Questions
First of all, let me just say that I love your blog. You guys are wonderful. I have gotten so much of my (admittedly limited) knowledge about succulents and cacti from reading it that I just can’t begin to thank you enough.
I have two questions. One I’m a little worried about because I suspect I won’t like the answer. In the second photo here, you can see my new Euphorbia Ammak up close… and there’s some discoloration, both pink and brown. The brown looks like it could be rot; it was just replanted, and it seems (see: right side of photo) perhaps someone at one point cut away some rot, which scabbed over. The brown is just at the bottom there; it does not continue up and is not soft or mildewy.
The plant itself is about 5′ and seems happy otherwise. The odd pink continues up the plant in a few vertical patches but ONLY one one side.
I am hoping you will say that the pink is just sunburn and the brown was rot that has apparently been handled, as the top looks good and has grown several feet past the brown at the base. If you do, I will do a happy dance. I love this baby and don’t want to have to lop it off at the top. But I’m a little worried these patches are something more serious. Boo!
Two, in the first photo (which also shows the euphorbia’s height), I would love your help ID’ing that beautiful purple plant in the hanging basket. I bought it when it was just a few spindly arms and, since repotting it, it’s grown and segmented quite beautifully, with tiny pink blossoms along the length sometimes blooming. However it does seem the segments are a bit thinner and I am wondering if I am not taking proper care of it. It gets some direct morning light and then a good deal of bright shade the rest of the day.
Thank you for any help you can provide. Love you guys! Wish you were closer! (I’m in San Diego!)
Lindsey
Lindsey,
The pink does look like sunburn – when it was repotted maybe it got turned around?
The brown does look like some rot as a result of the sunburn, caused probably by a fungus. It should be able to heal. I recommend spraying, out of sun, with an organic fungicide like Neem Oil – though don’t use anything called Rose Defense. Watch carefully to make sure it doesn’t continue spreading. If it does, it may be prone to a virus which can then spread quickly throughout the plant.
The hanging basket cactus is a Lepismium cruciforme and probably wants less direct sun than it is getting.
Let me know how it goes
Peter
