Thank you so much. Please see the attached photos... are they better?

until recently, I moved Fluffy from near a sunny window (I was told the possibility of cold drafts would kill it) where it had been for quite a while to our coffee table (still bright but not as much), and it had been there for about a week when I noticed the brown tips. Now, I just placed it under a grow-light.... and my questions now will be... should the brown tips be cut off or should they be left alone?... is a grow-light good for Fluffy?...

I've tried to get info on this plant online but all I have found is very general care tips but not enough in-depth information. If you know of a book, website or place I could go for answers, it will be greatly appreciated!

Again, thank you so much!!

Sandy and Fluffy

"Cold drafts' from the window would have to be quite cold to kill cactus, but anything is possible. Do you keep windows opened? Have you checked what is the lowest growing zone for this plant? That would tell you min temps it could be in. Embothrium asked about cultural regimen: what is it potted in? (container & medium). What are general temps in room/space it is in? What is the light it receives? How often and how much do your water and how do you determine when to water?...

Hi there's.

Fluffy is living in a 10" clay pot, potted in a soil mix for cactus and succulents, the house temperature is at s constant 68-70 degrees (we are transitioning from fall to winter in our area, Ohio) so no windows are left opened for any period of time... and the windows in our home are nicely insulated (double glass)... I have a humidifier and a space heater in the room where plants are kept during winter... watering for this specific plant has changed from watering every week to ten days (summer regime) to checking with a water meter to make sure the soil has dried through before placing the pot in a container with water so it gets watered from the bottom rather than pouring water from the top. I wait until the soil is moist through (30 mins or so) before removing it and letting it drain.

During the winter season I don't fertilize Fluffy.

i hope this answer your questions.

How dry is the soil before watering?

This may sound negative - but pls. consider all remarks (they may or may not apply to your situation):

No need for humidifier for succulents, it actually is not better. They come from arid areas, and humidity is often causing fungal problems. You suggested drafty windows, now you saying they are "nicely insulated" - I was commenting on what you said originally.

Most succulents will overwinter well in much lower temps, as low as 45-48*F or so. You don't have to, but need to adjust other growing conditions accordingly.

Typical moisture meters are not very reliable, but maybe you have new one that still works well, or better quality one. I find much more reliable way of checking for moisture using bamboo skewer, chopstick or even pencil. Some ppl water successfully from bottom, if using fast draining mix. Very often, typical C&S soil is full of peat and doesn't dry well enough. If that is the case, watering from bottom is worse because it keeps soil too wet for too long. Ppl using C&S soil usually add lot more sifted perlite to it - easily 50% or even more - and that works better. I find it much better using inorganic potting mix (no soil).

10" pot sound huge to me - but that all depends on size of plant and I have no idea about yours. Clay 10" pot is usually quite deep. Big, deep pots hold lots of soil and if it doesn't drain fast, it could be problem. I am assuming it has drainage hole.

I am not sure what is wrong with your plant, but it looks like either drying (how close is it to grow light? Was it put under it suddenly - is there any chance it may have burned?), or having fungal problems. I would definitely improve potting mix and keep it in room with no humidifier to begin with.

Hi! @sandy, did you figure it out? Mine looks exactly like yours, oh no!

I have one that did the same thing the second year I had it. I still don’t know what I did wrong but I think I overwatered it. I broke of most the affected areas off...even if it was half way through a paddle. Those wounds then scarred over and nearly all of this original damaged paddles have pushed up new and healthy paddles. In a couple cases, the entire paddle was hard, brown and dead looking, but I left them and they have grown new paddles on top. Since it seems to be thriving again, as that was three years ago, I have left it. I haven’t transplanted it and that may be stunting the growth somewhat, but it is full and pretty, brown pads and all! It sits right in front of a south facing window and stays indoor year-round because I don’t want to disturb it. I water it from the top, estimating just enough water to let it soak down to the toots, but without saturating the soil. And then I work hard to ignore it at watering time so I don’t overwater again.

Here are a few photos...

Putting plants outside doesn't disturb them....In right conditions, it helps, even for tender plants summers outdoors are great...Many opuntias are actually very hardy and should be grown outside. You didn't say what zone you are in - did you check the hardiness of it?