I have two Opuntia Snow cacti that have grown and looked great. They both showed tremendous growth. But recently two petals have fallen off. One on each plant. I have saved them both, thinking that I would attempt to propagate them in new pots of cactus medium.
However, I recently noticed that the small white speckles I had noticed appear to have spread to another cactus. At first I thought these little white speckles were just a characteristic of Opuntia Snow, just like their fine white hair like spikes. But whatever this is, it has spread to a small Red Moon cactus.
Is there anything that can be done to correct this?
I'm familiar with many funguses with regular vegetable gardening like powdery mildew etc.
But I have no idea what this is and if there is any spray or addition that can keep this from spreading to all the other cacti.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I apologize for the pink (magenta hue) in the photos this is from one of my plant lights.
The 1st photo is the two petals that fell off and have been allowed to dry the cut wounds out, in order to propagate.
The 2nd photo is a close up of the speckles on one Opuntia Snow.
3rd photo shows it having spread to the Red Moon cactus.
4th photo shows close-up of the Red Moon cactus white speckles.

Close up of Two petals that fell off.




Close up of the speckles on one Opuntia Snow still potted.



Photo showing white speckle spread to the Red Moon cactus



Close-up of the Red Moon cactus with new white speckles, that I just discovered this morning.

kclson said:I have two Opuntia Snow cacti that have grown and looked great. They both showed tremendous growth. But recently two petals have fallen off. One on each plant. I have saved them both, thinking that I would attempt to propagate them in new pots of cactus medium.
However, I recently noticed that the small white speckles I had noticed appear to have spread to another cactus. At first I thought these little white speckles were just a characteristic of Opuntia Snow, just like their fine white hair like spikes. But whatever this is, it has spread to a small Red Moon cactus.
Is there anything that can be done to correct this?
I'm familiar with many funguses with regular vegetable gardening like powdery mildew etc.
But I have no idea what this is and if there is any spray or addition that can keep this from spreading to all the other cacti.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I apologize for the pink (magenta hue) in the photos this is from one of my plant lights.
The 1st photo is the two petals that fell off and have been allowed to dry the cut wounds out, in order to propagate.
The 2nd photo is a close up of the speckles on one Opuntia Snow.
3rd photo shows it having spread to the Red Moon cactus.
4th photo shows close-up of the Red Moon cactus white speckles.

Close up of Two petals that fell off.




Close up of the speckles on one Opuntia Snow still potted.



Photo showing white speckle spread to the Red Moon cactus



Close-up of the Red Moon cactus with new white speckles, that I just discovered this morning.

Check out Cochineal Scale. Try to get some of the white and rub it between your fingers. If it looks like you've been bleeding after you rub it, then you'll know for sure. If you can confirm it's scale, then you know you have an insect and go from there. Here's a link to a thread in this forum addressing Cochineal scale The thread "Cochineal/grey scale on prickly pear" in Cactus and Succulents forum

That is cochineal scale but it will not release the same red dye that the softer insects produce. It's a really really bad infestation. I would not keep the plant. The bugs are contagious and you will have to remove them all mechanically if you want to keep the plant. To do this, fill a small cup with 70% ethanol or insecticidal soap (1-2% mild kitchen soap will work for this purpose) and dip a toothbrush in this before using it to scrub the surface of the plant. Physical removal is most of the solution, but you will have to be vigilant and remove the bugs again when they come back (as they inevitably will, given the state of affairs). After the bugs are gone there will be small scars where each of the larger ones latched on to the stem, so the plant will probably be disfigured for life. So it's not a great prognosis even under the best of conditions.