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Thanksgiving Cactus Re pot

15 years ago

Hi I am wondering what I can do for a Thanksgiving cactus that I just saved today. it was a slightly sick plant giving to my from my aunt. the cactus has some sections breaking off and seemed like the large sections were tipping over in the pot. this cactus NEEDED to be re potted and I know it's late but I had to re pot it. I noticed that there are a few flower buds on the cactus, will this hurt the cactus flowers,will the cactus still flower? more importantly will this hurt the Cactus in any way an suggestions or comments would be helpful!

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Comments (4)

jefe12234
15 years ago
Well the most important thing to look out for is that the soil is draining well and not staying wet too long. If that's the case then it should do fine, although the blooms may fall off. They can be pretty sensitive to sudden changes. Cool nights and shorter days will induce blooming. Here is a good site for info on holiday cacti.

Here is a link that might be useful: Holiday cacti
hostalover360
Original Author
15 years ago
well the flower buds are very tiny. I think I will not water it just yet. the soil was moist when I re potted it. so I think that will provide enough moisture do you think I'm doing the right thing? hopefully it does flower... it looked as though that one part may have has some slight root rot. but I think it will be fine what do you say?
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Thanks, puglvr! It's maybe not as bloomy as the parents, but once I get it repotted and pruned next spring we'll see how it does then. If it doesn't shape up, out it goes. juliana, maybe we would have to do it after you get back, or try to fit in a mailing before you go. I have to look at the weather before May 15, but sometimes it can work earlier than that. Just remind me about it in April and we'll go from there. I'm thinking of repotting all my cc's and giving them a prune job, so it wouldn't be hard to put a couple of the trimmings in an envelope. Anyway, earlier would fit better for me if the weather cooperates. Once it's nice out, I had better be done with the fussing with the house plants because the acre veg garden calls.
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Purple, I've enjoyed reading this thread and wanted to add my $.02 worth. The first thing I noticed is that the stems appear to be flacid.....wilty. That could be caused by over OR under watering.....whichever might cause the roots from being able to access water. In this case, I wonder if the water you're applying is evacuating before soaking the whole soil volume. One thing about these plants (all plants) is that though they need to dry out somewhat between drenchings, the potting soil must be completely saturated on watering day. This is true for all plants, even those cacti that are native to extremely arid regions. Have you ever seen "Medicine Man ", a movie starring that gorgeous specimen of manhood Sean Connery? It takes place in the rainforest of Brazil. There are scenes of my lovely Sean ziplining through the forest canopy, sharing the scenes with huge epiphytic cacti and other plants. Really neat movie. Plus, it stars Sean Connery. I get that it's difficult to understand how those prickly, barrel shaped desert cacti have ANYTHING to do those graceful rainforest plants. Here's what I "think " is a good analogy, but don't laugh at me toooooo hard if it really stinks. Take your dog into consideration for a moment. It's a mammal. So are you and the pesky squirrels in your yard. Big differences amongst those three mammals yet they share essential similarities. Still with me? Now, think of those incredible bottlenose dolphins familiar to anyone living in coastal areas. Superficially, they seem to have so little in common with your dog, but those porpoises are just another type of mammal. They live in a different environment, for sure, but the similarities are much more important than the differences. You just need to try to provide the kind of environment your dolphin needs. :-) Dorie
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Welcome to Garden Web. Your explanation left me clueless to what you are talking about, but I often reside on that side of the fence. :-) Could you explain in a little better detail what the problem is? Pretend we can't see what you are talking about. There are a few people here that can be of help if they have a better grasp of the problem. Do you have a camera you can use to clue us in further? randy
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jefe12234
15 years ago
Well I can't tell what condition the soil is in without seeing it, but if there is some root rot then the soil may have broken down and compacted so that it now holds too much water and not enough air. If this is the case, the best thing to do would be to remove all of the old soil from the roots, trim any dead ones, and repot in new porous soil. The plant may take a while to recover, but it will be much healthier in the long run. Poor soils are the number one source of problems for container plants. I'll provide a link to a very good soil recipe for succulents (and all houseplants for that matter). It performs much better and lasts much longer than peat based soils. If nothing else, consider adding a good 50% perlite or pine bark to your potting soil next time you repot. I have turned rotting rootballs into thick masses of white roots just by switching to a gritty, free-draining soil mix.

Here is a link that might be useful: Succulent soil mix
hostalover360
Original Author
15 years ago
I have uploaded a photo at Flicker, you can feel free to look at it! Last night a branch fell off. while I was sleeping. Some of the leaf sections are shriveling, I think the one section of the Thanksgiving cactus may have some slight root rot. What can I do to bring it back? although some sections are shriveling some parts of the plant still look healthy. The pot I got it in the dirt was hard and very dry. I had to re pot it. I have not water it yet because I know if it has root rot that's not a good idea. the other 2 plants ( there are 3 in the pot ) looks great they are healthy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thanksgiving cactus Photo

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