We Get Questions

Not sure where this question comes to us from, but the signs outside the window may provide a clue.

hey there, i just bought a thin tall cactus that i really wanna take good care of but none of the apps or interent helped me out in identifying it- Any reccomendations would be lovely, thanks a lot!

A tall, slender cactus in a small pot sits on a windowsill in a room with large windows overlooking a street with apartment buildings and shops—a perfect spot to ask questions or ponder Q&A by the white desk lamp nearby.

Have a great day,
Irem

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We Get Euphorbia Questions

A tall, green Euphorbia with wavy edges grows in a terra cotta pot, next to a smaller cactus with lighter green, creased leaves. The pot sits in the corner of a room with beige walls.

Good evening

I have heard what I think is a Euphorbia ingenes for around three years now and it’s always been a healthy plant with lots of growth however we moved house in October and it has been in my hallway to the right of my glass front door it always has in direct sunlight and it’s quite a bright room it has been absolutely fine here until two weeks ago as you can see from the photographs the problem has escalated quite quickly from the week of photographs taken I did water it and a couple of days after I did find that it was sat in about 3 cm of water so I took that out immediately however this discolouring had already taken place I have never and don’t normally water a lot so I don’t see how that one time of watering could do this much damage is it an infestation perhaps I really don’t know a lot about this plant or even if it is the right Euphorbia and I really really want to save this plan I love it so much what can I do and please give me as much information as possible because I’m getting conflicting advice thank you so much and you have a lovely website
Regards harriet x

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We Get Golden Barrel Questions

Hello,

I came across your web site and saw that you answer questions, so I thought I would try sending one. My friend gave me a large golden barrel pup from her father’s outside golden barrel cactus that lives in LA. I have been waiting for it to callus, and I went to check it today and the cut area was covered in a white fuzzy substance (pictures attached). I immediately thought of fungus, especially since it had been sitting in a box cut side down. I also thought it could be mealy bugs, and there was some orange color when I dabbed at it with alcohol on a paper towel, but not as much color as I would have expected if it was a dense mass of mealy bugs. I also looked at the cut surface and one of the pieces that came off with a 10x hand lens and I did not see any adults, just a dense matrix of white fluff. I had looked at it briefly when she brought it to me a week ago, and I do not recall seeing such a dense area of white fluff, although it was dark and I only looked very quickly. So whatever it is seems to have grown quite a bit in a week, although I can’t be 100% sure.

   

I attached some pictures, in the last one the spots where the cut surface is orange is where I dabbed it with the alcohol on the towel. It seemed to dissolve from the alcohol, it didn’t really seem to rub off onto the paper towel.

Do you think this is fungus, mealy bugs, or something else, and can it be saved? I was admonished not to kill the cactus so I would be very disappointed if I lost it even before planting it. If you don’t just answer random questions, I understand but thought I’d give it a try!

Thanks,
Rachel
California Department of Fish and Wildlife

It’s going to be a problem since it’s winter, to treat this successfully. It’s a fungus and likely bacterial. I recommend sulfur on the cut edge and treat the whole plant with a systemic fungicide like Infuse, after the sun goes down. Keep dry! Air circulation. It will be at least a month before you can try planting it, and a heat mat under the pot might help it root (warm and dry).

Peter

We Get Questions

Hello
I found your website/blog while searching images of plants in an attempt to identify mine (pics attached). I acquired this about a year ago when the yoga studio it was living in was closing. The owner told me she had it for several years but, prior to that, it was owned for a number of years by a friend’s relative in Boston. (I am in CT so assume the plant has been indoors it’s whole life).

The prior owner told me that at one point she had it up on a trellis and it seemed to do better. She also told me she had not repotted it since she acquired it. So, I brought it home, tried to let it acclimate for a few months, then repotted it in cactus soil that I’ve used successfully in the past (Fat Plants San Diego Cactus & Succulent soil).  Then several weeks later, I moved it to a south facing window for more sun, then tried to put it up on a trellis, but it does not look as good as when I got it.

A potted plant with long, drooping, thin green stems is supported by green trellises indoors near a window. The sparse plant with small leaves raises questions about care—see FAQs for tips to address customer inquiries about wilting.

