Pic attached

It is burned. Too much light, not enough water.. I find this plant harder to grow than other Echies. The rosettes seem to just get smaller and smaller over time.

Thanks Breton! I was really worried about scale or bugs and such. When I tried scrapping the brown tips, there were no signs of any red discharge or movement.

Glad to hear the plant is still salvageable.

I guess I have to water this guy more often.

It's funny how I'm thirsting most of my plants to death now given the neglect.

It's interesting to hear this is such a fussy plant.

Here's another pic of a leaf cutting that I propagated last spring.

Good to know!! I think Rina mentioned some time ago that scales produces red liquid when squished or removed.

B, start collecting the red ones and open NS's first cochineal dye store. There's your random fortune for today.

Jeff, I don't know if I'm ready to start a cochineal farm yet. LOL!

Bernard, sorry, my comment was directed to The Other B.

Haha, thanks Jeff, but I think the days of making a fortune off cochineal dye are way past. Plus where would I put all those Opuntias???

Bernard, mealies usually make a reddish spot when squished. The green ones I found were odd, but were quickly eradicated, thankfully.

The reddish mess is blood (and maybe guts too?)...yuck. That's easy way to determined if the 'spot' is a living creature (meaning bug that needs to be destroyed), or just some random spot or oedema.

Rina

Breton - I've killed countless of mealies with my surgical grade pointy tweezers, haven't really encountered the red juices yet. Not that I would want to encounter them!

Rina - sounds really gruesome.. and I do agree on the annihilation of such useless bugs

I think the red fluid is definitely more noticeable when you squish them flat with a rubbing-alcohol quip, compared to pinching them with forceps, now that I think about it...

wow, I never knew these bugs had a natural reaction to alcohol. maybe i'll try that next time..

...get them drunk, they won't run away so fast...Bernard, not sure what is more gruesome - tweezers or alcohol soaked cotton ball...:)

Supposedly the alcohol dissolves their outer coating and penetrates into their body, killing them..

Rina, I get the satisfaction nabbing them with my claws of death and it gets through those nooks and cranny that the q-tip can't reach.

That's where a squirt bottle of alcohol comes in handy!

hmm great idea breton.

I usually soak my claws in alcohol before i nab them. Double whammy!