Planto-- HAHA! this is soooo new to me that I think I am WAY over my head! but thanks for the compliment anyway. I have NEVER started a plant as a starter before a year ago. (Started with Spiders and Pothos, and some of them were tough for me) I have always gone out and got big healthy plants, then brought them home, just to have them die on me. It took me a very long 20 years before I even THOUGHT about getting a plant of any kind. Then about a year ago I seen this Spider Plant, and it was Curly! I fell in love with it. The only curly one there. I brought it home, and guess what?? it almost died. But my daughter found this site, and everyone taught me how to take care of it. (I was doing EVERYTHING WRONG!)It is doing real good now! That started me on other plants. I take them home, show it here, and these good ppl tell me how to take care of it- lol. Not really, I have learned a lot before getting a plant anymore. And I know that if something comes up that I don't understand, I can just come here and somebody will give it to me straight. And I am hoping that even if it is just a little info, that it sticks in my brain! haha. Experience? NOT! but I am working on it ;) Marjie

First, here is the link to your cactus. Second, you should know that I don't personally grow cactus, only succulents (tho I've been around/seen tons). Here is my best assessment of your plant. It appears to be an optuntoid of some sort, can't be more specific than that. The base appears to be corking, not rotting. Is it soft and mushy at the base? If so, it is rot. If not, I suspect it is corking. It is my understanding that this is caused by sunburn and age. It isn't fatal, only unattractive. The new growth is etiolated due to lack of sun. Cactus require lots of sun in their growing season. Here is what I would do if it were my plant: The first order of business is to unpot it and find out if the base is rotting or corking. Let us assume it is corking and you choose to keep it. Shake or hose off as much dirt as possible from the roots. Take the dirt it is in and divide it into 3 equal piles (let's say each pile is equal to a one gal bucket). Add a one gal bucket of fresh potting soil and a one one gal bucket of perlite to each pile, so that you have 3 equal piles of 3 equal parts of native soil, potting soil and perlite. Am I making myself clear? This will be your potting mix. Back to the plant. Take a sharp, sterilized knife and cut off any roots that are mushy or look *bad*. Don't worry if you go from a lot of roots to only a few, they'll grow back. Mark (with a sharpie or something) the *top* end of each piece. Then cut the plant into four sections as I have illustrated below. Lay everything off in a warm, shady place for a week so that the cuts can callus over. Select your pots. Make sure that each one has a drain hole!!! Fill the pots to just below the rim with your new soil mix. Plant the base as you would any plant. Plant the cuttings an inch deep and stake them up with pencils or toothpicks or whatever. Since these have no roots, they cannot drink, therefore do not water them. Lightly mist the soil around the base every second or third day to encourage root development. Wait at least a week to water the base. When you do so, water it until water runs from the drain hole. Then do not water again until you can stick your finger at least an inch down and see only dry soil. Remember succulents can go an extra month with no water but cannot go an extra week with too much. In about a month try wiggling the starts and see if they are wobbly (no roots) or set in place (beginning to root). When roots have started you can begin watering them just like mom. For optimal and compact growth always grow cactus outdoors in summer. But they must be acclimated first. So take all your plants and set them outside in bright shade for a week or so. Then move to a spot where they get direct sun for only a portion of the day. Then move to full sun. Now as for those "fingers" in section four? hmmm. I'd throw them under a tree for a week then into any ole soil in the garden...*if* you want opuntia growing there. Otherwise I'd file them in the round file. Now what else can I tell you? hmmm...use a section of newspaper to handle your cactus to avoid the glochids (the tiny spines around the big spines). If you get hit with them you can try smearing that ole white glue like we used in school, dry and pick it off or bikini wax would probably work even better. w You didn't know you were gonna get a dissertation, did ya? I've probably forgotten something. A real cactophile will come along and give you better info and an ID for your plant. In the meantime, I hope this helps - Jo Here is a link that might be useful:

put some water in a clear glass.. and let it evaporate.. and see if you have the same residuals ... it is very common for potting media to retain tap water salts ... and i dont mean NaCl ... and it could also indicate over-fertilization ... which are also salts ... check out the link for sterilizing your media.. and clean EVERYTHING with 10% bleach.. scrubbing is not good enough .... unless it is with bleach ... and i do NOT mean for you to start over.. at this point.. you have a curiosity.. you have provided no indication as to a problem... just an observation ... but next time.. start operating room clean.. and you MIGHT avoid this ... thats all i can guess ... w/o a picture. .. ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Here are a couple more pics. The top left are the cuttings that seem to be the most promising. The one on the right is a little bad, dont think ill bother with it. The left one seems good, although a tad brown on the top of it but not much at all. I was going to leave them to dry out now. Any advice?