The post that brought me to your site originally was on page 11 of the “questions” — the title was “Dragon Flower” which is what you advised the plant was. BUT that one did not have any of the little “tufts” of leaves at the ends like mine does (now fewer and more wilted 😞). I also read in another post of yours that a milky white sap indicates euphorbia and mine does have that sap.

ANY advice you can offer to help ID this and/or advise on care would be SO much appreciated.

I have watered sparingly (maybe every 2-3 weeks) because of all I read about too much water being worse than not enough, but maybe the change of soil would require more (since it was originally in plain potting soil as far as I could tell). Maybe it’s also getting too much sun now???

I really love this plant and want very much to do it justice.

Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. I love your site and wish I was closer!

Marlene

Hi,

Your plant is a Monadenium ritchei. I would recommend pruning it back, no reason for it to be going everywhere like that. The basic issue seems to be that uit was in low light for a long time and so it has gone travellingeverywhere, and is a bit floppy too. More sun is better, but you need to take time when moving a plant into full sun – generally move it closer over the course of 1-2 weeks. You may at this time have some sunburn on parts of the plant. Since it is such an overwhelming size anyway, trim off any parts that are too floppy or sunburnt and bring it back down to a more manageable size. Careful of the milky white sap, wear gloves.

Peter

We Get Sick Cactus Questions

hey there…. i was wonder if you could help me with my cactus…. we had mealie mites and i used a insecticidal soap. then this started to happened and fast. could it be corking? i don’t think its root rot. i dealt with that before. is there something we can do to save it?

A tall cactus in a pot with wood chips sits by a window, perfect for those with cactus care questions. At the base is a small red plush bird wearing sunglasses and a checked scarf. Scaffolding and street traffic are visible outside. A tall cactus with brownish-yellow discoloration and spines along its ridges sits in a pot with wood chip mulch, near a window with cars outside—prompting cactus questions about proper cactus care or signs of a sick cactus.Could we cut the bad out of the cactus and callus it and replant? the tops don’t seam to be infected..

thank you for any help you can provide!!!
Gene

 

It looks to me like you have 2 plants with the same problem. After the infestation, which the soap didn’t fix, the plants would have been susceptible to infection.

I would recommend getting the 3 of them out of that soil, and repotting the 1 healthy one on its own. You can take tip cuttings of the other 2 if you can cut above the infection. When you cut, if the flesh is clean and white then you can let it callous over for a week before planting. Since it’s winter I recommend Sulfur Dust on the cut end to help prevent fungus. If the cut end is not clean then keep cutting upward til you get to clean flesh, or if the infection is all the way through the plant then it is not saveable.

Peter

Winter Succulent Damage

Hi cactus jungle

A few of my cacti have struggled after the rains.

A tall, green cactus with brown, dried tips—signs of winter succulent damage—stands in front of a window with closed blinds. The cactus has ridges lined with small spines and is next to another smaller cactus.

I have attached a photo and I’m wondering if you can tell me what is happening with this plant.

Is it a lost cause😞? If not, how can I help it?

Thank you
Brian

Brian,

The plant is a Euphorbia, and hopefully it is just the tip that got damaged in the winter. Depending on where you live, they are only semi-hardy here in the Bay Area, so they can take damage to the tip when we get below freezing, or with heavy rains, or especially with both (See: This year.)

You can cut the top part off the plant and it looks like the damage is limited there. Cut at an angle, using a bread knife, and make sure the flesh is clean and white. If there is still some rot there, cut lower. Be careful when cutting a Euphorbia as it has a caustic milky-white sap. Where gloves, long sleeves, and eye-protection. Spray the cut end with Hydrogen Peroxide and put a paper bag over it to keep the sun off it until it is healed. Good Luck!

Peter

We Get Florida Cactus Questions

Hello,

I live in Florida & would like to plant some cacti in my front courtyard.

Do you know some names of cacti that do not grow too big in size for me to plant in that area?

Kathleen

Kathleen,

Florida is a big state with many different climate zones. Also, if you are interested in true spiny cactus, most of them are not going to do well in most of Florida due to humidity. However if you are looking for more succulent plants then there are many that can do well – I would ask that you visit your local nursery and they will be best able to get you something that is climate appropriate where you are.

