Flower buds stalling out

16 years ago

Sooo Im having this issue where my buds seem to stall. They started out very nicely a month and a half ago. They emerged quickly and then stopped at a small size. Just enough to show they are there but they been this way for over a month. This is happening to quite a few of my cacti. I got concerned after I saw this "stalling" on others and I am curious as to what may cause this.

I have two gymnocalycium balianum's and a Gymno mahanovichii doing it and on the larger baldianum,they seem to develope to a certain size and then dry up and fall off. My Chamaelobivia rose quartz is doing that same thing and a few Notocactus have stalled out as well.

My roomate just got a Nikon D90 and a macro lens so he is counting on me to get them blooms going so he can test out his new camera.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Steve

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Comments (5)

tjicken
16 years ago
How much do you water them while the buds develop?
xerophyte NYC
16 years ago
Flowering is considered to be a metabolically demanding process. tjicken is onto something - your plants may need more water than you realize.

Either that or it's a sign that something may be going on with the roots that they are unable to draw moisture or nutrients.

Has there been any major change in the plant's environment? Like a sudden cold or hot spell? Or an extended period of cloudy conditions?

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perfect_specimen
16 years ago
I have had this happen too. Could be mealy bugs on the roots or not enough water.
plant_junkie
Original Author
16 years ago
I think it is a combination of the two first suggestions and Im not ruling out the mealies either. I havent been watering them too much recently because we have had alot of rain, cool and cloudy conditions for the last 3 weeks or so. they have been moved to a protected area so that they dont start rotting. Meanwhile, I havent been watering them because I dont want them to start stretching. Where I have them has poor light conditions. Its my only option for a protective area at this point. I get kinda bummed everytime I see one of the blooms dry up and drop off :(

I thought perhaps it was a fertilizer issue. I havent fertilized yet this year and I am wondering if i should. I dont get great light quality even in my best spots. i think the fert would ulitmately cause more problems and stretched growth. Maybe if I trim a few trees I will have better luck.

Thank you for your responses. This eases my worries. I will be checking for mealie bugs this evening.

Steve
perfect_specimen
16 years ago
Our NorCali spring has been ATROCIOUS! It's like the Wilamette Valley in Oregon here now and there's no end in site- showers and 50s/60s for the next 7 days :( But as long as I keep it relatively dry, I get blooms and growth.

I have found that in my climate, it's best to let plant dry out before re-watering- even when blooming; blooms remain stationary when ground is wet. Ever notice in a desert a few days after a thunderstorm a lot of blooms come out? I have had some flower buds just sit there or grow very slowly and then the ground dries out and I get a bloom from a half-developed Rebutia bud in THREE DAYS...