Benzito Posted March 30, 2005 That 'erection problems' thing got you all looking didn't it? I got a T. Bridgesii about 30cm long from SAB on a recent visit to their nursery. So, I took the cactii home still potted up, and just slipped the pot contents into a larger pot and filled around it with cactus potting mix. One mistake I made at the time was to water it in well after re-potting. I actually soaked the pot like you would when repotting vascular plants. Anyways, I have had this cactii for a little over a month now, but it seems to be bending over a little bit. It was perfectly straight when I got it, but now it has a slight lean to one side. I do rotate it every week so the whole plant is receiving sunlight. What the hell is wrong with my cactus? I haven't fertilised it, and I've really only watered it a couple of times since I got it. Any advice? Has anyone had their columnar cactii go flaccid before? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teonanacatl Posted March 31, 2005 i would check the side which its leaning to for any bites or wounds or rot, even dig a little into the dirt to see. has it just lent over or is it bending at a certain point??? could also need some water but dont do that yet.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macro Posted March 31, 2005 Hmm, I've seen this before, and I reckon rot is the most likely suspect. I'd pull the whole cactus out of the soil and check for rot of any kind. Press firmly the surface of the cactus for any squishiness, you'll know when you hit it (rather than just juicy flesh). If you find rot, cut the cactus off as far as you have to and a little bit more with a sterile knife, recalous, then plant. When you get a new cactus, it's best to pot, then wait a few weeks for the thing to readjust to its surrounds before you give it some water. I've learnt the hard way, with columnar ones, as well as with some beautiful opuntias. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smogs Posted March 31, 2005 dont be too hasty on the cut... they can recover from squishyness mine went squishy coz of all the damn rain in sydney now and i just moved it outa the rain and left it a month without watering then gave it a little bit and that firmed it up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teonanacatl Posted March 31, 2005 yeah my one that suffered a impact injury when squish and so i peeled off the squishy skin and scraped the crap out sprayed with fungicide and its fine now :D back into the rain it goes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benzito Posted March 31, 2005 Thanks guys. I don't want to do anything too hasty, so I don't think I'll pull it up just yet. The poor baby is already stressed from my poor care. It is more a slight lean from the base, like the tower of pisa. Not a bend as such. It does feel like it's a little bit 'squishier' at the base than the top, and it is a slightly darker green at the base too. (by base I mean the bottom 2 inches or so) Some of the spines have grown an inch or two since I got it, so I figured it was doing OK. But now I have my doubts. This is also my first time keeping cactii, I've only kept annual, vascular plants before. So I really don't have any reference points to go off. I only just noticed aswell, that it has actually developed about 3 or 4 small white spots. They look almost like little calcium deposits or something, and are only 1-2mm in diameter, but they don't just scratch off the surface. I'm hoping to get a digital camera soon, but don't hold your breath for pictures. Any further help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys, Ben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smogs Posted March 31, 2005 the spots are just natural scarification dont worrie about it... it sounds like your cacti might just be falling over because its top heavy and its roots arnt in firmly yet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flip Posted April 2, 2005 you may just wish to repot deeper into the mix. I'm weary of most cacti mixes that I've seen offered these plants can take much more water than other "cacti" look in the forums for recommended mixes and it won't hurt to let any newly received plant to "rest" a week to heal up from shipping or transplanting before watering. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benzito Posted April 2, 2005 quote: and it won't hurt to let any newly received plant to "rest" a week to heal up from shipping or transplanting before watering. Yeah, I learnt that about 30 minutes after I thoroughly soaked the pot with water. There was still water draining from the soil as I read this somewhere else on the net. I felt like such a fool. But, the transport itself wouldn't have been that stressful. I personally went to SAB nursery, and brought it back in my car. All my plants got better care on the trip back than my girlfriend did. When I repotted it, I kinda did leave about 1cm exposed that was previously under the soil. So, the cactus has a slight brown ring around the base. But the brown ring seems to just be from where the soil level was before, and the ring's appearance hasn't really changed at all in the past 6 weeks or so that I've had it so I'm not too worried about it. Well, I moved it inside to stop any rain upsetting it, and I might just pile some more gravel on top of the mix to help stabilise it a bit. It doesn't sound like anything that life threatening from what you guys are saying. If it gets worse though, I'll try to get pics. I did give my little bro a digital camera for his birthday a month ago, I can prolly borrow it. Maybe I should've bought myself one instead. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