Thanks,
Peter

We Get Questions

Hi,
I keep this in a sunny window, lately I’ve been seeing this brown shriveling in some sections of the plant. I water weekly with Schultz cactus food in the water. Any suggestions on how to bring back to health? Possibly I’m watering too often? Thanks very much.

img_1777

Jim

Jim,

You’ve got a couple different problems. One is that you are watering and fertilizing too much, causing the plant to grow too fast, rather than slow and healthy growth. Less water and a lot less fertilizer. Second, you appear to have mealie bugs on the plant. You’ll need to spray with an organic pesticide, like a Neem Oil.

You can prune off the dead branches and leaves and the rest of it should survive fine.

Peter

We Get Plant Questions

Hello, you once posted a picture of a vine that looked like grass, but it is no longer in your photo data? I am trying to find it but can’t remember it’s name. Does this ring any bells? I thought part of the name had something like tweedia in it but not the tweedia with the blue flowers.
Thanks, 
Jamie (in SF)

The one you are looking for is called Mormon Tea, Ephedra tweediana. I guess the Tweedy part is the memorable part of the name. Although ironically Ephedra is sometimes used for memory.

Peter

We get Questions- Odd gall

Hello Peter,

I’ve got a challenge for you with this Crown of Thorns plant. The plant is obviously not as healthy as it was when it was attached to the roots. I cut off the top because it had these weird growths on it. If I had to guess, I would call them galls. What do you think?

close2 full P1050419 top

Elizabeth

Elizabeth,

Uggh! It looks like a virus that is mutating the tissue. It should be disposed of right away. Sorry about that! The bottom parts of the plant may or may not be infected, so give it a chance, but if the stuff shows up then dispose.

Peter

We Get Dead Plants Questions

Here’s a photo of my Aloe plicatilis. I don’t think it’s going to survive.

Dead Aloe

Kim

Kim,

That Aloe has already not survived. Sorry.

Peter

We Get Euphorbia Questions

I recently became the caretaker of these plants. They have not had much
sunlight and I am acclimating them back into full sun over the next few
weeks. I am keeping them under a mesh tarp to let them get diffuse sun
and I plan to put them into larger pots with some fertilizer (3-3-3). Is
there anything that you can help me with based by just looking at the
picture or do you see any thing I should change with my plan? I am
guessing they are mostly some form of Euphorbia erythraea forma
variegata but am not really sure.

euphorbia ammak

Thank you for your time,
Rich

Rich,

Aside from the Opuntia which is the only cactus, the white ones are Euphorbia “Ammak” and the green ones are either the green version of “Ammak” or are probably Euphorbia trigona.

Depending on where you live they may need to be indoor. They are only hardy down around 32F, so we recommend them indoor in the SF Bay Area in the Winter.

Fast draining cactus soils for all of them. The cactus needs some good sun. The Euphorbias can handle light shade to full sun.

Do not fertilize a lot or these will grow into giant trees too quickly. Very little water – every 3 to 4 weeks should be fine, although more if it is sunny and hot.

Peter

We Get Questions

Hello,

Yesterday I bumped my cactus, Mr. Popcorn, and on of his arms fell off/over. I’m not sure why…is this rot? What should I do about it?

IMG_2228

The soil is the soil he came with, with a little from the woods that I got several weeks ago and mixed in. Do I need to get a special kind? Also, could you tell me what kind he is? I’ve tried researching it but I’ve had little success.

IMG_2236

Here are some pictures.

Thank you so much!
Monica
P.S. Does he look healthy? Should he be greener?

Monica,

Your cactus is a Mammillaria elongata. The soil mix is too rich, and looks too wet. The arm has fallen over because of rot which was caused by too much water. Generally we recommend a fast draining cactus soil, no forest products. Water about every 3 weeks, and only a little more often in summer if it is in a hot and sunny location. Make sure the soil has completely dried out before the next watering.

You’ll need to cut out the rotted arm, digging out any rot in the soil too. I recommend spraying the base of the remaining plant with Neem Oil which is a natural fungicide and should help keep the rest of the plant from rotting.

Good luck

Peter

We Get Questions Regularly

Hi Peter!

I bought this succulent from your store last year while visiting on vacation. I was wondering if it doesn’t look healthy to you. I’ve been keeping it on my back porch where it gets some shade and its watered every 1-2 weeks. Would love to hear your thoughts and advice.

photo 1

Thank you!
Jen

Jen,

The little Sempervivum looks OK. It’s probably not getting enough water since it’s still in the fiber pot, which dries out much faster than if it were in a terra cotta pot. Also, I can’t tell exactly from the photos but it may have bugs in the center. If it does you should spray it with an organic insecticide like Neem Oil.

