Although fairy castle cacti are exquisite, they have their own problems. As a cactus owner, you need to know fairy castle cactus problems and solutions for those problems. In this article, I am going to explain this to you.
01. Fairy castle cactus turning yellow
Fairy castle cactus may turn yellow mainly due to over watering. Over watering could take place when you water the soil when they are already moist, when you provide excess water.
Not only that but also, if you grow them in a poor draining soil mix it would also lead to over watering and lead for these conditions.
Over watering is one of the most commonly occurring problems. As such, to avoid this condition it is crucial that you always water the plants only if they are dry and provide a fast-draining soil mix.
If you are not sure whether their soil is dry or moist, I recommend using a soil moisture meter and checking the moisture in the soil mix.
Alternatively, you may place your finger and check on the soil condition as well. You could simply place the finger in the soil mix for a few inches and check whether it is dry or moist. That way you could avoid over watering contributing to the yellowing of the Fairy castle cactus.
Yellowing literally means the Fairy castle cactus are rotting. In addition to over watering, pests’ attacks and diseases can also contribute to this condition.
If you ever come across these situations, it is crucial that you react at the very moment and take necessary steps to protect the plants.
02. Fairy castle cactus drooping
If you had ever come across a situation where your Fairy castle cactus has dropped, it could be due to several factors.
However, out of all these, choosing a wrong soil mix, over watering, growing the plants in a way too large pot could result in this condition.
In addition to that, frost damage, less exposure for sunlight and mealy bug infestation may also pave the way for the Fairy castle cactus drooping.
The lapses in watering such as over watering would result in this condition. further chose only a slightly larger pot for the Fairy castle cactus.
Do not go ahead with an excessively larger pot as it would create an unhealthy growing environment for the plants. Forgetting to water them once or twice will not create a major impact on the health deterioration.
Instead, if you over water them, it would result in drooping in the plants and it may even kill the plants too. forgetting to water them once or twice does not make a major impact on the health deterioration on the plants.
These are anyway used to grow in hot and dry conditions, and they can thrive well despite you forgetting to water them once or twice. Under watering would not make them suffer from drooping, but over watering could.
In addition to that, poor drainage in the soil would also result in the drooping in the Fairy castle cactus. If you keep growing the plants in a poor draining soil mix, it will make the plants sit in soggy soil mix.
As a result of it, your precious Fairy castle cactus may start to suffer from root rot. Besides, your chosen pots need to have a generous drainage as well.
Literally you need to keep in mind that you should mimic the same conditions they get in the wild when you cultivate them too.
03. Fairy castle cactus brown spots
If you spot your Fairy castle cactus has formed brown spots, that literally means the plant’s health is not up to the standard. It could happen due to numerous reasons such as over watering, pest infestation etc.
Having said that, if you spot any browning of the Fairy castle cactus stem bottom part, that is more like a part of their growing process.
04. Pest and diseases
Fairy castle cactus may suffer from pests attacks periodically particularly if they find favorable conditions for them.
For example, bugs such as mealybugs may try to invade the Fairy castle cactus as they depend on the plant’s nutrients mainly.
Eventually it may make the plants dehydrated and droop as well. You can identify these little creatures easily.
In fact, they would tend to look like cotton like white spots. If you observe them much closer, you could see them moving around too.
However, if you ever come across these nasty little creatures you need to remove them at that time itself. Further you may use a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol and rub the plants surface too.
Besides you could use a neem oil spray and treat the bugs once a week and that will avoid them coming back.
In addition to mealybugs, scale, spider mites’ fungus gnats may also tend to attack them on and off.
To overcome these pests, you may use high pressure water, insecticidal soap and neem oil as well. On another note, I recommend conducting inspections on these plants on a regular basis so that you can identify if there are any early signs of any upcoming issues. That will help you to overcome these diseases easier.
Moreover, ensure that you are using a well-draining soil mix as then it would be less attractive for the pests. Furthermore, if there are any decaying plant materials, you need to get rid of them as well.
Literally if you keep your gardens clean, the pests will find it less attractive to invade them. It is always best to quarantine the newly bought plants so that it will not spread pests for your precious Fairy castle cactus if they already have any.
