I inherited this cactus from a friend who passed away in February. It sits in a bright spot, and I water it every so often. It came to me looking like this and hasn't really changed. I don't know what the brown, flaky stuff is. I have zero experience with cactus, so am not sure if what I'm seeing is bad news, normal, or what!

Hi Cindi, to NGA

Its an old plant - those are dead leaves. They might come off with a gentle tug (one or two leaves at a time).

It looks like a Haworthia.

Ok, thank you! I'll gently try and pull them off.

Uh-oh. It just came right out of the soil. I hope I can repot it. I want to put it in something smaller anyway. This pot ways 1,000 lb.

That's a good thing. Not the coming out of the pot but the fact that it did. I suspect you were about to lose your plant because the stem is dried too.

Yes, find a lighter pot (not a bigger pot) and some cactus soil. Dampen the soil. Pull off the dead leaves and place the plant bottom on the soil and press it down gently so that the bottom of the plant has good contact with the soil but is not buried.

It will re-root in a couple weeks. You can water it but do so sparingly.

Ok, thank you!!