Peter

We Get Questions

Hi folks,

I got this guy a couple of years ago but just thought to check it’s species now. I’m pretty sure it’s the monstrose variety of O. subulata, though mine’s a lot more gangly than most images I’ve seen.

photo-1

I live in Calgary, Canada, so this is a houseplant. We have long, miserable, dark winters, so this thing’s stalks grow in alternating thick and thin segments in tune with the sun’s position in the sky (the sun’s only up for about 7 hours on dec. 21, and very low in the sky). I’ve got it in a sun room with floor to ceiling east, south, and west windows, so it gets as much light as a plant can get in Canada without being outside or in a greenhouse, but I find it still gets gangly and topples over. I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to encourage it to “wood up”, or if I’m better off just pruning the stalks that get so long they fall over.

Also, would you recommend allowing this to spend the summer outside? We’ve got about 3 months of guaranteed safe night time temps, but when I try doing that with my epiphyllums, it seems like our summer is just long enough to trigger much more robust growth than I can achieve inside, but not long enough for any new branches to fully mature. I usually find that anything that grows outside on those guys falls apart inside, melting completely by mid January. Not sure if I’d see something similar here.

Anyway thanks in advance, you’ve got a great and very useful blog!

Adam

Adam,

Two things you can do to keep your O. subulata monstrose’s growth more regular.

1. Repot into a bigger pot.

2. Reduce water to every 6 weeks when there is less direct sun.

These are hardier than the Epi’s and can take colder night-time temps by about 10 degrees F., so you might be able to have it outside for 4-5 months or so. And then when you bring it back inside reduce watering a lot.

Peter

We Get Questions

Hi,
Your blog came up in a Google image search for plant identification. I was hoping you could tell me a name for attached photo.

succulent1

Thanks so much,
Kathryn

Kathryn,

Well the picture is extra tiny, but I think that’s an Agave attenuata.

Peter

We Get Questions

Hi Peter,

I hope you can help me out with an unusual repotting problem.

A well-meaning friend of ours recently sent us a “cactus garden” as a gift from an online website, pictured below:

IMG_2479

Any idea what the different species are? The online vendor simply labeled them all as “cacti”.

Well, the various cacti and succulents are doing fine so far, but now I think they are starting to crowd each other out. I was hoping to repot them, but the potting soil that they used is as hard as concrete! I can barely dent it with a hammer!

IMG_2483

Yes, it is that hard. I can’t even pull the wood chips out of the soil!

I have no idea what crazy concoction they are using as a soil. The directions that came with the garden only say that, “The cactus soil is a blend of nutrients combined with a hardening compound. It was scientifically developed to provide a healthy growing environment for cactus while also providing protection during shipment. Although it appears hard and impenetrable, the soil does absorb water and distributes it throughout the planter.”

Have you ever run into this strange potting medium before? If so, are the poor plants going to be okay in that stuff as they grow? And if not, what is the best way to get them out safely so that I can repot them?

Finally, it is currently winter here in southern California, and the cacti are sitting outside on our back porch. Should I wait until the spring growing season before attempting to repot them? And how much space should I give them?

Thank you for all your help!

Sincerely,
Jonathan

Jonathan,
You have 3 cacti and 3 succulents. This type of potting is not intended as a long term solution, so yes they do have to come out of the concrete (and they do add gypsum, i.e. concrete, to the mix to get it to harden). So basically you will be rescuing the plants.

If they are healthy now, I would wait until spring. If they look desperate, then go ahead and get them out now.

I don’t have any secrets for rescuing them – get the whole thing out of the pot and chisel them apart as best you can trying to save some roots where possible, but allowing for the fact that these may be cuttings you are starting with once they are out.

Pot them in dry fast-draining cactus soil, keep dry for a couple weeks. I would try a 4″ pot for each plant, if I am judging the size correctly.

