Bruised Cactus?

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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roseebee
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Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:53 am

Bruised Cactus?

Post by roseebee »

Hi! I just brought my moon cactus to my dorm earlier this month and today I noticed that around the bottom, the stalk is really soft and a shade darker than the rest. I wish I could post a pic but I'm new to this forum, not sure how to.
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MagiCarpus
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Location: Toronto, Ontario. Canada

Re: Bruised Cactus?

Post by MagiCarpus »

From the description it seemed like the green "stem", or more accurately the stock, usually from Hylocereus spp. Has rotted likely due to too much moisture.

Cut the rotted tissue away a few centimetres into where healthy tissue starts. Allow the wound to form callus for a week or more, then reinsert the plant back into dry, well drained medium. Only restart water once new roots have sprouted.
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greenknight
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Re: Bruised Cactus?

Post by greenknight »

Yep, if there's enough of the stock left un-rotted you should be able to reroot it that way. Those Hylocereus root pretty easily.

To post a photo, click Full Editor & Preview > Attachments > Add Files.
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roseebee
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Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:53 am

Re: Bruised Cactus?

Post by roseebee »

The entire bottom of the stem is soft. Can I cut it completely away from the roots?
Also I tried to post a picture and it said the file was too big?
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greenknight
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Re: Bruised Cactus?

Post by greenknight »

The roots are undoubtedly rotten, too. The only way you might possibly save it is to cut it off.

The "moon cactus" is a mutation (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii f. Hibotan) which has no chlorophyll and can't survive on its own, so they're always grafted onto another cactus. http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus ... hanovichii

They usually use Hylocereus cuttings for this because they're big fast-growing plants (cheap to produce) and they root easily. That easy rooting is in your favor, but you need to save enough of that stock to be able to support the graft. The sooner you cut it off, the better your chances of saving it.

There were some problems with a forum update that are now fixed - try again to post the photo. If it still doesn't work, there are 2 ways to go - either crop the image on a computer or upload it to an image hosting site and post a link to it.
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