mamillaria bocasana fred rotting

[DiscoStu]

hi so just checked on my fred plant and it turns out it's just started dissolving into black mouldy goop. i don't understand why i don't water it that often (less than once a week) and it's only in dappled sun on the counter below a bright window. is this something that happens to them often? they just keel over all of a sudden or should I have watered it virtually never?

[hostilis]

Well if it was inside then watering it once a week may have been too much. Was it in a plastic or terra cotta pot?

[DiscoStu]

plastic, i would have put it outside but it seemed extra sensitive to light and got burnt even in cool spring sun

[GoOnThen]

Get it out of the pot and start cutting the rot off. When you have got the last of it sterilize your knife and take another thin piece. If you end up with a piece big enough to root dust it with sulfur. If you only end up with small pieces graft them. You can graft very small pieces onto pere.

I don't have much time at the moment but i will try and get back to this later.

Cheers

Got

[Dreamwalker.]

I just un-rooted a similar mamillaria today.............mealy bugs..................its roots are still in tack........but needed a good soapy wash................I was thinking of sacrificing the root and grafting it onto a trich......for vigour and robustness...........mamillaria's are a lot of hassle for something so small.............

[Schrodinger's Khat]

Sounds like it might be time to graft as mentioned above. It always breaks my heart when cutting up cacti, but on the other hand, Fred grows well so on the plus side you will end up with multiple Fred's..