Don't quite know what cactus this is, but one section is obviously rotting and needs to be cut to have a chance at saving it. Not sure on other one but not taking my chances. Would be thankful for an ID and any advice. Was thinking about following a youtube guide, not sure if I can link here without being spam filtered but please say if I can.







If photos of the other side would be helpful I will add them on ask. The one that still seems healthy has no differences I can see on either side, but the rotting one is whiter on one side.


This is the cinnamon I was considering to prevent fungus when cut.

Posted the same angle for the damaged one. Here's the other side that appears less white.




And the other side of the healthier one.

The cinnamon is fine if you want to use it. I usually just allow cuttings to heal on their own in a mild, dry place out of the sun, with good air flow. Wait a couple of weeks before potting up the cutting, then do that (without burying more than absolutely necessary for stability) and wait another couple of weeks before watering for the first time.

When you make the cut, be sure the cut surface is entirely healthy (no rot visible on the cut area) otherwise sterilize the knife (clean it and dip it in alcohol, for example) before cutting again.

I would be concerned the rescue does not go well because the plant has evidently been in a low light situation. I've concluded this based on the width of the stem. It is wider at the bottom and increasingly narrower toward the top. I'm guessing maybe the wide part is what it looked like when you got it, and the narrow part is what it's done in its current location. Anyway, this difference in stem is called "stretching" or etiolation if you like scientific words, and generally diagnostic for low light. With these plants indoors the more light, the better. It's impossible to provide too much natural light indoors.

It is likely that the low light was at least one of the reasons the cactus rotted in the first place, which is good to note if you want the cutting to take off and grow strong.

This is kind of the worst time of year to start a cutting if you are in the northlands, dealing with a low light indoor situation. But I don't think you have a choice, so make the leap, just do what you can to provide more light after you pot up the cutting. Ideally find a place right in front of your sunniest southerly facing window, where the plant can "see" the sun for hours a day year round, weather permitting, with no curtain or blinds in the way. Do not overwater in the coming months, when the cutting has no roots to take up the water and conditions are slowing down the elaboration of roots. And be patient, this process takes time. You might see a turnaround in spring and that will signal a change in watering (when it perks up, it will be more receptive to regular water).

I would suggest after you make the cut and applying that cinnamon, just leave it out to dry out and callus..as long as it takes, or just stick it in straight pumice, no soil for now. Use a stick as extra prop. And wait for the plant to grow roots. Patience will be your friend, it really takes much longer at this time of the year.
Hope you can position at a south or southwest facing area, and keeping it as warm amd dry for now.

Baja_Costero said: The cinnamon is fine if you want to use it. I usually just allow cuttings to heal on their own in a mild, dry place out of the sun, with good air flow. And be patient, this process takes time. You might see a turnaround in spring and that will signal a change in watering (when it perks up, it will be more receptive to regular water).

Thank you. I'm going to have to be moving this one and a lot of other plants multiple hours away by car. So any tips there would be helpful if you've done so before. Also, any ID on this thing? Because I don't still have the product info. I'm assuming it's temperate, though maybe not an actual cactus.

I have done a fair amount of plant transpo and I have a whole collection of boxes I use for this purpose. Try to minimize motion in the load, using old plastic bags or balled up newspaper or the like as padding. Lots of separate compartments created by close packing of boxes. Plants in the far rear of the vehicle will be more likely to fly upward if you hit a speed bump too fast. Mainly just drive conservatively, especially around corners or over bumps.

Your plant looks like a cactus to me. Maybe somebody else here would have a genus or species name for you.

Is it flat or cylindrical?

purpleinopp said: Is it flat or cylindrical?

It's flat. Both cactuses started as the rectangular bottom portion without the thin growth.

Hmm... if it's an Opuntia, you might have better luck laying it sideways after cutting off all of the non-green part. I have better results with Opuntias that way, vs. trying to bury part of it so it's sticking upright.

purpleinopp said: Hmm... if it's an Opuntia, you might have better luck laying it sideways after cutting off all of the non-green part. I have better results with Opuntias that way, vs. trying to bury part of it so it's sticking upright.

