echinocereus coccineus

Cause: Mealy bugs are the most common pest of cacti and succulents and readily settle on Echinocereus in the crown, between the ribs and on the roots; they are small elliptical insects covered in a waxy white meal, and the related root mealy bug shows up as a white dusty substance around the root system and on the inside of the pot.

Solution: Bare the roots of the affected Echinocereus coccineus, wash every trace of old soil off the root ball, then dip the whole plant in a dilute malathion or systemic pesticide solution before repotting into fresh, fast-draining cactus mix.

Prevention: Quarantine every new Echinocereus coccineus and inspect its crown and roots before adding it to the collection, and sterilize the area around any infested plant because the waxy white meal protects mealy bugs from many contact sprays.

80% confidence · View full protocol →

Cause: Spider mites are minute eight-legged arthropods that colonise Echinocereus and surround themselves with very fine webs while sucking sap from the plant body, causing disfigurement or reddening of the stem; they thrive especially in hot and poorly ventilated conditions where the damage on the cactus skin is generally seen before the mites themselves are visible to the naked eye.

Solution: Apply a miticide or insecticidal soap to the affected Echinocereus coccineus and repeat treatments because one application is virtually never 100 per cent effective, dusting with sulphur as one of the oldest remedies for spider mite on cacti and succulents.

Prevention: Quarantine new Echinocereus coccineus plants and inspect them closely for fine webbing before adding them to the collection, and watch neighbouring plants upwind and downwind because spider mites disperse on the breeze and reappear as long as a reservoir of host plants remains nearby.

80% confidence · View full protocol →

Cause: Thrips feed on the tender growing tips, ribs and flower buds of Echinocereus, leaving a bronze or silver cast of scar tissue on the cactus skin; their damage on succulents is very similar to that of spider mites, scarring the epidermis so badly the plant will survive but takes years to outgrow the marks left on the stem and around the flower buds.

Solution: Inspect the growing point and any open flowers of the Echinocereus coccineus with a magnifier, then spray the cactus and surrounding area with a recommended contact insecticide, repeating applications because new thrips keep drifting in from neighbouring plants through the growing season.

Prevention: Watch plants upwind and downwind of any thrips infestation and remove weeds or spent flowers nearby, because thrips migrate locally on the breeze and reappear as long as a reservoir of host plants remains close to the Echinocereus coccineus.

80% confidence · View full protocol →