GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Help please

enigma · 11-04-2008, 12:13 PM posted to rec.gardens

(paghat) wrote in
:

The flies are devouring what already started to rot from
too much moisture. I doubt you can save the cactus but if
any part of it seems good, cut that off and give it to
someone who has some experience rooting cactus segments.
You can try it yourself but there's a knack to it, seems
simple enough once you get good at it, but rarely works
first couple tries, especially with someone who couldn't
keep a whole cactus alive. It would've taken me at least
three years to kill it!

three years? i have cactuses that have been around &
expanding for over 25 years. it was the one type of plant the
feline hordes left alone. unfortunately the same isn't true of
the current puppy horde... the Boston Terrier puppy *loves*
cactus.
anyway, it depends on the variety of cactus how hard it is to
root, & it's generally far easier to root a top segment or
'arm' than a slice. i've always had sucess by just placing the
piece to be rooted on damp cactus medium & ignoring it for a
while, just moistening the soil every other week or so. i've
also found bits of broken off cactus 'arm' on the floor behind
the pot with roots starting. i just pot those up.
the cactus in the photo looks pretty doomed though. the tip
is shriveled & s/he states the bottom part is mushy. i would
attempt cutting off the shriveled tip & potting that in damp
cactus mix in a pot with *good* drainage & seeing if it might
root. the key words being "cactus mix" (lots of sharp sand for
air & drainage), "damp" (not soggy!), & "drainage" (let the
poor thing dry out).
cactus thrive on neglect, for the most part. let them dry out
between waterings. if you *must* fertilize, use an extremely
dilute mix & do it only once/year (i do fertilize mine in the
spring before i kick them out the door for the summer).
and if you move them outside for the summer & you live in a
non-arid region, be prepared to move them under cover if it
rains.
most houseplant cactuses die from too much attention.
lee

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