Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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Shane
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Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

I'm trying to save a sick cactus I got yesterday. It was unidentified, but I believe it is a Grusonia pulchella. The bottom half inch of the stem is brown and shriveled. Just above the dead part some roots are growing but have not yet reached the dirt. I'm not sure if the dead area is from rot (it's not squishy though) or something else. Is it possible it was rotting and the rot just dried out? Or maybe the problem was just lack of water to begin with?

My ideas for saving are: water the roots with a q-tip to keep them alive and mound dirt up under the roots, or cut off the very healthy looking top branches (about 1'' each, the whole plant is maybe 4'') and plant them, or some combination. I'm afraid cutting the dead part will kill the roots since it's so close, and I also wonder if the top branches are even large enough to plant

Any thoughts?

ps I'm working on getting pictures
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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hegar
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by hegar »

Just based on your description, I would plant the cactus in such a way as to cover the roots. Your plant is just one stem that was obtained from a group of several stems. As a result, the base does not have a normal color. So there is nothing to worry about. If there were a rot present, the base would be softer than the rest of the plant and decay quickly, releasing a foul-smelling brownish liquid.

Harald
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Shane
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

Sadly I still can't find my camera, but I'm 90% sure the base is dead. It's shriveled down to a quarter width of the healthier stem, and the stem above it getting pale, like it's cut off from water/nutrients

I'm worried the dead part might rot? Should I be worried? Can I do anything to keep it from rotting and still save the roots?
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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Shane
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

I took some pictures with my computer's webcam, sorry for the very poor quality. It's a little hard to see the brown shriveled part I'm concerned about since it blends in with the dirt, I circled it in one picture

Any guesses as to what happened to that part? Too dry? Disease?
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Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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Aiko
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Aiko »

Looks like rot. To save the rest of the plant, you need to cut off the rotting part. Cut so much off you only have healthy looking tissue left on the top part of the plant. Then you allow the top part wounds to dry out for a few days, put it up in some soil, don't water in the mean time (there are no roots to take up the water), and just sit and wait for a few weeks or - probably - months for new roots to appear. Once roots appear, you can start watering just a tiny bit.

Then just avoid anything you did from now on that caused the rot in the first place. Usually the watering regime is the cause. Golden rule with succulents: when in doubt if the plant needs water, don't water!
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toadstar
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by toadstar »

Perhaps a more gritty soil mix as well would be needed when you replant.
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Shane
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

You can't see it in the pictures, but right above the dead part there are roots growing out of the main stem. I'm guessing I can't or it's not worth trying to save them?

And in terms of maximizing my chance of success, is it better to try to root the whole thing or give up entirely on the main stem and try to root the 4 smaller branches in the hopes one will live?

Thanks everyone for your opinions
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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hegar
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by hegar »

I would go ahead and cut the main stem off, using a sterile knife. You can make the first cut just about one half inch above the discolored region and check, if there is any discoloration present. Then desinfect the knife blade with rubbing alcohol or diluted bleach ( 1 part bleach to 2 or 3 parts water), or by heating the blade and make a final cut one half inch up from the last cut. Let the cut heal by placing the stem on its side for a week or so, until a leathery callus layer has closed the wound. After that you can plant it in a clean, well-draining growing medium with a low organic matter content.
If the rot is still present, you will see the discoloration reappear. Then it would perhaps be time just cut off the side branches and try to root them.
At times though, the microorganism responsible for the rot has already spread throughout the plant and may lurk even in the seemingly healthy plant tissue. Then the chance of saving the plant is approaching 0 percent.

Harald
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Shane
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

I cut the stem earlier today and dusted it with rooting hormone. It is already starting to callous nicely (I live in a dry climate)
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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Shane
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

UPDATE: The cutting rooted!
It's growing a large mass of healthy looking roots

Also, the base has continued to grow roots, and the necrosis doesn't seem to be spreading. Which makes me wonder if cutting was necessary, but hey maybe I'll have two
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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Shane
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

ANOTHER UPDATE:

A year and a half later, the top has grown nicely, despite at times poor environmental conditions. It's happy and growing right now and I think it might be starting to flower

The bottom also grew an new shoot, although it's not as nice or happy. It's currently dormant, but I repotted and moved it with the other one so hopefully it'll start growing soon

I appreciate all the help and advice I got when I first posted. I wanted to post an update so the people who responded originally know they made a difference
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Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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hegar
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by hegar »

I am glad, that your cholla is doing well. These plants are pretty tough and forgiving of mistakes made with their cultivation. If the root section is also still alive, perhaps there was no rot involved and you were just dealing with corking, a natural physiological occurrence with cacti.
Well, now you do have two plants for the price of one. :)

Harald
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Shane
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by Shane »

hegar wrote: Sat May 11, 2019 1:09 am If the root section is also still alive, perhaps there was no rot involved and you were just dealing with corking, a natural physiological occurrence with cacti.
To this day, I still don't know what was wrong with it. The base was shriveled, brittle, and clearly dead but hard and dry; not rot-like at all (while I was making the cutting, the dead part snapped and it was completely dry inside). The upper part looked healthy and was starting to grow roots right above the dead area. I cut it in two thinking the still living lower stem would soon infect the rest of the plant. But it doesn't seem to have been infected with anything. My best guess is the pot got too hot and killed the roots and base. But that's just a theory...
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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hegar
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Re: Trying to save a dwarf Cholla

Post by hegar »

Well, Shane, plants can be somewhat mysterious. They do have the capacity to compartmentalize parts of them, which die and the rest continues to live. I do have a Peniocereus maculatus plant, which never fails to have a part of the upper stem die for no apparent reason. The lost growth is then made up by the plant during the remaining season. I wish I knew what the cause for this is. It seems to happen anytime during the year. The last time around the cactus lost turgor pressure while it was being kept inside over the winter months. It also has happened in late summer. A small piece died back after I placed it outdoors in the shade of my never-blooming Wisteria vine. However, the dieback has stopped. My other Peniocereus has also had a good part of its main stem die back. Then it grew another replacement stem from near the top of the live tissue. By now the plant does have two healthy side stems from that same main trunk (stem). They did flower (6 blossoms, and maybe five more to come), but the main stem stays bare! The most likely reason for this is, that that stem is staked and pretty vertical, while the two side branches are a little more horizontally oriented.

Harald
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