Succulent Species:
Crassula ovata (Jade)
Faucaria felina (Tiger Jaws)
Pachyphytum, maybe longifolium

Cactus species:
Cleistocactus strausii
Mammillaria
Parodia

Peter

We Get Questions

Hi there.
I live in England, and I have been growing some cacti for about four years now, but I don’t know what they are. They have never flowered, and I was wondering if you could identify them?
I know that the one on the far left is Astophytum ornatum, and that the one one in from the right is Opuntia subulata. I have only had these for about two months.

Wiltshire-20130704-00637 (1)

Also, could you please give me some tips as to how to make them all flower?
Thanks very much.
Helena

Helena,
The Opuntia subulata looks likes it’s probably a O. subulata monstrose, which means it won’t get as tall, which is probably a good thing. The one on the far right could be a Cereus, but I wouldn’t be sure of the species until it blooms, which could be many years depending on the species – they often won’t bloom until they’re 6 ft. tall or more! The one on the left looks like it’s not getting enough sun, so it’s hard to tell for sure what it is, but either a Mammillaria or a Rebutia.

As for flowering, the Astrophytum looks large enough to flower, as well as the Mammillaria/Rebutia. However the other two wouldn’t bloom for many years. To help the first two along in blooming I recommend a lot of sun and a bloom food – Bone Meal, and we prefer Fish Bone Meal, works well.

Depending on where you live in England the sun could be a problem, in which case you might want to try a full-spectrum UV light.

Peter

We Get Questions

Dear blog master. I enjoy the cactus jungle blog; a visit to your store is on my bucket list.

I have a question. I have a hedgehog cactus set (aka “the Crip”) and a silver torch cactus (aka “Queen Frostine”). Both have been in a constant environment for more than two years – a greenhouse which is the home of many successfully flowering succulents, many of which are cacti. After flowering well in 2012, neither flowered this year but they are both growing very well. Do you have any thoughts?

Sent from my iPad so please excuse brevity and lack of editing.

Pam
Memphis, TN

Pam,
If they’re getting good sun and other plants nearby are blooming then it’s probably a matter of nutrients. I would recommend feeding with a good organic bloom food in late winter next year.
Peter

We Get Questions from Michigan

Hi Cactus jungle,

A friend sent me a spineless prickly pear pad from Texas. I planted it and place it outside in a sunny southern exposure in Michigan. It sprouted 2 more paddles right away.

I was wondering. Can this plant get scales? I asked because in the process of wiping the dust off the paddles I noticed that the surfaces look like they were covered with scales. I took a damp cloth and removed as much as I could…most of them wiped right off. If it is scale, is simply wiping the plant down the best way to treat it?

Thank you for any and all insight. A neophyte cactus person
Lorraine

Lorraine,
Generally in Michigan the larger prickly pear (Opuntia) plants will want to be inside in winter. If you keep them completely dry they can sometimes survive outside.
Opuntia are definitely prone to scale, however if they are rubbing off with a damp cloth they are probably not scale, since scale insects bite down and hold on tight. Generally we recommend dipping a soft paintbrush in alcohol to break through their hard outer shell and gently rub them off.
Peter
[Ed. Note: I don’t know that I actually answered the question. Could I have done better?]

Winter Cactus

Hi,

I have a plant that I purchased about 2-1/2 years ago from you. While I left it in the pot, it continued to grow and looked heathy. Last summer, I transplanted it into the ground in a sunny spot. It stopped growing, and developed a yellow tinge. Now, the yellow spots are turning soft.

subulata

I have a new raised bed with much better drainage and a bit less sun. My question is: can I move it right now, or must I wait until it warms up? I live in Sacramento. Is it too late to save? It is soft at the top of the plant, not near the roots.

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer,

Kathryn

Kathryn,
If when it was in the pot it was in a less sunny location, it may have sunburned from being put out into full sun, especially in a Sacramento summer.

And then in winter, it looks like you have automatic watering at the plant? If so that could make the problem worse in winter. It is possible that the soil was moist when we had our freeze in January.

So it looks like it is rotting from the tip. In general that means you want to cut the rotted tips off down to where you can see fresh clean green tissue on the inside of the plant. You will then have to protect the tips for a few weeks while they callous over. Given how far this has progressed, I would recommend doing the cutting now, turning off the water and protecting it from any rains, and then waiting until April or May to transplant it. Basically you want it to start getting better before you cause any transplant stress.

