Stapelia variegata needs diagnosing!

[kiki-do]

Hi All!
I'm hoping someone can help me here. I have a Stapelia variegata that I've had a year and it's been thriving!
Recently, I noticed yellow/orange on three of the ends.
It's in a high light area with other cacti and has been all along. I water it thoroughly when it's dry. It's in cactus soil. I feed it cactus fertilizer once in a great while, maybe two or three times a year. Like I said, it's thrived up to this point. No signs of bugs that I can see on any of my cacti. Anyone know what is wrong? Thanks for any input.

[Tindomul]

No clue, but the second pic looks like some damage on the stem, did you check for mites? Those are real tiny and you will need some good magnifying lenses. I wouldnt hesitate to just knock of those growths and knock off one healthy one and start over just incase this plant goes down hill. That way you have a back up.

[kiki-do]

Thanks so much Tin. How do you start a new growth? Just cut and plant? I've never done that yet.

[Tindomul]

Yea, just cut and plant (so tempted to say paste) I would cut at the base of the stem and plant about 1 inch deep. I did it for mine because I was loosing the whole plant to mealy bugs and I rotted it in my attempt to kill the mealies. So I just cut off two pieces that looked healthy and today I have to plants and one of them is in bud. Also I would cut as large a piece as possible. But hopefully you can still save the original.

[kiki-do]

Thanks, Tin, I will give it a try. Hey, when you cut off the bad part to try and salvage the original plant, will cinnamon work at the cut?

[Tindomul]

yea it should work