Cactus care in India, please help diagnose (pictures incl)

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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CactusIndia
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:31 pm

Cactus care in India, please help diagnose (pictures incl)

Post by CactusIndia »

Hi, I am new comer to this forum as well to the wonderful world of Cacti. I fell in love with them on a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. I am taking care of a cacti collection that has a decent number that look unwell. I will be posting a series of queries with photos of these. I hope the experts on here will be able to help me figure out a way to make these cacti healthy again. Thanks a lot. Here is the first...

I dont know the name of this cactus. A few of these are turning pale green and somewhat shrivelling/looking thin. They are also browning from the lower end. I took one out of the pot and checked the roots, they looked fine (I think...see pic). They live in a glasshouse. The climate here is hot and humid, by the sea. I am posting pics of two other cacti of same kind, still potted. they look paler and shrunk. What might be the problem?
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you can see the all round browning here..
you can see the all round browning here..
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Roots look fine, no?
Roots look fine, no?
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The other ones... pale and browning
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Thanks.
iann
Posts: 17184
Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: England

Re: Cactus care in India, please help diagnose (pictures inc

Post by iann »

Ferocactus. It has lost its roots, or at least most of them, so it is stressed. It can't handle the sun or high heat in this condition and will bleach out. So long as they bleaching doesn't get too bad it will return to normal after a day or two, but better to give it a little protection until it has some roots. The base doesn't look great, you'll have to decide if there is anything alive down there. If it is just that the roots have died back, clean up to good solid roots and re-root it like a cutting. If the whole root system or the base of the cactus is dead then you'll have to chop it off. Then it will take a lot longer to grow back some roots.
--ian
CactusIndia
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:31 pm

Re: Cactus care in India, please help diagnose (pictures inc

Post by CactusIndia »

Hi Iann,

I am posting a better picture I took of the root system, after cleaning out all the soil. would you still say the root system is in bad shape?
Is it because there are not too many of those small white root-lets?
The roots visible are quite strong (not decayed from inside)... but i dont really know how a totally healthy root system of a plant this size/age should be.
The roots visible are quite strong (not decayed from inside)... but i dont really know how a totally healthy root system of a plant this size/age should be.
IMG_8012.jpg (56.54 KiB) Viewed 771 times
iann
Posts: 17184
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Location: England

Re: Cactus care in India, please help diagnose (pictures inc

Post by iann »

Ferocactus roots can be quite extensive, although they might not look huge compared to a plant that size. If the roots that it has seem healthy, then repot it in some fresh soil, possibly in a slightly larger pot although don't go crazy. Then give it some shade for a few weeks, water and see if it perks up. It might just be very thirsty after neglect.
--ian
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cactushobbyman
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Location: Sanger, California

Re: Cactus care in India, please help diagnose (pictures inc

Post by cactushobbyman »

I had a Ferocactus that the gophers ate almost all the roots. I move it to another spot in the garden and it two years to recover. This year it is flowering. If roots look healthy, repot and give it time. :)
CactusIndia
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Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2016 5:31 pm

Re: Cactus care in India, please help diagnose (pictures inc

Post by CactusIndia »

On closer look and messing around with the roots, many of the root branches look dry or wilted like the cactus body. So I am thinking of cutting the dessicated roots and repotting in sand + shade for sometime, to see if it will put out new root growth. I will let you know how that goes. Thanks to all who have responded, and who still may.
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