05. Frost damage
Fairy castle cactus are not cold hardy plants. As such if you keep growing them outdoors during a frost, it will make the plants droop.
Hence best recommended would be to bring them indoors to protect the plants from frost. However, if you had left them exposed to frost mistakenly chances are that it could deteriorate the health of the plants.
Literally it would make the plants rot and result in death if you do not treat them properly. However, if you act fast, you could save your precious Fairy castle cactus from frost damage.
To save the frost damaged Fairy castle cactus, you need to first closely look at the yellowed and blackened plants parts.
Then try to feel the mush parts using your fingers. Literally if there are frost damages, it would make those areas soft and discolored also.
Next, you may take a sharp knife and sanitize it with rubbing alcohol and with 10 % bleach solution. After that, you could cut the mushy discolored areas with that.
Next you may apply some sulfur powder on the exposed areas of flesh, and this would act as an effective fungicide.
Ensure that you do not keep the plants closer to humid and moist areas as it would worsen the condition of the plants. if you adhere to these steps, they will start to grow back.
06. Root rot
Root rot is a commonly spotted disease among the Fairy castle cactus. Over watering and poor drainage in the soil mix are two main reasons for this. If your Fairy castle cactus are suffering from this, first you need to cut back on watering.
Next, observe the plants well. It is somewhat difficult to identify root rot at the beginning. However the earlier you identify it the easier it would be to save the plants., you could simply remove all the rotten plant parts first.
Next apply some fungicides and treat them. After that you could plant them in a well-draining soil mix. The signs of root rot are such, yellowing, plants getting mushy and soft etc.
Next, ensure that you stick to the right growing care tips as unless chances are that your plants may suffer once again from root rot.
How do you revive Fairy Castle Cactus?
Proper watering
When it comes to watering the Fairy castle cactus, you need to bear in mind to water them only if their soil is dry.
If you stick to these guidelines, it is very unlikely that you will end up having over watering conditions. Over watering is the biggest culprit for many of the issues, disease of the Fairy castle cactus. Further chances are that it may even pave the way for the deaths of the plants too.
If your Fairy castle cactus is overwatered, you could see they are plump in appearance. Further it would contribute to root rot as well.
Ultimately rot would spread right throughout the plants. Hence why it is critically important to water them well. Keep in mind that you need to adjust the watering depending on the seasons as well.
For example, you need to water them once every two to three weeks during summer and spring whereas you could limit it to once every month during fall. I recommend skipping watering them during winter.
Enough sunlight
Fairy castle cactus are very demanding when it comes to sunlight. Hence when you grow them outdoors, you need to select a place where they can have bright full sunlight in the morning hours.
However, if you have kept them grown indoors for some time and wish to bring them outdoors, you need to slowly accustom them to full sunlight.
If you end up exposing them to full sunlight at once, it would result in scorching. Sunburn does not create any fatal impact on the plants.
However, it would make the plants look less attractive. Besides, those sunburns will remain on the plants forever and you cannot get rid of them despite what you do.
When you grow them as indoor plants, ensure that you locate them in a spot where they can gain sufficient sunlight and it could most probably be a bright sunny windowsill.
I recommend placing grow lights closer to the plants if they still starve for adequate sunlight levels. Ideally you need to go ahead with a full spectrum grow light for this purpose.
Anybody can afford buying that as they are relatively less expensive. If you keep growing them starving for proper sunlight, it will make them etiolated. Moreover, it would make the plant’s stems and the branches yellow.
Correct temperature
Fairy castle cactus do not tolerate colder temperatures. Hence i don’t urge you to place the plants closer to cold drafts as there will be fluctuations in temperature in those areas.
Further Never expose them to freezing temperatures too. If any colder weather is predicted you need to protect the plants by shifting them indoors.
Final thoughts
Fairy castle cactus are a very attractive set of plants and they do not require a major care treatment from you.
All you need to do is to fulfill their three main requisites such as proper watering, well-draining soil mix and adequate sunlight levels.
To sum up, if you practice the right growing care tips, it is very unlikely that you have to go through these conditions.. Instead Fairy castle cactus will flourish and grow to their best potential.
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