Reviving an Opuntia tuna’cristata’

[Mrs.Green]

Any tips on how to best trying to save this cactus , greatly appreciated I got this yesterday cheap, since it isn’t in a great shape as seen. I am pretty sure it’s an Opuntia tuna ‘cristata’? As seen its seems to be pretty dehydrated. The plant came in a huge clay pot, filled with some sort of mineral substrate, clearly repotted in this before sale. The ‘original ‘ substrate the cactus has grown in seems to mostly organic. I have removed a lot of the substrate but there is still some left as seen.
Looking at the roots, I am not sure if they are alive or dry.

I have never had a cristate cactus before and as said, this seems to be pretty dehydrated. I am unsure what would be the best thing to do next? Remove all the soil and repot it, hope it will grow new roots or let the remaining soil stay ? I am thinking that since its so dehydrated, it may be safer to let the remaining soil stay, hoping that some of the roots are still alive. Removing all the soil and risk damaging the existing roots even more could be fatal, since its so dehydrated?

[greenknight]

If it was potted in a free-draining mineral mix while the roots were encased in dried-out peat, this is what you'd get - water would just drain past the peat without wetting it.

You need to remove all that peat. The first thing to do is soak the root ball in lukewarm water, you could add a little soap to act as a wetting agent. This will soften up that stuff and make it easier to remove, and also start the process of re-hydrating the cactus. Then you can clean the roots and repot in a proper mix.

[Mrs.Green]

If it was potted in a free-draining mineral mix while the roots were encased in dried-out peat, this is what you'd get - water would just drain past the peat without wetting it.

You need to remove all that peat. The first thing to do is soak the root ball in lukewarm water, you could add a little soap to act as a wetting agent. This will soften up that stuff and make it easier to remove, and also start the process of re-hydrating the cactus. Then you can clean the roots and repot in a proper mix.

Thank you Greenknight Now to the question how to rehydrate it? The soil left on the roots( in the pic) got wet without problems but there is no signs so far that the cactus have been able to take up water.. After taking the pic I placed the rootball with the remaining soil on a saucer and gave it a bit more water. As said, the substrate is wet but there is no visible ‘fattening’ of the plant. I suspect the roots may have dried to much.

So what to do next then? I have been thinking of placing the rootpart in a glass of water, taking care that the body itself it not touching the water. Or maybe there is a better methods available?

[greenknight]

Even if the roots are alive, the root hairs were gone, and they are the part that absorbs water. These can be grown in a matter of hours, but it still means there's a delay before the roots are able to take up water. I would leave it on the saucer for a day or two and see what happens.

If the roots are alive they will grow new root hairs and take up water. If the roots are completely dead, it's probably done for, since it doesn't look ;like it has enough moisture left in it to grow new roots.

[Mrs.Green]

Even if the roots are alive, the root hairs were gone, and they are the part that absorbs water. These can be grown in a matter of hours, but it still means there's a delay before the roots are able to take up water. I would leave it on the saucer for a day or two and see what happens.

If the roots are alive they will grow new root hairs and take up water. If the roots are completely dead, it's probably done for, since it doesn't look ;like it has enough moisture left in it to grow new roots.

Thank you Greenknight

I will try that. If is was a normal cactus, the base would be much smaller/narrower which would have made it easier to control that the neck wouldn’t stand in water/ get to wet. Since this plant seems to be rooted all over the surface, it is impossible to do that. I am tempted to mist it a bit but then the cauliflower growing pattern may retain water, making it rot..

[Mrs.Green]

Update; The reviving seems to be working Instead of using a saucer I found a drinking glass with narrow opening, fetched some water from a stream( thinking that ‘live’ water was better than the current ‘dead’ tapwater ) I placed the glass on top on a lightfitting ( aquarium) that is on 24/7.

The best way to describe the cacti when bought is comparing it to a dehydrated broccollihead. If you have bought a fresh head, you know that prying ‘inside’ the head is almost impossible without breaking it. Leave it to dehydrate for a while an you can easily look ‘inside’. When I bought the cacti, I could look ‘inside’ all those wrinkles without any problem, now it is resisting any prying between the ‘wrinkles’.

Since there is quite a bit of soil left, I don’t dare wait much longer before potting it, I am afraid it will rot. Fingers crossed for successfull rooting and survival

[greenknight]

Great to hear. I'm not really surprised - Opuntias can survive a lot of shriveling - but it was definitely in a bad way.

I agree that you don't want to soak it too long, due to the risk of rot. Time to pot it up.

Here's a tip for your next rescue: Roots that are completely dried out and dead become brittle. Roots are still flexible are okay.

[Mrs.Green]

Great to hear. I'm not really surprised - Opuntias can survive a lot of shriveling - but it was definitely in a bad way.

I agree that you don't want to soak it too long, due to the risk of rot. Time to pot it up.

Here's a tip for your next rescue: Roots that are completely dried out and dead become brittle. Roots are still flexible are okay.

Thank you very much Greenknight When I took it out of the pot, the roots was very thin, like fine hairs, so I wasn’t able to see or rather feel if they were flexible or brittle in this case. On other cacti I have the, the roots are thicker but they haven’t been that dehydrated .