Cactus splitting.

[tripsis]

One of my cacti has begun to split vertically, between the ribs. All sides are splitting to some degree, one very badly, almost as long as the cactus itself. I'm a little worried about rot, as some of the deepest parts are quite dark. I had a close look and it didn't seem like it is rotting, but I would like to ensure that it doesn't begin to.

What is the cause of this and is there a way to prevent it from happening?

Thanks folk!

[strangebrew]

Wow never seen that happen in a pot, only in heavy soil or after winter. Basically it's saying it's had enough water already so stop watering it or get it out of the rain.

IME they seem to handle splitting pretty well though.

[PD.]

IME they seem to handle splitting pretty well though.

[WoodDragon]

Hey Tripsis.

I'd agree with the advice to hold off with the water. It's looking pretty flat-sided, rather than ribby, so it's probably fully juiced-up.

Keep it dry, and reasonably warmish, and it'll probably callus well underneath the split. One day, when it grows sufficiently, it might even shed the callus and the dead tissue above it - some of my trichs and a cereus have done that for aureolae that rotted and then heal underneath.

[dworx]

Could be too much Nitrogen.

[tripsis]

Well, I haven't watered it for sometime, but it has rained a fair bit recently. Surely it should be able to handle outdoor weather without this happening all the time? Or should I bing it under shelter just long enough for it to "rib out" a bit and callous properly?

Can excessive nitrogen do that?

[GingaNinja]

well dont forget the high rainfall periods in AUS arent always the same as the high rainfall periods in countries where these cacti are from

[tripsis]

True, I haven't compared the seasonal rainfall of Peru to my region of the world, but there are cactus farms throughout Australia where there are Trichocereus spp. living with no apparent problems with regards to excessive rain. I suppose I have to consider the difference between being in the ground and a plastic pot though.

[GingaNinja]

hah well i should of stated, that i ahve peruvian cactus, in a climate that rainfall is in the opposite season and have yet to experience that.

but its def somethign to keep in mind i rekon.

[Keenter]

One of my cacti has begun to split vertically, between the ribs. All sides are splitting to some degree, one very badly, almost as long as the cactus itself. I'm a little worried about rot, as some of the deepest parts are quite dark. I had a close look and it didn't seem like it is rotting, but I would like to ensure that it doesn't begin to.

What is the cause of this and is there a way to prevent it from happening?

Thanks folk!

 

[KanJe]

I think it's a sign your doing something right. I don't think it will cause any issues in the future.

What Tricho is it?

[Keenter]

G'day everyone,

I'm new here, but I enjoy learning from this forum for last 7 years roughly.

I've learnt soooo much. Thanks everyone.

Hi,

I'm guessing that the tricho needs to be repotted into a larger pot and

yes it has also sucked in too much water. That combo is just a theoretical guess,

but I'd say that sounds about right.

I love cacti, been growing cacti on and off since 92.

They are an amazing Genera of Plants.

Peace

I COPY and PASTE the info below:

http://www.plot55.com/growing/trichocereus.html

Feeding and Watering

Unlike many cacti, some Trichocereus species respond very well to regular feeding and watering. T. pachanoi and T. peruvianus can both be given regular feeds throughout the growing season, and can be watered daily during the hottest parts of the Summer. Bear in mind though, that if kept damp through cold periods, they will invariably suffer. They should be watered only occasionally during the Spring and Autumn, unless it is unusually warm, and not watered at all during the winter months. Being wet during the winter will cause them to split as they expand with excess water, and they may rot and quickly die. In temperate zones, winter protection will probably be needed. This may involve bringing the plants indoors, but protection from the rain in the form of a makeshift roof or other cover should suffice.

[tripsis]

It's a T. peruvianus var rosei 2.

So I had a close look today and it has progressed to the start of rot. I've brought it under shelter. Other than that should I do anything? I've seen many wounds with rot heal themselves, but this split is pretty large. I could excavate it to some degree and put sulphur in the wound, but I feel that that will probably just worsen things.

They are an amazing Genera of Plants.

Cacti actually belong to a family, Cactaceae. Trichoereus is a genus.

[KanJe]

Hey Tripsis, can you post an new image of where you think the rot is?

[WoodDragon]

So I had a close look today and it has progressed to the start of rot.

Ouch, that's never a nice thing to see.

Still, all is not lost. As I said I've had trichs and cereus rot at aureolae, and subsequently heal. Bringing it in was probably the first thing to do: if you can even bring it inside into low humidity for a while, that might not hurt.