You think I should put it in soil so soon? Or do you mean after it scabs over?

Because I wouldn't put the cut on or in the soil, just lay it on the surface, I would do it right away. I'm likely to forget about it otherwise. But it wouldn't hurt to let it dry for a few days first.

purpleinopp said: Because I wouldn't put the cut on or in the soil, just lay it on the surface, I would do it right away. I'm likely to forget about it otherwise. But it wouldn't hurt to let it dry for a few days first.

Should I cut this one or just try to replant in better soil?








The lighter parts are softer than the greener, but does this signify rot? One major sign of unhealthiness I see is despite being in the pot it got transplanted to for a while, from a similarly drainless but smaller pot, the roots have not grown. That square shape is all the roots have seemingly been.

To add on to my last message

Your current container has drainage, doesn't it? I'm sure the plant will need well draining medium if it's in the Opuntia family.

That plant looks a lot like my Opuntia quimilo. It seemingly got killed during the winter freezes. I thought it was dead, but the top broke off and fell horizontally on top of the soil. I discovered the pad had rooted at one end and it currently has the two growing you can see in the photo. The roots are under the end on the right side; the old carcass is still showing in front of the fallen segment. I had set the container aside and forgot about it, so it managed on its own under severe drought and hot temperatures.

needrain said: Your current container has drainage, doesn't it? I'm sure the plant will need well draining medium if it's in the Opuntia family.

It did not, though it should have. Family members plant, they argued for it staying in the current pot. No holes, no rocks to even mitigate. I'm going to try and convince a move to a different container.

needrain said:That plant looks a lot like my Opuntia quimilo. It seemingly got killed during the winter freezes. I thought it was dead, but the top broke off and fell horizontally on top of the soil. I discovered the pad had rooted at one end and it currently has the two growing you can see in the photo. The roots are under the end on the right side; the old carcass is still showing in front of the fallen segment. I had set the container aside and forgot about it, so it managed on its own under severe drought and hot temperatures.

I'd agree it's that one if it had any spines, and it also seems to want to grow in that flat rectangle shape. It was never so bulbuous. Maybe it was just forced into that form by the seller and kept to that shape because it was never particularly healthy.

There are several in the Opuntia family that look similar in growth - at least in photos. I'm not great at identifying a plant based on photographs. There are some here who are very good at doing that, but I couldn't be included among them. I did think it looked like some kind of Opuntia when I saw your first photos and those in your photos reminded me of this one. However, members of that family tend to share some traits in common. Good drainage, strong natural light would be among those traits. It's a large family though, so there are likely some exceptions. A good rule of thumb on cacti and succulents is that those adept at storing water in their stems and leaves usually need good drainage. Otherwise they tend to try and store more water than they can handle which sets the plant up for rot. They do tend to root relatively easily from a pad that is detached. They can root laying flat on the surface or by being buried and sitting upright. In the case of the one in my photo, both those growing sections are from the same pad which was just lying flat. This coming spring mine needs to be repotted. Since taking the photo, I've actually piled some small stones hoping to coax the left growth to grow its own root system before it's time to repot. That would give me two small plants to work with.

If it was mine, I would cut it at the red line


And then lay it flat.


Then it can't rot because none of it is under the soil. It will grow new roots.

purpleinopp said: If it was mine, I would cut it at the red line


And then lay it flat.


Then it can't rot because none of it is under the soil. It will grow new roots.

If it wouldn't be possible to put it on top of soil right now, could i lay in on moss? I've done this with parts of other cactuses.

I went ahead and cut then put on cactus soil. Is this adequate for a week away? I'm not going to be able to do anything else for this cutting.






The point at which I cut seemed healthy for both sides of the cactus, too.





Could it be saved or once it's cut is it too late?

It doesn't appear to have any rot in the photo. Plant the root back, wait a few days before giving any water and wait. In time it may put out new growth.