What to do if the cactus has become soft, and why is this happening?

Cacti have long settled in city apartments, and have become part of the winter gardens of retail and office spaces.

It is pleasant to admire healthy plants, striking with a variety of varieties and forms. But what if the cactus suddenly became soft to the touch and was about to die?

To begin with, it is worth determining the cause of the disease. This happens often due to improper care of the cactus. Now learn about everything in order.

Why is this happening?

Most often, the cactus becomes soft due to rot. Rotting of the root system often begins due to too abundant watering and waterlogging of the soil in low light conditions and low temperature conditions.

Important! Excess moisture is the number one enemy for cacti. The main rule - it’s better not to top up than to pour. Water the cacti in a moderate amount with water at room temperature. One watering a week in the summer, and one in two weeks in the winter will be enough.

Other reasons a cactus can rot:

• Late blight - the plant affected by the fungus rots from the neck, begins to fall on its side, the tissues become soft and watery.
• Pests. Frequent culprits are root bugs. They love echinographs. A weakened plant begins to rot, soften and wilt.
• Wrong soil - the soil for cacti should be sterile, better specialized, other species contribute to stagnation of water. If the earth is too “oily”, it is better to dilute it with sand by 30-40 percent. You should not overfeed - because of an overabundance of fertilizers, including organic ones, the plant begins to rot.
• The microclimate is not suitable. Cacti are of two types - desert and forest. Caring for them is similar, but there are nuances. For the former, lighting is important, especially in winter. Shading is only required in extreme summer heat. Desert cacti are suitable moderate or low (40-50%) humidity.

  The air temperature in winter is -15-18 ° C. Tropical or forest brethren require special conditions: the light should be bright, but diffused. Temperature - do not exceed 22-25 ° C, during dormancy - 15-17 ° C.

In most cases, a diseased plant can be saved. How to do this, we will tell you step by step.

What to do in case of a problem?

The first thing to do is to stop watering and spraying. During the "operation" you will need a scalpel or sharp knife, as well as septic tanks, for example, coal dust or sulfur.

1. The plant is taken out of the pot and inspected by the roots.
2. With a clean and sharp knife, cut off all the roots with signs of rot. Inspect the sections. If red spots or blotches are visible, then the cactus struck late blight. At such a moment, it is important not to regret, but to “operate” further. If you leave at least small specks, the process will resume and the plant will die (about what can cause the cactus to die and how to understand that the plant is dying, read here, and from this article you will learn how to save a dying cactus). It is better to cut in even circles, layer by layer, until the site is even in color.
3. Now you need to perform a control cut with a clean, sanitized knife.
4. Remove lateral areoles with spines. The procedure is similar to sharpening a pencil.

   If you do not “sharpen”, during drying, the cactus stalk will retract, a hole is formed and the plant will not be able to take root.

5. The cutted stalk must be powdered with charcoal powder and dried for a couple of hours.
6. Now you can plant in disinfected soil - deepen, but not sprinkle with soil. If necessary, make a support - put the wand and tie up, stone over. It is better to forget about watering for two weeks, to limit yourself to spraying in extreme heat.

   In the case of decay due to the activity of worms, you need to get rid of them as soon as possible. In this case, it is important to examine the roots of the plant, remove the diseased, wash healthy in a soap solution and dry. Plant - 14 days after treatment in fresh soil.

Postoperative care

"Roots" are best rooted, but they also require more careful observation - the organization of a greenhouse with maintaining the temperature up to 22-25 degrees, lighting.

The most difficult to root cacti in winter. At this time, they are defenseless against fungal diseases, since all the processes inside the plant are asleep.

Plus, the microclimate around does not contribute - a cool window sill, short daylight hours.

We must try to create a "spring" conditions - put additional lighting, organize the temperature regime at the level of 20-22 degrees.

1. Once a week, it is worth examining the rooted cuttings, as the disease can return.
2. To understand whether it has taken root, it is worth slightly swaying a cactus and checking whether it clings to the ground or not.

3. If there are no roots, lift it and inspect the slice:
• dry - calmly put back;
• rotted again - the “operation” will have to be repeated, and root in a dry way - without watering and spraying, until waiting roots appear.
4. If mold appears, make a fresh cut, sprinkle with charcoal, dry for a couple of hours, return to the ground and reduce the frequency of water procedures.

All these measures guarantee a good rooting of 70-80%. One hundred percent result can be achieved only by vaccination on another cactus - better echinopsis.

Important! If there are other plants in the vicinity of the rotten cactus, they should be inspected and measures should be taken according to the situation. Most likely, no actions, other than adjusting the irrigation regime and establishing the right microclimate, will not be necessary.

General care rules

The disease is easier to prevent than to cure. (what diseases and pests can destroy the plant?). Observing these simple rules, you will save cacti from many misfortunes.

• Do not water the cacti with cold water, it is better to let it be at room temperature.
• Reduce watering if the ambient temperature does not exceed 17 degrees.
• Plant cacti in a special sterile substrate.
• Do not overfeed cacti with fertilizer. Use better specialized drugs.
• Quarantine the purchased plants before placing them in a permanent place next to other flowers.
• Temper cacti - take out in the summer to fresh air, and in winter put in a cool room.
• Perform maintenance work twice a season.

Despite its stern look because of the thorns, cacti - delicate plants that require careful care and constant attention. The implementation of simple rules will allow to preserve and increase their population both on the windowsill and in multi-level compositions of public greenhouses.

Watch the video: This is what happens when a Cactus plant has too much to drink (December 2024).