torch pup breaks through

[Salvi]

Hey guys, I thought this was kind of interesting. Normally when I see pups, they come off at the base of the cactus at the soil line or so. However, this one looks like its been growing underground for a significant amount of time and decided to suddenly crack through the dirt today. What a great surprise!

However, it looks like due to being underground for so long, there are some small spots of rot. Do you guys think now that its exposed to fresh air and sunlight that it will be alright on its own?

Here's the prolific T. peruvianus:

showing rot:

Obviously, I have cleared as much soil off it as the surrounding roots will allow. However, much of it is still below the roots, so that I can't get it all above the dirt. Or is that fine, since the tip is out? Either way, all comments are welcome. Thanks

[Rev]

Make sure she doesnt get sunburnt

maybe put something over to allow airflow but give shade till the green comes back

A small square of shadecloth would suit or even some paper

[Flip]

depending upon your local conditions

the tunneling puppy will be fine.

I think that the main concerns is damage caused by watering,

creating skin abrasions providing a route for fungal infecction

and now that it's been uncovered..

perhaps a bit of sunburn

I think she'll green up just fine

as long as the direct sun isn't beating down on her

let her be.

my worry with shadecloth laying on top is that it'll create a micro-enviroment

with water droplets/ high humidity that will promote surface

thriving bacteria and fungi (akin to damping).

if you feel the need, provide some light protection

but make sure that there is air flow.

bests

[Salvi]

Ah, thanks for the pointers guys. I think what I will do is put a bit of paper over it during the day

and take it off as the sun goes down until it's adapted to the light.

Other than that, I'll see how she progresses and probably post an update pic.

[Ed Dunkel]

You could always turn the pot so that the pup is in the shade of the mother for most of the time.

Nice pup by the way

[spaced]

I don't s'pose you want to dig it up for the sake of science and see exactly where the branching is originating from? How did you come to acquire this one? Is it seed grown or from cuttings or from the nursery (+/-repotted)? One possibility is that the plant was buried a bit too deep and the pup is just shooting up from above the root system, as a good part of the stem is buried underground. If thats the case I'd probably want to clear a bit of the soil around the stem and replace it with rocks to promote ventilation and thus avoid fungal problems. Otherwise your cactus is just a freak so enjoy it for what it is and I'm sure it will be fine.

[Salvi]

This cactus originated as a 20 inch tip cutting. I'm pretty sure the pop is just popping out of one of the aereoles that were buried deeply. I set it about 3 inches into the soil probably. I'm not sure how this depth compares to what everyone else does.

I think I might dig a bit to check out the rest of it when I bring it inside in the near future.

[spaced]

I tend to bury cuttings about an inch deep at the most and support the cactus with rocks to prevent it falling over. But the Trichocereus are a fairly forgiving lot, so you can probably get away with going a bit deeper. I've had other cacti rot right off at the base and I've only buried them an inch at the most, one of which was one of those white haired cacti, which I never managed to revive. But then again I also leave most my specimems outside over winter

[spaced]

[ 01. October 2004, 01:13: Message edited by: spaced ]

[Salvi]

Well, here's that update. Looks like that pup is progressing and greening up pretty good. However, there appears to be another troublemaker.

Check out the new pup. This one actually has a large root directly across the growing tip..Will this force the pup to pup? Should I sacrifice the root or the pup..or just untangle them? It's not a huge deal to me if the pup doesn't survive, I just think this is kind of curious.

As you can see, I threw in some other pics of the same cactus just for fun.

Yep, they're now inside under the old 400 watt hps.

(Apologies for the image rich post)

[strangebrew]

Jeez you're lucky, my pachanoi hasn't pupped for years.

I'd be inclined to cut the root and maybe put some fungicide on the cut if you're fussy.

It'll be a great looking plant in a year or two!