Help with my cactus rot and stretching

SupFellas · Post by **SupFellas** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:10 pm

Hey, guys, newbie grower here and im off to a bad start. A few months ago I ordered a rooted san pedro and a few peruvian torch cactii and shortly after recieving them I left for a vacation to Peru. So before I left I potted my one rooted san pedro but left the torches in their box. About a month later when I got home my san pedro had some nasty rot on it that I cut off and it is growing now but is very stretched. The torch was discolored at the top and it looks like it got burnt real bad as soon as I put it in the sun. Im wondering if any of you more experienced growers have any advice for me. Is it fine to chop off the top part that is so burnt or should I leave it to grow on its own. Btw it has only been potted for about a week now so its not growing yet if that makes a difference. Also, any advice for the san pedro? Why is it stretching so much? Not enough sun? Too much water? Let me know what you all think. Thanks!
Also note that the san pedro has only been potted for about 3 months and has grown almost a foot but really thin growth.

Post by **daiv** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 1:04 am

Hi! I'm glad you felt comfortable posting your questions here. Everybody has to start somewhere and we don't expect you to join the board as an expert.

As for the burned top - there isn't much need to cut the top off. While the growing point is clearly damaged, it will put out a branch or three from around the top. This is the same thing it would do if cut it anyway.

The other one isn't getting enough sun most likely, but otherwise looks ok. Be sure that that bucket you have it in has some adequate drainage holes at the bottom. You don't want them sitting in water - that is for sure!

Daiv
PS. So you went to Peru?? Where are those Cacti in habitat pics!??

Sbradford89 · Post by **Sbradford89** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 2:14 am

i have to agree with daiv, and ur stretched plant looks like it is putting out a branch at the bottom.

SupFellas · Post by **SupFellas** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 1:53 pm

Thanks for the replies, i'm gonna try to find a spot with more sunlight for them. The pedro is growing another arm, looks like my abuse could have a happy ending with more pedro hehe. Sorry I don't have any natural habitat pics as I spent all of my time in either Lima or the peruvian jungle where cactii don't do too great but they had some really nice cuttings for sale in Lima. One lady Had ~3 foot sections bigger around than my forearm(i'm not very skinny btw) that she offered to sell for 20 soles(about 7 dollars) each. And they are always willing to lower the price a little if you bargain or buy a few at a time. Sadly my suitcases were all full at that point and I was too broke to pay for extra luggage. Next time I go im bringing an empty hardcase with that in mind, though. btw if anyone is planning on visiting I can tell you where to find her easily. Hope you don't have a weak stomach, though, as her stand is right next to the meat market. I have smelled some putrid things in my time and I was gagging walking through there lol. Also, i'd love to share pics but the laptop with ALL of my photos on it just died

but i'm hoping I can get my hard drive backed up when I get some extra disposable income and i'd love to share some pics. Thanks again for your help, maybe i'll post some progress pics later on so you can see how they are doing.

p.s. one more thing. somone reccommended that I cut the stretched part off of the pedro to encourage better new growth. does that seem like a good idea to you guys? thanks again

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 3:10 pm

Plants that have been in low light (or in a box) for awhile, need to be slowly aclimated to stronger light. As you now know, if put out in the sun right away, they will get burnt.

As Daiv said, the new growth will be the same wether you cut the top or not. It may look a little better if you do cut the top, but the results will be the same.

SupFellas · Post by **SupFellas** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 6:40 pm

Sorry, I was asking about cutting the top of the pedro(not the burnt one, the stretched one) Someone told me this would help it grow once it is in better lighting and also then I have two cactii instead of one. Seems reasonable to me, what do you think about that?

hegar · Post by **hegar** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:55 am

Hello SupFellas,
you may want to hold back on your plan about taking an empty suitcase along to Peru, in order to fill it up with cacti. You most likely will lose all of them, once you reach the U.S..Like other plants, and even seeds, cacti are only admitted into the country, if they are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the country of origin. In addition, for cacti you would also need a CITES Export Permit. Both of these documents would be expensive. Also, the plants or cuttings could not exceed a certain size in order to be eligible for entry into the United States of America. Every year a lot of people are bringing cacti across the border from Mexico, only to lose them, because they did not obtain the necessary documents.

Harald

SupFellas · Post by **SupFellas** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 4:22 pm

Ahh, good point, man. I just had high hopes when I saw how cheap the cuttings are there compared to buying them here. Customs did confiscate the lucuma I tried to bring back so I could easily see them taking my cacti too. Don't know why I didn't think of this myself. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Post by **daiv** » Mon Sep 29, 2008 3:59 pm

SupFellas wrote: Don't know why I didn't think of this myself. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Well Harald does this sort of thing for a living so he knows more than most about bringing plants into the U.S.

As for the stretched one... I would leave it as is. You've already got a pup comming from the bottom and the growth on top isn't that bad so just get it to more light and it should turn out fine.