Cactus question

[HorseGirlAbby]

Hi everyone! My family has had this little Old Lady cactus for probably ten years or so now, and we haven’t really taken the best care of it It’s not gotten much bigger at all, in those ten years, but I’m pretty sure it’s still alive, as it’s green, and every few weeks I have to turn in around as it starts leaning towards the sun. I just transplanted this little guy a few days ago into a much bigger pot than the one it was in, and I noticed when I transplanted it that it’s pretty brown towards the bottom. Does this mean it’s slowly dying, or is it alright? I’ve been watering it once a week or so for the past month and a half, which is probably the best watering it’s gotten in a while…It’s in a south facing window, and it gets full sun when it’s sunny, which is all of summer and most of spring and fall as well here. It’s been cloudy lately, but it is winter, so…

Anyway, I’m just wondering if I’m taking care of this little guy properly. I do have some cacti that live outside, but this one is gonna be a houseplant, though it might take some trips out in the summer.
Here it is! I need to name it

 

[GodLovesU]

I water my cacti once a month.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I water my cacti once a month.

Thanks, but all that I’ve read says to water this one once a week or when it feels dry.

 

[fluffycrow]

Looks a lot like a mammillaria I had for a while, or at least, something close to it. I found it an easy to care for, hardy little succulent. A bit of a pain to repot given its spine positioning.

Browning can be visible at the bottom of the succulent, near the soil. It happens to a lot of my succulents. What is not normal is for said brown part to be squishy, watery and slightly see-through. The best way to check for that is to find a stick, a skewer, or anything that you could use to gently poke at the area to get a feel for how squishy or healthy it is. If your cactus is indeed squishy, then it's get root rot. I've never tried reversing root rot on a succulent with a more conservative approach. I immediately go ahead with a chop.

The chop is exactly what it sounds like. Get a clean pair of shears, a knife, or possibly even a large pair of scissors (personally, I prefer the shears) and chop the plant into two (or more, depending on the size of the plant) pieces. What you're trying to achieve is to remove the healthy part of the cactus from the rotten one.

After you're done with the chop, and you've made sure that all that remains is healthy succulent tissue, you can let the healthy part air dry for 2-3 (or more) days, depending on the size of the succulent. You want the part where the chop happened to be completely dry and calloused over before you replant it. When that happens, you can replant the cactus on succulent soil, and water more frequently. Soon enough, it will grow roots and resume its normal growing routine.

Watering a plant of this size every week sounds a little much. Watering when dry is good advice, but it actually needs to be all the way dry. Even then, it's advice best suited for the spring, summer, and easy autumn months, when the heat will dry the soil quickly, and the plant is already in its growing stage, and hence more open to nutrients, water, and sun. In the wintertime, even indoors, one can slightly cut back on watering. Looks like your plant would do good on a twice a month watering schedule. I keep mine outdoors, and some of my big succulents haven't been watered in two months.

Water can kill them way faster than drought, they are succulents after all. Good luck with your lovely cactus!

 

[fluffycrow]

Some more info I forgot to add:

Making a strict watering plan is not my favourite way to go about caring for succulents. In reality, you should focus on what your cactus is telling you. I only water when the soil is completely dry, and some start showing wrinkles.

You'll have to find your preferred approach. In the wintertime, watering an indoor succulent only when the soil is completely dry, and a week more after that sounds about right

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Thanks for your help, Fluffy! I’m not currently at home, but I will check and see if the brown area is squishy when I get back. I don’t think it is, it seemed hard when I repotted it.

I know this little plant can survive on almost no water, cause it’s gone months with everyone forgetting to water it before. I think I’m more likely to be a helicopter parent and water it too often

Again, thanks for your help!

 

[fluffycrow]

Thanks for your help, Fluffy! I’m not currently at home, but I will check and see if the brown area is squishy when I get back. I don’t think it is, it seemed hard when I repotted it.

I know this little plant can survive on almost no water, cause it’s gone months with everyone forgetting to water it before. I think I’m more likely to be a helicopter parent and water it too often

Again, thanks for your help!

Please keep us updated on the little cactus!

Yup, as is the case with most first time succulent parents (myself included), we tend to fuss over them a little too much! Rest assured, these little guys thrive on neglect, as your experience suggests.

Glad I could be of help!

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

So, @fluffycrow (hope you don’t mind me tagging you) the brown part is slightly soft in spots, but hard in others. The softest spot is in the middle, its “waist” if you will. It’s quite green there though, it’s got a bunch of little baby spines. It just gives a little when I poke at it, I’m not sure if that’s normal or not, I don’t tend to walk around poking cacti

Should I err on the side of caution and chop it anyway? I can’t tell if the brown spot is see-through, the spines are just too close together to tell.

It’s been about ten days since I replanted it, but it’s still quite wobbly and not rooted yet. Would this be a symptom of root rot?

 

[fluffycrow]

Gosh, sorry for taking so long to reply! Since it’s been some time, how’s it looking now?

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Gosh, sorry for taking so long to reply! Since it’s been some time, how’s it looking now?

Oh, no worries! It’s doing okay, I’ve been watering it when it feels dry. I think it’s been growing a bit on top, but not on the bottom. It’s looking more and more like it has a waist The bottom looks increasingly brown, but it’s not squishy, so I’m not too worried about root rot at this point. I planted it a bit crooked and turned it so it leans away from the sun, so I can tell if it starts to move towards the sun. Overall I think it’s pretty happy, thanks for checking in!