbs and Lophs etc. so I usually start wth just a light spray and then gradually increase the water given.

[Trevor]

Great show - still amazes me how they get all the flowers open at once....

[countrydudeuk]

Vic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes it's a good idea Marty to regularly mist
> especially during hot still conditions- the main
> reason is to try and prevent or minimise rsm
> infestation as they don't like humidity along with
> mealies. I also sometimes mist or spray more
> heavily when the plants look like they could do
> with a drop of water but conditions aren't ideal
> to fully water them, for instance at the start of
> spring when you want to gradually increase the
> amount of water. Watering heavily at the start of
> the season can lead to plants swelling up to much
> and then splitting, especially soft bodied plants
> such as Turbs and Lophs etc. so I usually start
> wth just a light spray and then gradually increase
> the water given.



..and there was me worrying me about misting my cucumbers and melons in the gh! I thought that a humid atmosphere will cause rots to develop on cacti and that they had to have a dry atmosphere, and that rsm and mealies are just an inconvenience to be dealt with as and when! Thanks for the info Vic. I'll not be so worried in future and I will also give my collection the odd mist over.

[Roger]

er, forgive my ignorance here but whats rsm?:embar:

[countrydudeuk]

Sorry Roger, Red Spider Mite.

[Roger]

oh hehe are they a common pest i have never seen one?

[Maria J]

Unfortunately it's the sort of pest that often goes unnoticed until the damage they cause starts showing. This appears as patches of 'rusty' looking skin. The mite itself is minute and can just about be seen with the naked eye if you look really hard although a lens will help!!
They like dry, hot atmospheres hence Vic's advice on misting.

Edit - not to be confused with the red spiders you see on walls and stones!

[Roger]

Oh o.k. slightly off topic here but how do mealy bugs start and why. I was just wondering if there was a prevention of getting future attacks ?

Roger