No Roots

[Ladybird_mt]

Hello, I'm hoping someone will be able to help me with this problem. I've had this cactus for around 20 years and recently it toppled over and I noticed it doesn't have any roots. It also has a tiny hole, however, the bottom of the cacti is hard, I cannot see soft spots anywhere and when I cut off a tiny bit close to the hole, underneath it appeared healthy. Unfortunately I've neglected it during the past year, not that I wanted to do that. I've got a photo of it but I wasn't able to attach it. Thanks for any advice you can give me.

[Ladybird_mt]

Hi, I've been trying to post the photo of my cactus but I'm getting the message: Sorry, the board attachment quota has been reached. I've just realised that I haven't inserted the name of my cactus, sorry about that, it was careless of me. My cactus is a tall Echinopsis Arebaloi. Thanks!

[greenknight]

All you can do is try to re-root it in the spring. If you keep it cool it should survive the winter without roots just fine. Most Echinopsis root easily, so the chances for it are good.

[Ladybird_mt]

Thanks Spence. At the moment it's not in a pot because I wasn't sure what to do with it. I read somewhere that the bottom should be cut off and dried off before repotting but the cactus hasn't got any soft spots; towards the bottom (on the side) it has a little hole where it's also rather bent. Should I keep it outdoors? We're getting close to winter here but we have mild weather. It's in the porch where it gets some warm light but no sun. I wish I could post a photo but I just haven't been able to download it here.

[greenknight]

If the base of the cactus is alive, and there's no rot, no reason to cut it. I would think it lost its roots from getting too dry, they will do that. The one in my avatar picture lost its roots over the winter a few years ago - I'd let it get too root bound, and it dried out faster than the rest, in the spring I found it had no roots. I just re-potted it into the smallest pot it fit in, without watering it, and checked it occasionally for root growth. It soon sprouted a whole ring of roots, and I gave it some water. Within a couple months it had filled that little pot with roots, and I re-potted it into a pot the size it had been in previously. The next year it bloomed as if nothing had happened, and I moved it to a size larger pot.

You should add your location to your profile, it helps those offering advice to tailor it to your climate. You mentioned in an earlier post that you're on Malta - yes, in that kind of climate you can definitely leave it outdoors, that porch should be fine. You could go ahead and pot it now - just hold off watering until it has roots. You could mist it to help keep it from drying out.

That hole is worrying, though - is there any insect frass? I would like to see a picture, if you can't attach one, you could upload it to an image hosting site and post a link - there's a discussion of the problem in the "General" forum.

[Ladybird_mt]

Hello, thanks for posting again. I've checked out the discussion about the image problem and downloaded it at http://postimg.org/image/oyjeqzdzb/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; The hole is tiny and it is on the left side, about 2 to 3 inches from the bottom. There doesn't seem to be any insect problem. I will update my profile as you suggested. Thanks again