You should spray the cut tips with hydrogen peroxide to help them heal over. Watch for further rot and if needed spray with an organic fungicide like neem.

In the future it is best to water Opuntia subulatas in the ground very very sparingly. Once established you don’t have to ever water them unless you are getting over 95F.

Good luck

Peter

Watering a Cactus

Ask.com has this question up:

How Long Can a Cactus Survive Without Water

And then the answer includes this part:

…although (cacti) may show some signs of death when it lacks water, in most cases, it never dies completely…

What a bizarre answer.

We Get Winter Cactus Questions

Hello!
I stumbled across your blog and I have a few questions regarding my new copiapoa.
How often should I water it, and how much water should I use when I do? Now that it is winter I thought I would need to water it less. I just got it about a week or two ago and it was flowering–now the flower has closed up. Is this usually the case with this cactus?

I also have a succulent that I have had for about a year, I think I over watered it recently but I thought maybe taking a look you could tell if it is doing okay. I was wondering if I needed to plant it in a bigger pot?

Also, I live in Oklahoma, just so you could get an idea on weather.

Thank you in advance!
Alicia

Alicia,

Cactus flowers only last 2-4 days, so it is not unusual that the cactus has finished blooming so quickly. It is unusual that it was blooming so late in the year. Normally you should see it flower in early summer. I would recommend some low strength fertilizer in spring and a little bit of extra bloom food.

For winter, put it in the sunniest window you have, water every 4-6 weeks, and pretty much leave it alone. In spring you can start watering about every 3 weeks.

When we water we prefer to drench the plant and let the water drain away – a kitchen sink is a good place for that.

The succulent is Crassula ovata, and it is fine. It definitely wants a bigger pot, but I would wait until spring.

Peter

We Get Cactus Questions

Hey Guys,

I have another one for your ID help … and it’s blooming for the first time (for me). Is it a Disco? Melo? Echino? species?

Thanks,

CactGuy

Dustin,
It’s a Melocactus, probably either Melocactus azureus or Melocactus violaceus.
Peter

We Get Questions

Hello! Im having some difficulty with one of my euphorbias and my friend, Akos Kokai, suggested that I email you. My devil’s backbone has been growing this layer of powdery white dust for some time now. At first, it was very little and I thought it might be natural to the plant. But now it’s proliferating and killing off the leaves. Do you know what it might be? I’ve isolated the plant and have tried neem oil and alcohol treatments, but it keeps growing back.

Thank you!
Diana

Diana,
It’s powdery mildew, a fungus. It’s pretty easy to cure, and we have some organic fungus treatments that work well, but these plants are definitely prone to it. We can recommend either of two products we carry: Safergro Mildew Cure or EcoSmart Garden Fungicide.

I recommend using one of these at the first sign of trouble. The Pedilanthus will do better with better air circulation and probably less water.
Peter

Watering Succulent Terrariums

This is a tough one.

I have a new succulent terrarium and am in need of watering instruction. I had instructions included saying to use a spray bottle and moisten at the base of the succulents. I am aware that over-watering can lead to root rot, so I want to make sure I do not get to that point. The middle of my two main succulent plants are showing signs of brown leaves. I feel quite certain that I have not over-watered just solely on the fact that I’ve watered once in the week that I’ve had it, but I am concerned with the browning. Everything I have read has said the lower/base of the plants will brown and those leaves will die, but as long as the middle/center of the plant isn’t turning, all should be fine.

 

You can see in the pictures attached that is exactly what I’m noticing. I have the terrarium indoors in in-direct sunlight during the day. Could you please offer some watering suggestions? I do not know if I’m even watering enough, I don’t see any of the water going down into the soil-is that a visual indicator I should/not see? Thanks for your time.

Ashley

Ashley,
It’s hard to tell from the photos what is going on. The plant in the middle is a Haworthia and they are very sensitive to over-water. The bottom leaves dropping off look like they are rotting, rather than drying, which would imply over-water.

Terrariums are difficult to get the watering right. You may well lose a few plants before you figure out your own conditions. In general when a succulent is in a regular pot we water every 2 weeks (in our area), drench the soil and let it drain away so it is never sitting in water. In a terrarium you can’t quite do that since there is no drainage. So you water more often, but less water. You want to wet the soil, but you don’t ever want water sitting at the bottom (we add charcoal at the bottom of our terrariums to neutralize any sitting water). So you need to test it out over time – a small amount of water and then check the soil to make sure it is dry before you water again.

