Dying Opuntia
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BlackDesert21
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:33 pm
- Location: Northern California, USA (zone 7a)
Dying Opuntia
This is a rather unfortunate turn of events. I obtained two hardy prickly pear cuttings last summer from an associate. I live in a zone where it freezes, so come winter we stopped watering the outdoor cacti and put them in a shed. I've been out to check several times since putting them there just after Halloween (they have not been watered since then). This time I noticed a SEVERELY progressed rot on my best pad. Very bad. It seems that the old shed leaks and was dripping on the plant! I turned the pad over so the water that had pooled on it would run off. Is there anything I can do to save this pad? Cut it in half? Will it grow roots? Just leave it to die since there's nothing growing from it? What should I do?
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greenknight
- Posts: 4818
- Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:18 am
- Location: SW Washington State zone 8b
Re: Dying Opuntia
Probably you can save it. Cut it off well clear of the rot, to where you see no discoloration on the cut surface. Good idea to dust the cut with sulfur as insurance against rot. Leave it in a warm, dry, shaded place to dry and callus over for a couple weeks at least.
The best way to plant it is to just lay it on the surface of a pot of growing medium, though inserting it into the medium will work, too. Laying on the surface is the way nature propagates Opuntias, broken-off pads grow roots on their bottom side and send up new shoots, once these are established the old pad shrivels up. Treat it this way and the chance of rot is minimal, the amount of surface available to grow roots is maximized, and you get perfectly-formed new plants.
The best way to plant it is to just lay it on the surface of a pot of growing medium, though inserting it into the medium will work, too. Laying on the surface is the way nature propagates Opuntias, broken-off pads grow roots on their bottom side and send up new shoots, once these are established the old pad shrivels up. Treat it this way and the chance of rot is minimal, the amount of surface available to grow roots is maximized, and you get perfectly-formed new plants.
Spence 