So I put this little box of cactus together 2 year ago and one has been growing pretty quickly, so I need to re pot him on his own now?

How do I take care of this mammillaria during winter? I heard somewhere that I have to keep temperature low (around 50°) in order for it to flower. Is it true, and if yes, how do I archive that? :D And I’m also confused about the watering. I understand that I have to water it much less than in summer. But does it mean like once a month or? How long do I have to keep it in dry soil?

Additional information: my room temperature stays around 70-73°. And I live in Finland, so unfortunately we will get only about 6-7 hours of light in winter.

Just flowered today, the flower is not supposed to be a bit red too ?

I’m super excited, I’m new to the hobby and I’ve had this Mammillaria for a few months now and today after a cupple weeks these buds have turned into flowers Do you know if they can selfpollinate or they need another plant to produce fruits?

M

Hello everyone!

Here’s some help for those also struggling with woolly aphids!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t avoid this infestation either. This year, I tried many methods:

•	Repotting + cleaning with warm water.
•	Tried all the insecticides available on the market.
•	At one point, I was even squishing them with a wooden stick.
•	Etc.

Nothing worked!

I fought for months, but I could only slow them down, not eliminate them!

What finally worked and brought 100% results instantly was isopropyl alcohol!

I made a 70% solution by adding water and thoroughly sprayed all the plants with it.

The plants didn’t suffer any damage because the alcohol evaporated very quickly from them, but the woolly aphids and their larvae died immediately and dried up!

I sprayed them two weeks ago, and since then, I’ve been monitoring my plants closely. I haven’t seen a single one, even on the most heavily infested ones!

If you also keep your plants indoors, like I do, make sure to VENTILATE VERY THOROUGHLY because after spraying even 4-5 plants, the air will be so concentrated with alcohol that it’s unpleasant and could even be flammable! Make sure no young children, pets, etc., are around, and avoid doing this with a cigarette in your mouth!

How to do this:

You can use a regular spray bottle.

Spray the soil as well, not just the plant!

Make sure not a single square millimeter is left dry!

For plants with a white woolly covering, spray them enough that tiny droplets form on the “fur” so the alcohol can take full effect.

If you notice any remaining infected areas, repeat the process in 2-3 weeks!

I especially recommend this for those who are about to bring their plants indoors for the winter, because woolly aphids will spread like crazy by spring!

My mixture was 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water.

I hope this helps!

Foto: from google for illustration

Picked up this stunner of a cactus and couldn’t be happier.

Just ran out of rain water, don’t want to use tap water and no shops have distilled water, can I use this? Thanks.

Caught a mealybug attack too late and gave it a double dip in some neem oil along with some anti fungal stuff afterwards. Doesn’t look too happy. Can this bounce back? Watered it once since and its now sitting on heat but thinking this things already too far gone.

Thoughts?

Had this bugger for like 5 years and am curious just what it is, I’ve never seen one with fluff.

I have a squatter in my rat tail

The plant looks perfectly fine, but this yellowish thing at the bottom is really concerning.

I was actually looking for a different one that I thought I saw in the corner of my eye on a previous drive. Ended up finding this one instead.