We Get Questions from Malaysia
We like questions from all over the world.
Interesting addition to this morning’s post about a hylocereus in habitat, we now get a little bit of hylocereus used as a root stock for a grafted cactus.
hello. im elya and i need ur help!! i have a hibotan cactus. its a cactus left by my late best friend. so it really means a lot to me. i hope u can help me.
well,firstly,i have no idea whatsoever on how to take care a cactus. in fact,i just know that its called hibotan cactus today when i searched the net. u see im a university student and im very busy. so i really dont schedule when i water it. and at first i just leave it in my room. and i am a very very careless person. i knocked it down for 3 times already i think. the rest are done by the wind. and when its knocked down,usually it will fall out of the pot. with the soil still attached to the cactus. i know i know,im very careless.. but yeah. i still love it so so much though. hmm.. anyway,in 3,4 days now,the cactus’ head is going black!!!! i think i over water it i guess!!! here’s the picture of it. i hope it can still be saved. oh yes,my university is kinda in a rural area and i dont even know if theres a gardening store nearby. i hope its still saveable……
hope to hear you soon.
p/s: please reply to my email. and u can post it in the blog if you like. thank you. hope in hearing you soon.
— elya,Malaysia
Elya,
What you have is a grafted and irradiated cactus on top of a hylocereus base. The colorful grafted top portion is dead and probably just came to the end of its mutated lifespan. It was a nice touch of color while it lasted.
However, the hylocereus base can survive and grow into an amazing plant. I recommend you cut off the dead portion, spray the cut end with hydrogen peroxide to help it heal, and repot the rooted base in fresh, fast draining cactus soil. Keep dry, and don’t water for a couple weeks.
Good luck
Peter
