Worried I'm killing my cacti

[nathanaelDC]

Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated!

I recently moved to California from the east coast, and since the move I have noticed a change for the worse in some of my cacti/succulents.

Despite my best attempts to be an educated plant owner, I feel like I am bumbling my way through this, and now that I have endangered some of my oldest plants I am growing increasingly concerned.

For starters, the plant in question, purchased at Home Depot about 7 years ago and labeled a Madagascar Palm (photo attached- sorry that it is sideways- clearly my computer skills are right up there with my plant skills), has seemingly never grown, and only once produced leaves, which promptly withered.

Since the move to California, my plants now live outdoors, but as always, I have followed the directions that accompanied the plant- direct sun, warm temperatures (never exposed to frost), and watering once the soil is dry- so during the winter about once every two weeks.

While checking on my plants the other day, I noticed the brown and soft section of the palm (hopefully captured well in the picture). Based off my initial searches, I am worried this is rot, and due to the location and extent, beyond the point off allowing for easy removal.

Any help, any suggestions, any ideas on what I can do to save my palm would be tremendously appreciated. And if it is too late, I am more than open to feedback as to what I did wrong and what I could/should do moving forward so as to not endanger other plants.

Thank you so much for reading.

[Steve Johnson]

Unfortunately I can't help you re. the Madagascar palm since I only grow desert cacti. However, the big difference in climate between DC and California should make your cacti happy about the change. Not sure if I'll have the time to go through everything this week, but over the weekend perhaps this lifelong Angeleno here can give you some helpful tips on how to get the most out of your California climate. By the way, what part of the state are you living in? And which cacti are you having trouble with? With that info in hand, let's see if I can give you some well-targeted advice.

[nathanaelDC]

Steve- Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post. I'm up in the Bay Area. Like you said, I had assumed/hope that the climate change between DC and California would make my cacti happy and help them thrive, but unfortunately it seems as though the opposite has been the case (though again, the blame for that likely falls on my shoulders).

Aside from the palm, my aloe has been the plant most impacted by the move (this was going to be my next post but I didn't want to overwhelm the forum with my issues on my first day). Since the move, the color of the aloe has shifted from a vibrant green to primarily a dull brown; the texture has changed from a firm and "succulent" type feel to almost a gummy texture, and brown spots have appeared on most leaves. About a month after first moving out, the aloe looked much worse, and I had to remove many sections and completely repot and had largely given up on him, but since then he has thrown up several new leaves/arms, though all of the gummy, brown and spotted nature.

I unfortunately had to leave the majority of my plants back in DC with willing and cacti-loving friends, and am now having second thoughts about replenishing my collection until I can figure out what I've been doing wrong.

Thanks again for your time and for your generous offer to suggest some strategies. I really appreciate it.

Have a wonderful day.

Best,

Nathanael

[cactushobbyman]

Could be too much direct light on the aloe. The other could be the same.