I'd hold off digging away the split tissue for a bit, as hard as it might be to resist. You might consider though trying what I did once - I dabbed a rotting aureola with straight methylated spirit on a cotton tip. Be careful to keep it (as much as you can) just to the exposed surface; metho dissolves the wax of healthy cactus epithelium. Perhaps you could dribble a bit in at one end, and tip the cactus to let it run the length of the split. Leave it there a minute or so and then tip away any metho that hasn't evaporated.

Theoretically, if you add 20-25 ml water per 80 ml of metho, you'll get close to 75% ethanol in the mix - accounting for any water already in the metho. 75% ethanol is the optimum concentration for ethanol penetration: above that the ethanol denatures cellular protein and prevents further passage through the denatured surface, and below that it's not as effective. This is why 75% ethanol is used as a sterilant in labs - higher ethanol concentrations than this can, ironically, quickly form a 'skin' of denatured tissue that protects infection below the surface. I didn't bother diluting it though, and it still seemed to do the job for me.

Adding sulphur might work too, although it might not get right into any infected tissue if there's any deep rot. The easiest way to get sulphur in would be to tip the cactus on its side and dribble the power into the split, and gently tap the cactus to work the sulphur down. Of course, if you have to do all sides, some sulphur will end up falling out again! I have no simple anser to that other than perhaps to add sulphur after metho, and hope that it sticks (what a mess), or to just add it to the worst side.

Alternatively you could just wait a few days and see if any action is actually required. As long as the atmosphere is relative low in humidity (as is the inside of a house if it's electrically heated) cacti seem to be able to deal with stuff like this. Maybe someone else who has had splits as bad as yours could comment about it - a wound of this size and nature is a bit out of my experience, and the simple thing might just be to suck it and see.

[tripsis]

It is definitely rot, but here's a photo anyway. I stuck a small stick in there and rotten black tissue gave way easily to the slight pressure I exerted on it.

If there is deep rot, would metho have any effect anyway? Surely more than sulphur, due to it being able to permeate into tissue, but it could only go so far in a minute. It might even make things worse, killing the plant cells along with any bacterial cells. I am tempted to dig at it, but feel that if the plant is already on top of thing, it could just create problems. But if it isn't, maybe I would be able to save it. I've had cacti with rotted areoles too, but just left them and the problem righted itself. This split is far bigger than an areoles though. Not an easy decision when there's no real way of telling what's going on internally without lopping it in half, something I am loathe to do.

It's only the one split that has begun to rot. The others are much smaller and are already callousing well.

[WoodDragon]

Tripsis.

Erk!

That's past a dab of metho, I reckon.

Either consider something like mancozeb, or as you say, maybe carefully take a scalpel to it. Perhaps a scalpel and then a fungicide?

I wonder how far in it goes?

[tripsis]

I couldn't resist, I had to have a dig, despite logic telling me I shouldn't. It isn't very deep at all, only a few mm. I didn't dig at all of it, but the region I did dig at I put sulphur in. Will see what it's like in a couple of days before I decide to do anything else.

Mancozeb is a fungicide. Wouldn't rot be bacterial?

[mutant]

I had this happen to a Harissia stock where a Strombocactus is grafted on.

[WoodDragon]

Mancozeb is a fungicide. Wouldn't rot be bacterial?

 

Actually, yeah, quite likely.

I have black mould on the brain from my mum's roses... The 'zeb wouldn't be much chop if your black rot is bacterial.

Still, it it's shallow you should be OK. Keep it dry, and see how it goes.

[phemohilia]

Well, SWIM knows a guy that has a FOAF that is wondering if a cactus splits like the one below, is it all over with or is there still hope???

It's nearly a half inch wide gash, it has only just split today, SWIM thinks it might be from going a little heavy on the watering....

[PD.]

ya loph will be fine Phem, they lookn a lil etoliated tho, move the light closer .

Tripsis you bad bad man, why did you dig into the wound???? LOL easiest way for that crap to spread imo, is better left alone. That scar doesnt look too bad at all, doesnt look like rot has set in, more like the rot is eating what was dead anyways. Like said, cant hurt to bring it inside if you are worried but stop diggin at it man, leave it alone and itll heal, if not then there is plenty of rosei out there, not like its a vari or crested loph. Trichos are tuff bastids, if a wound like that takes hold on one of mine i let it go, usually they clear up with scarring, rarely the rot will travel to inner core and take hold, after that the only way to fix it is cut of that section/branch and turf it.

let it be let it be

[PD.]

btw, that pic in ya first post dont look much like rosei#2 at all!!!!

[phemohilia]

Thanks a million PD, SWIM really appreciates it!!!!