Neglected Cacti

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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Massimo
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed May 06, 2020 11:29 pm

Neglected Cacti

Post by Massimo »

Hey everyone.

I am new to cacti and I found these cacti at my parents house. They are quite old and have been neglected for years. They have not been watered or reported since they were bought 5+ years ago!

I want to know what people suggest I do to help the cactus thrive again. I have attached a couple of pictures for you. It appears some parts are dead and some are dying. Should I pot them again in cacti and succulent potting mix and remove the dead parts?

Thank you!
Attachments
Whole cacti
Whole cacti
55744852-C282-4BAC-B533-472AF924ED1C.jpeg (113.37 KiB) Viewed 464 times
Dead/dying area
Dead/dying area
D782E70A-7052-40E9-9788-CA694B12D8F3.jpeg (141.71 KiB) Viewed 464 times
Dead/dying area Close
Dead/dying area Close
9D3034FD-5A8B-43E5-955D-013AC40369F2.jpeg (140.65 KiB) Viewed 464 times
Dead/dying area Further away
Dead/dying area Further away
8AE57452-233A-4A1E-AA17-AE522C89B5F8.jpeg (134.07 KiB) Viewed 464 times
Pereskiopsisdotcom
Posts: 248
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:09 pm
Location: Ottawa - Canada
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Re: Neglected Cacti

Post by Pereskiopsisdotcom »

Others will be able to give you more detailed feedback but I just want to let you know that this is not that bad and far from dead.

The rather stretched one (Austrocylindropuntia or Eve's Eye) is stretching for more light and probably in the worst shape but is totally salvageable. I would take a clean utility knife (sterilize with alcohol or the like) and slice off the very thing and leggy looking growth. The stems that are small but look plump should be fine. Then cut away the brown and stringy looking long ones on the bottom, being careful not to hit the main stem.
http://pereskiopsis.com

Interests include: Rhipsalis, Turbinicarpus, Gymnocalycium, and Lophophora.
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greenknight
Posts: 4872
Joined: Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:18 am
Location: SW Washington State zone 8b

Re: Neglected Cacti

Post by greenknight »

They badly need to be repotted in separate pots.

The one with the "dead/dying" parts is Austrocylindropuntia subulata f. monstrosa. The brown stem at the base is just corking, not dying, though there are some shriveled up branches which are dead. Except for removing those dead bits, I would wait to do pruning on it until after you've got it established in a new pot.

Spring is the time to rehabilitate these. Give them a good soaking, wait 2 or 3 days, then unpot them and blast the roots with a garden hose to remove all the old mix. Separate the individual plants. The tall ones on the left (Cleistocactus, looks like) may be one plant with offsets or separate plants. Anyway, leave them bare-root for several days in a shady, airy place to dry and heal. Then pot them individually with a good gritty mix (see the Cultivation forum) into pots only a little bigger than the existing root balls. Wait a week before watering, so any root damage that occurred in potting them can heal first.

They look healthy, they should do fine. These are all cacti that can get quite large on their own, and they have different growth rates - keeping them together is not an option.
Spence :mrgreen:
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