Well to me, it looks like it might be a goner.....sorry to say. The only chance you may have to save it is to try and re-root the top of the plant. Provided the rot hasn't spread all the way to the top. You'll have to completely remove all the rot with a sharp sterile knife. Cut all the way back to healthy, green tissue. If you leave even the smallest piece of rot, it will continue to spread up the plant. Let the top of the plant callous over. Once warm weather gets here, set the plant on some coarse, dry cactus mix....no peat in it. Hopefully, the callous area will send out roots. It's worth a try to save it!

By re-rooting the top half... you mean cutting it in half above where the rot is and trying to plant the top half? Then making sure to cut off anything that looks like rot off of the top half?

There goes at least 10 years ;-)

Exactly....many cacti that get rot are very easy to save using this method. Some cacti root more easily than others. I don't know about Saquaro though. I hope this works for you. I don't think you have any other option judging by the extent of the rot at its base.

Sadly, I agree that this plant is suffering from some severe rot. That translucent appearance is a sure sign of creeping rot.

Like John said, your only hope is to take a cutting. Cut the top off where the rot looks like it stops. Check the cutting to see if the rot is still present in the pith or core of the plant. If it is, keep cutting or digging to remove *all* of the rotten stuff. Honestly, it looks like it may have progressed far enough that there simply won't be any salvageable material left. However, doing nothing at this point will absolutely guarantee its death, so you don't have anything to lose.

If there is something left to save, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon over the wound, then- leave it a dry place for quite some time to callus over. At least with the kind of plants I grow, 1 week per inch of diameter is the rule. I'm assuming it will be similar with cacti. After it is callused over, you can pot it into a *really* fast draining mix. Put it somewhere warm and bright, and the just wait. If you are lucky, it will send out new roots and then put on some new growth. Then and only then can try to water it.

If you ever do make your way back west, I'm sure you'll be able to find a replacement. They are obviously expensive, but you can readily buy any size Saguaro from landscaping nurseries in the southwest.

Did this plant live in the ground in Austin? Doesn't it occasionally go below the 20s there? I guess record temperatures are not drastically different from those in Tucson.

Since I haven't been to that part of Texas, I can't say how many saguaros are in the trade there. In Arizona, however, it's not hard to get significant size saguaros. Expensive, yes, but not hard to find.

Yeah it was planted in Austin for about 15 years with no problem. It rarely gets that cold in Austin. It was 5 degrees here in Bucks County a few days ago ;-)

I'd really like to get a 6 foot plus Saguaro to plant when we get back to town. I know it'll be pricey, but I think it's worth it :)

Another question... when I cut the cactus, should I try to make it as clean of a cut as possible? I mean, not saw at it, just try to make one clean cut? When will I know it's time to replant it, I mean what should the cut look like? Also how deep do I plant the cactus into the new soil?

Any soil tips? Watering?

Just cut off the top few inches of the catcus and it's tar black...

I'm guessing that means it's pretty much gone? :(

If the black stuff was inside, yes. Sorry to hear about this.

Sorry Nuxx, missed you last post. But like Pasimachus said, its doomed.

And so it goes...