The whole root stock plplant is rotted from too much water, unfortunately theGymnocalycium on top will be unable to survive on its own.

Thats alright, will the stem stock survive or do I need to do something else? Also I don't understand how a little water once a week is to much. How often should they be watered?

Those are all very complicated answers, lol.

I don't think the root stock will survive, but I could be wrong. I'm pretty sure it's rot from moisture since it's not sunburn (otherwise the Gymnocalycium would be crispy).

by giving little sips of water and not accurately gaging the water needs of the cactus, it winds up becoming water logged as the peat mix it's in becomes super saturated. Peat can hold so much water, it's not even funny.

I took one of these rotting plants that had already had its "head taken off" and just recently noticed new growth coming from the cutting. Took about 3 months maybe 4? This summer was...complicated....it's haRd to recall when exactly this came home with me...I think the end of May!

but they get very large rather quickly so I would recommend trying a different type of cactus or succulent, or go for the tropicals, they love water (but still not in small sips).

Before you purchase, I recommend searching for information on potting mixes. I mix grit and perlite into a raised bed filler (most people just use C&S soil tois the additional ingredients.)

Much more research is needed before I would recommend going for your next purchase. As you can probably tell, it's a lot harder than it looks ;)

So what should I do with it? Leave it as it is and just wish for luck or preform more surgery on it? I would love for this plant for survive and yes I know its way easier to just get a new one for a couple dollars lol. I think it would be fun to try to help it get back to health if I am able. I don't like giving up on things!

any ideas anyone to keep it alive?

Do you have any Opuntia cactus?

Have you ever grafted before?

No I haven't this is my first cactus, My mother got it for me at the store. But I was doing lots of research to save it. I cut off the rotting spots, I dont know what else to do. I was thinking about cutting off the whole half of the cactus where its rotting but I wasn't sure if it would grow back. I couldn't find any clear answers if you cut it off if it would grow back from the roots.

From the picture, it looks like the only part of that plant that is still alive and not rotting is the Gymnocalycium sitting on top.

I'm sorry that you've experienced your first plant death. The grieving process is complex and different for everyone.

Ahh alright well that sucks :/. I managed to somehow kill one of the easiest things to keep alive.. lol. Guess i'll learn for this still don't understand how I could of possibly overwatered it with watering it once a week

Every time you poured water into the soil but the small amount of roots couldn't take it up, it would remain wet and adding water just saurated the soil more.

there are much better cacti out there. If you want a cool Gymnocalycium, look for a purple one, they can grow without a graft.

but I like the plain green Gymnos too.

also, I find cacti much harder to keep than tropical plants other than the really finicky tropicals that just need to stay in Florida for all I care. *grumbles* croton *grumbles*

It's not letting me post the picture.

Well, I pulled the plant out of the pot and apears only the visible half was rotting, the part in the soil was completely healthy. So I cut off the top half that was dead, I don't know if its possible to grow back from the healthy bottom part but its worth a shot I guess.

If there are any nodes then it's possible!

Do you have a picture of what's left of it?

I can take on now 1 sec

If you need more photos closer up or something let me know.

What kind of soil is it planted in? Looks like peat - if so, no wonder it's rotted. Can you take the stuff off the soil and take a pic?

Thanks for the pic. It does look like peat. Watering 1x/week is probably too much. Peat retains water; it will be dry looking on surface but still wet inside. On top of that, you have it in cache pot that doesn't allow for any air circulation and if there is too much water, it will sit at the bottom and be re-absorbed back. And covering surface with plastic doesn't help either.

I hope this doesn't sound mean - I am just pointing out things that contribute to plant rotting.

If you want to grow succulents successfully, it would be good idea to learn about well draining mix - adding generous amounts of perlite, grit, turface, scoria, pumice - any of these (best would be more than 1 ingredients) will give plants drainage and air circulation. If you use that kind of potting medium, plastic decorations may be ok - but just few.

Cache pots are much nicer than plastic - so I don't blame you for using it. Just make sure that after watering (wait about 30 min) you take the plastic pot out and drain any water that may have accumulated in outer pot. It may be easier just to take pot out, water it, let it sit on a saucer and after a while put it back into cache pot.

I think that your plastic pot sits too low in outer pot, and also plant is potted too deep - raise soil level when re-potting, and raise the pot too.

Btw, what happened to the top cacti? (the colored one)

Rina

I wasn't the one who set up this cactus so it didn't seem mean at all. We got it at the store exactly like this. I have the top piece of the cacti still, I cut it off its on a plastic plate right now, I wasn't sure to save it or not after cutting off almost the whole cactus because of rot.

I started collecting cacti and succulents this spring (I have anywhere from 50 to 75). I learned a few things very quickly. Unglazed Terra cotta pots over plastic anytime you can. You can get a 4 1/2 inch Terra cotta pot from Lowe's or home depot for like 78 cents. Try and get them out of the soil that they come in as soon as possible, it's terrible for cacti and succulents. As for potting soil, I use what I call V.P.S ( Vinnie, that's my son a very zealous over waterer proof soil lol). I use one scoop potting soil 3/4 of a scoop vermiculite and 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 scoop perlite. My "scoop" is just an old pot. This mix has worked out wonderfully. It drains and dries quickly and my plants are thriving in it. I even have several lithops which can explode with to much water.

Renee - unglazed terra cotta pots make things so much easier! I also use the old pot scoop method. =)

Just a slight warning about vermiculite - eventually it will break down and turn mushy. Just the fragile nature of the substance. May take a year or two? Until then though, it does have very good water and nutrient holding capability.

Cheers!

Thanks for the heads up, guess next spring I'll be checking to make sure no one is living in mush

Renee - No problem! If you're curious about inorganic soil components, here's a very good article: Soil Mineral Ingredients . I know we're not growing bonsai, but the same concepts apply for soil.

Nove

The cut off plant will not survive on it's own - it lacks ability to produce chrolophyll - that is the reason it was grafted in the first place. If you want it to survive, it would need to be grafted again.

Yea I know now :/. Hopefully the main plant will atleast survive, but I don't think it will. Thanks everyone for your help.

Thanks Ew, I've seen it mentioned before and always wondered about it. Thank you again for the link. ☺