Transplant shock? Advice needed please!

[ange]

Hello all,

My first post and I'm asking for help already, sorry!

I'm not very experienced and I'm wondering if my cactus could have transplant shock.
About 7 weeks ago I re potted a lovely unidentified cactus that was pot bound and in very rich soil. I removed all of the old soil and left the cactus un-potted for about a week before potting up into dry, mainly inorganic gritty mix. I kept it out of bright sun and after another week or so I gave it a good watering.
But now it is getting very thin and shriveled looking with paler patches in places. It seems that it's not taking up water as I pushed a wooden skewer into the mix to test for moisture and it came out damp, yet it hasn't been watered for a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure what's gone wrong or how to deal with it. I'm concerned that it's sitting in damp mix whilst apparently not taking water up and I don't want it to rot. Should I remove the cactus from the mix again and dry the mix out before replacing the cactus back in it? This would also give me the opportunity to inspect the roots for signs of rot, but I don't want to go ahead and do it in case it shocks the cactus further and makes things worse.

I've only had the cactus less than a year, it was a gift and I don't know how old it is, but it's about 4 inches in diameter and it was plump and doing fine until I re potted it!

Any advice would be very welcome please, I really don't want to lose this lovely cactus!

Many thanks.

Before re potting

before re potting.jpg (89.29 KiB) Viewed 2299 times

After re potting

after re potting.jpg (94.86 KiB) Viewed 2299 times

[M.B]

It was doing good in the rich soil it was given to in many months ago. Upon repotting into a mainly inorganic gritty mix 7 weeks ago things have gone south. Seems like a soil issue. The grtty mix being checked with a skewer is still moist after 2 weeks does not sound good. I think you are on the right track with wanting to remove it from that soil and giving it another go.

[iann]

Is that a baby Melocactus? Seems likely. It might inform your cultivation decisions to be sure of that.

7 weeks is nothing. Patience is a virtue (so I'm told!) and you have to be prepared to wait a couple of months before considering a transplant to be established.

It seems fairly certain that your plant is not taking up water properly if the soil is still wet after two weeks. So it isn't much of a step to decide it hasn't established properly. I'd take it out of the pot and be sure. The alternative is to potentially leave it in wet soil with roots that aren't working, which will kill it. Did the roots it already have comfortably fill that slightly large-looking pot?

The colour has gone from what I would call deep-shade highly-fertilised green to a slightly peaky patchy paler green. That could simply be from having no roots, but could also be down to suddenly getting direct sunlight after growing in a factory for 2 years (perhaps followed by many weeks in a shipping container and dark warehouse). I wouldn't be too frightened of the colour it is now, but you'll be able to judge better when you see if it has any roots.

[ange]

Thank you very much M.B and Ian for your speedy and helpful replies.

Your replies have made me think and realise at least 2 errors I have made.

Firstly not having a definite identification - I wondered if it might be a melocactus of some sort as I spent a long time looking online and it seemed an option, but I don't have the knowledge to positively identify it. A positive ID would have helped with soil choice for the re pot, as well as other aspects of cultivation of course.

Second error - it is over potted - Ian, the roots only fill maybe half of the pot... if that. I didn't think about that until you asked the question, I thought the very free draining soil would allow me to put it in a bigger pot. I have much to learn.

Plan of action:
Remove from the soil and check the roots. If they still look OK:
Ask on the identification forum for help with ID!
Put it in a smaller pot with appropriate soil for the cactus (dry soil?)
Cross my fingers and don't make the same mistakes again!!

Thank you so much for your help

[iann]

Basically sounds good, but be prepared for plan B when you see if the roots are healthy.

[ange]

Ian, how right you are, I think it's time for plan B, I just took the cactus out of the soil to find things are not so good.

The root mass has decreased since re potting and the roots are fragile and break very easily. It's all very damp and there is white mould growing on the roots.
The only good news I can report is that there are new roots forming at the base of the cactus.

I'm really guessing at things now and would very much appreciate any advice as I'm definitely out of my depth and probably way off the mark but...

Plan B...

Bathe the roots in hydrogen peroxide?? I've read quite a bit on the forums about using it to help with fungi etc, I don't have any in the house but can get some tomorrow. I do have cinnamon in the house which I have read can also be useful.

Leave the cactus un potted to allow it to dry out and heal?

Re pot after a week or so in a smaller pot.

Thank you And thank you for advising me to look at the roots before it was too late!

[iann]

Is it mould, or is it just fine feeder roots? Could be that you have some dead roots there. First thing is to dry them out thoroughly, then remove anything dead or rotting.

[jmoney]

Is it mould, or is it just fine feeder roots? Could be that you have some dead roots there. First thing is to dry them out thoroughly, then remove anything dead or rotting.

I agree. I don't think the roots are moldy at all. The consistent color/fuzziness of a lot of the older roots looks to me like normal 'aged' roots. I'm not quite sure how to explain it but I think the roots are good.

[ange]

Thank you for all this help

Perhaps things aren't as grim as I thought!

I've never seen the fine feeder roots on an adult before, only on tiny seedlings, and there were none on this cactus when I initially re potted it, so I don't really know what I'm looking for
I wonder if you would mind casting your eyes over the macro shots please?
The "white stuff" does only appear to be on the older, thicker roots (I doubt mould is that choosy and would surely have colonized the whole root mass...)

The rest of the finer roots I think are dead as they just pull away in my fingers with the slightest touch and are brittle and straw-like (they were not like that before re potting). These I will remove.

I have bought some hydrogen peroxide, do you think it's worthwhile bathing the roots in this? I certainly don't want to make matters worse!

Thank you

roots.jpg (169.96 KiB) Viewed 2247 times

roots2.jpg (187.1 KiB) Viewed 2247 times

[greenknight]

Looks like healthy root hairs to me, not mold. A dip in peroxide wouldn't hurt.

[ange]

Hello,

Your advice has been invaluable, thank you all for being so kind to help and share your knowledge!

I'm relieved that it's normal feeder roots and not mould! Panic took over - (cactus in trouble, white stuff... mould!!) - this cactus is special to me as it was a gift from my (equally cactus mad) sister.

I'll cut off the dead roots, bathe the remaining roots and leave to dry and heal for a week, then re pot (much smaller pot!). Just need to study melocactus cultivation now to make sure I re pot it into suitable soil and treat it properly, I've never kept a melocactus before. Much to learn!

Fingers crossed!