We Get Selenicereus Pteranthus Questions
After some back and forth that I shan’t bother you with here, we start the conversation mid stream.
Hi thank you for such a quick response! I took some additional photos for you. Orange spots? Rust? I got this guy 3 years ago from a friend, never knew what it was until last year, i was fertilizing him every chance i had got all of last year as i wanted to see the flowers. Come to think of it the snails ate the ends of all the new growth, which were pretty long when they snails got to them, about 3feet long, so it stopped all growth and yet i was still fertilizing, so all of last year it didn’t grow. Maybe it held too much water, weight and fertilizer. Do your nursery grow these? and if so what are their needs? I cant really find any info on this special guy. I have him in morning sun to afternoon sun (3pm) here in California. and only water when dry, about how much longer until i can expect some blooms? Thank you so much for your help, you really helped me understand whats going on, i was about to whack it back and start over! (please ignore my sun burnt variegated fatsia! lol)
Warren
Warren,
That looks like a fungus (rust or similar) so you should treat with Neem Oil in a 2% solution, spray to the point of run-off and keep out of the sun for a day or two. Retreat after a week to ten days twice and that should take care of it. You should scatter some Sluggo around your plant, snails and slugs will eat the blooms before they can open! I have one of these in a large hanging basket in the back of our greenhouse where it is doing it’s best “to take over the world”. I treat it like a standard jungle cacti and grow in an orchid/jungle cactus mix and water about oce a week. I fertilize with a slow release cactus fertilizer once a year and hit it with bloom food (fish bone meal) in the fall and spring. You may be giving yours too much afternoon light, they like bright inderect sun in the afternoon. Think jungles and that they grow up with orchids on tree limbs sort of light. You will get lots of blooms if you treat it more like an orchid than a cactus.
Good luck,
Hap
