Root rot - what to do?

[darine]

I've got a cactus (actually three, they were in the same pot) with root rot. I've had other problems with them like pests ever since I got them but recently their stems started turning black. The smallest one was beyond saving so I just dug it up and threw it away. The other two are fairly big, 75 and 35 cm even after cutting so I'm hoping I'll be able to save them. I cut all the black and some more away but there's some orange inside. Is it normal? What should I do next?

Here's some pictures.

[darine]

Also, what would be a good soil mix when I repot the cactus? I live in Japan and the humidity stays over 60% the whole year, in summer it goes over 80%. I got the cactus in summer and in half a year I watered it only 3 times.. Then again it was in a plastic pot and I'm pretty sure the soil was one of those commercial cactus soils you can buy at a home depot.

There are two windows in the room, one to the south and one to the west. Actually the window to the west is glass doors so they let in more light than the small window to the south. I keep the cactus right next to the glass doors.

Any ideas how to proceed?

[greenknight]

The orange color is not normal, you should cut off more. Here's a site that shows the procedure for growing cuttings very clearly - http://www.mushmush.nl/?page=begin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;\methods\growing_cacti_from_cuttings&old

Commercial cactus mixes are mostly pretty bad, they don't have enough drainage. If you mix them about 50/50 with grit that tends to be about right. In the Cultivation forum you'll find lots of info on what to use.

In a climate with high humidity you want to have especially free-draining soil.

[Baxter]

^^^ yep, these are problems I've had in the past. As a result I've taken to using very coarse mixes.

Try putting it somewhere relatively dry and dark & see if you can get the cutting to calous over a perhaps try to root. good luck!