Possible Rot?

[Eglantine]

Greetings, All!
I am new and have enjoyed perusing the site and forums. I have two cacti I am concerned about and thought I would post them here in the hopes that someone can offer advice.

Cactus 1 has started turning yellow/brown at the base and I fear it is rot though it does not seem to be soft. The roots look okay. Should I cut it and try to re-root it? It also has crystals on the ends of some spines. Does anyone know what causes this and is it harmful to the plant?

Cactus 2 This one was neglected for about a year before I brought it home a month or so ago. The base looked soft and a darker green/brown than the rest of the plant, though it doesn't seem to be soft now. Again, is this rot? Should I cut and re-root?

Both cacti are at least 10 years old and I have no idea what type they are.

Thanks so much for any help you can offer!

Cheers,
~Eglantine~

[Steve Johnson]

To get started here, do this:

http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 24&t=43819

It would also be helpful if you can identify the species, so go to the Cacti Identification forum, but be sure to read this first:

http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... =3&t=45443

I don't see a rot problem, but I do have to wonder if the roots are as healthy as they should be. The only way to tell -- unpot the plants and take a good look at the roots. If you post photos of what you see, we may be able to give you some guidance.

[Eglantine]

Thanks so much for the reply! It's comforting to know it doesn't look like rot to you. I'll try to get some pictures of the roots and a possible identification.

Cheers,
~Eglantine~

[Eglantine]

Greetings,
I unpotted one and took a picture of the roots. It actually looks pretty dark now that I've attached it, so maybe I will try to get a better picture too.

~Eglantine~

[Steve Johnson]

I unpotted one and took a picture of the roots.

From what I can see, it looks like you have too much soil in the mix. I'll recommend that you lean it out more -- 3 or 4 parts pumice (best, although crushed granite poultry grit is fine too) to 1 part soil. And mix it, don't layer the ingredients -- layering causes perched water tables, always bad for cactus roots. Before you repot, clean as much of the soil out of the roots as you can. If you lose roots in the process, don't worry, your cactus will make more. I also highly recommend soaking them in 1% Hydrogen peroxide for a half-hour. This does 2 things:

• It kills potential plant pathogens that could cause rot. If you have root mealybugs (including their eggs), it kills them too.

• Peroxide promotes faster healing of the roots after repotting.

Here's the setup I use:




Once the roots are completely dry, repot the plant in fresh, dry mix, let them settle in for 2 weeks, then water. You have about 6 weeks left in the growing season, so water every 2 weeks until the end of September. After that, cacti go dormant, at which point their roots stop taking up water. Zone 3 is bitterly cold during winter, so it's best if you keep your cactus "housebound" in the fall and winter. You may want to give it an occasional sip (sip, don't soak!), although I think you'll be fine if you keep it dry until the plant starts growing again in spring.

[Eglantine]

Thank you so much for the helpful reply and photos! I'll try that and give you an update sometime. I really appreciate it! No worries about the winter - these are full-time house plants.

Cheers,
~Eglantine~