Good luck,
Peter

We Get Questions

Dear Cactus Jungle,
I have an established echeveria plant outside my yard in long beach, California. Lately, it appears to be losing some of its color and dropping a lot of leaves. It used to be bright green and completely full, you could not stick your finger in the mass of flowers. Now there are holes. It gets plenty of sun and has good drainage. Is this too much water? Too little water? Normal?

 

Also, we recently had a laundry to landscape gray water irrigation installed near the plant, so maybe stress?

I appreciate any help as it is a favorite and I don’t want to lose it.

Thanks,
Pixie

Pixie,
It looks to me like this is an Aeonium (possibly A. haworthii or one of the A. decorum hybrids) rather than an Echeveria. Aeoniums are winter growers, so they often look exactly like this in a sunny location in the summer. Also, the plant has crowded out this area and probably has fully used up the nutrients in the soil.

Do not overwater going forward since it is dormant for the summer. Let it look like this for now, and then in the fall I recommend thinning it out by taking cuttings. Fertilize in fall and winter (see our Ultra Soil Cactus Meal).
Peter

We Get Questions

It’s a short question. Bear with us, because the payoff is worth it.

Hi,
I was wondering if you could help me identify a plant, it is a succulent, I have attached a picture of it – it’s the little plant climbing up out of the globe.
Thank you!
Ilana

And here’s the picture of the plant in question:

Cute! Seems tricky to get the plant to grow through the side holes. Of course, the plant didn’t actually grow through those holes so much as the stems were placed there.

And here’s Hap’s answer to the question in question about the plant in question:

Ilana,

It looks like Crassula ‘Tom Thumb’ or one of the similar dwarf clones from the Crassula perforata group.

Take care,

Hap Hollibaugh

We Get Questions

Hi Hap,

Attached are photos of five cereus plants in our garden, all of which did great in the ground for five months but are now showing signs of distress.

Crested cereus — The first two shots are of the same plant, which has some black spots on top and the trunk has cracked open. This plant is located nowhere near the others.

Night-blooming cereus — We have two, located next to one another. The affliction is showing itself as dark sunken spots on the new growth. In some places these have become holes, all the way through the “fin” of the plant.

Lophocereus — Again, we have two of these, located next to each other but nowhere near the other cereus plants. Similar story — the new growth on top has lots of black spots, some of which are now sunken inward.

These plants are all on mounds, with good soil and drainage. The soil is still moist from recent rains, but not a lot. I’m really concerned that as we head into winter, we may need to strip away the pebble coverage and try to aerate the roots somehow.
The garden has about 30 or 40 plants and all the others look fine at this point. We only live a few blocks from your store — maybe we could pay you to take a look at the situation one morning. Many thanks,
Mike

Mike,

The crested top view looks like it was bruised and is now scaring up from getting whacked or bumped hard. The trunk view looks like beetle or rodent/bird damage, look in the holes and make sure there is not a grub eating the plant from the inside. They can really make a mess inside the trunk, pull them out with tweezers if that is what is going on and squish them. Clean and disinfect the cavity with Hydrogen-Peroxide if it looks “juicy”. Once it has dried out and looks scabbed you can treat with Neem Oil as well. If it looks like it will collect water you will need to make an additional cut in the tissue to create a drain channel. Pooled water will cause major rot issues.

The Lophocereus and Cereus are showing signs of slug and snail damage, which is leading to secondary infections. I recommend that you treat all the damaged areas with Neem Oil and scatter Sluggo through out the garden. Retreat with Neem after a week. If the infections persist there are more aggressive treatment options, but of course they are more toxic and take special handling.

We do make housecalls if you want to schedule one to confirm what I see in the photos.

Take care,

Hap

We Get Questions

People send us photos and questions, worried about their plants. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong at all. Good times!

I water- not soak it – about every 10 days or so. I live a few blocks from the beach so it’s not exposed to very hot conditions.
Thanks for trying to help!
Lee Ann

Lee Ann,

Your Agave attenuata is doing great. Succulents lose bottom leaves – that’s just the nature of the plant. When they are dry and easy to pull off, you can remove them.

Peter

April 2026
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