"CactusPaul" wrote


I have had this cactus since i was 9. It is now 22 years old and in big
trouble. I have come back from travelling for 3 months and it is in a
terrible condition. It has been in the greenhouse over the winter months
and i fear this has contributed to the damage. It appears to be rotten
at the top as half of steam looks eaten away. The bottom i am not so
sure of. I gather that some breads do tend to go a little brown at the
around the bottom anyway. I am just wondering what the best course of
action is. Can i cut the top off where it is rotten? If so, should i do
this and repot the remainder of the plant? Any advice would be most
welcome as i have previously had no trouble with the plant so i am not
knowledgeable about treating them.


I was given a decent sized cacti (no idea what) in the early 70s by an
elderly lady because it never flowered and she thought I needed a challenge.
Some years later I noticed it was rotting at the base, it got wet during the
winter due to dripping condensation which I hadn't noticed. Using thick
gloves I lifted the sound top off the rot and scrubbed out all the rot. I
then left the clean top on the bench for a week or so to callous over. which
it did. I then placed the top onto fresh dry compost and screwed it into
same, gradually introducing moisture after some weeks as the temperature
increased. That plant is still with me and is now flowering every year. No
trace of the near disaster shows.
The small offshoots that were not affected by the rot I just repotted and
those too have done well.

--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK