Cereus repandus turning black at cut site

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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velacreations
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Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 3:59 pm

Cereus repandus turning black at cut site

Post by velacreations »

I just got some cuttings of Cereus repandus (Peruvian apple cactus), and one of the cuttings is turning black at the cut, almost like rot.

Should I recut it higher up, plant it, what?

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jmoney
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Re: Cereus repandus turning black at cut site

Post by jmoney »

Cut it off with a clean, sharp knife higher than the rot. Make sure the cut surface is green and not brown in any areas on the cut surface or it will just rot again.
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hegar
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Re: Cereus repandus turning black at cut site

Post by hegar »

jmoney's advice is good. I also believe, that a rot has set in. Make sure, that you disinfect the knife with either rubbing alcohol or a bleach solution.
Then place the cactus on its side for a week or so, until a tough skin (callus layer) has formed.
To speed up root formation, you can also apply rooting hormone to the cut surface. I used to dip the fresh cut into a powder of Rootone. This was a fungicide/rooting hormone blend and it worked really well.
Most cacti will readily form roots though. Just ensure, that the callus layer has formed, before placing the cactus stem into a mineral soil, which is best for your plant. You can look up how to prepare a good cactus growing medium by clicking on the tab above in the first row called "Growing Cacti".
Best of luck with your plant.


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velacreations
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Re: Cereus repandus turning black at cut site

Post by velacreations »

I've been using a growing medium of sand, peat, perlite and gravel for my other cacti, so I will use it with this one. This is one out of several cuttings with this species, but it's the only cutting that had an issue. I have it setting right now to callous, it already has a decent callous forming even after 1 day.

Thanks for the help and suggestions!
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