Silver torch cacti taller one sick

[MadridPeter]

Hello all this is a follow on from the previous post about a pair of cacti in the same pot ..one is taller and sickly with a discolouration on the top of the stem and broken stem surface ..the top half is thin and not very hairy ..along the rest its long spines are brown unlike its partner which is shorter has entry of hair and yellow spines..have a look at these pictures and comment! I am thinking of taking it somewhere to get the two stems separated and put in different pots as I don't know how to do that without damaging roots and spines ..is that the correct course of action ??

[cactushobbyman]

Tall one, growth tip looks dead. Smaller looks good. If you want, repot the good one. Cut off the bad part from the sick one and repot it.

[MadridPeter]

Should you seal or cauterise the cut part? How much should I cut? I wonder also what the best way to separate the two stems without damaging spines or roots!! Hmm

[greenknight]

No special treatment needed, just cut it off. If there's rot you need to cut well clear of that, but if it's just shriveled you're really cutting just for cosmetic purposes - it would look ugly to have that dried-up part there.

A good way to handle the plant without too much spine damage is to use "newspaper tongs" - roll up newspaper and fold the roll in the middle, open it out into a V, get the cactus stem in the angle of the V, fold the two halves together so the stem is squeezed between them. Thick leather gloves are still advisable.

You will cause some root damage when you repot, no way to avoid that, but roots heal. Don't water for a couple weeks after repotting, giving them ample time to heal, thus avoiding root rot.

Proceed with confidence - remember, cacti are tough!

[MadridPeter]

Think I will cut and also try to separate them into 2 pots as long as they are not from the same root!