Cactus Helpline
Help! The rotten wind knocked my pot full of cacti off the sill and my beloved cacti are all messed up! My tall column cactus is in the worst shape. Although he is still whole, he seems to have internal damage, as in, he feels squishy in some areas. He also has a couple of external damage marks (see white streaking at top and discoloration near bottom). The other sprawling one came completely out of the pot, but otherwise seems Ok, and the other one stayed in the pot and seems Ok also. I am really sick about this. I have had them for years (since tall guy was just a few inches tall) and really hope they can be saved. P. S. Also can you please identify the types?
Thank you,
Louise
Louise,
The tall one is probably a Cereus. The white streaks are where there was bending stress. That should heal over. If the bottom of the cactus is soft and not just discolored then you need to cut the cactus off above the rot and try to root the new cutting.
Basically you need to cut above the rot, making sure there is no rot inside at the cut edge. Spray the cut with hydrogen peroxide and set aside to dry for 2 to 3 weeks.
If you see rot when you cut, keep cutting higher until there is no rot in the branch.
When the branches are fully healed over you can plant them in dry cactus soil and keep dry for a few more weeks. Water only every 3-4 weeks. Do not re-use any of the old soil as it is possibly infected.
The sprawling one, I’m not sure what it is but it looks like it can be repotted just fine.
In general it looks like you needed to repot these into larger pots at this time anyway.
Peter
