Hello again Mike,

I believe this is some kind of Epiphyllum tho' I'm only a casual grower of a couple of these (& new at them), so have no idea which of them this might be.

Will leave ID to others who'll know better.

You might search around by that name to see if you can match it to any pix until someone else comes along.

Mentha, are you around pls? If so, am tossing the ball to you dear.

I believe the picture makes it look like an epi, but the sections are much thicker, 3-sided and very cactus-like with very short spines in the sides.

Epis are a class of jungle cactus, they are a large & varied group, coming in many different kinds of leaf profiles. I believe they're mostly South American, but am SURE Mentha will have better ideas on this.

Check here or at Houseplants (forgot which), where she just posted abt a giant one she just got!

Looks like a Hylocereus (dragon fruit) to me.

That's it! Hylocereus undatus, or Dragon Fruit or Night Blooming Cereus. Many thanks ltecato!

It's amazing to me that once you know the name of some of these succulents you can find mountains of information about them. But if you don't, and fail to use just the right words to describe it, it can take much longer. I now know to treat it like an epi (you were very close pirate girl! It is indeed epiphytic) and that the rot is most likely from over watering during the winter. Also that it can be a climber, but this particular specimen will remain a hanger. I gots no trees for it to climb!

I only hope it hasn't suffered to much and will bounce back. I have already lost one long section to the 'mush'. As usual, I look forward to any advice from those in the know.

Well thanks so much ltecato!

Turns out I have some of this too & barely realized it.

A kind friend gave me some last May along w/ a bunch of other cuttings. I'm not thrilled w/ it (also am afraid it'll grow BIG) & am waiting for it to get a bit bigger before I share it w/ my Indoor Plant Society.

Funny that IDing yours reminded me that I need to pay attention to mine!!

I would suggest that you cut the mushy part off entirely, even if it means removing that whole segment. Looks like you've got plenty to spare. (I was given 4 short squat segments, which I just jammed into a 3" pot & forgot about; 2 of the 4 put on new growth. I get a sense they're very rugged; I'm sensing you could cut yours apart or at least as much as necessary to cut off the mush w/ very little harm).

Then take a small artist's paintbrush or even a Q-tip, dip it in Cinnamon & dust the cut edges w/ it, which acts an antifungal for the edges around where the mush was. One could also use a rooting hormone for the antifungal most of them contain, but I learned from Orchid Growers that ordinary Cinnamon is a great antifungal & it's much cheaper!

One more question. (I've really got a million of 'em)

As it is epiphytic, and it seems like it is going to take quite a while for this root ball to dry, should I go ahead and remove some soil from the roots, letting them air out? And if so, should I leave it in the sun or put it in less direct light?

Hi, its in the Hylocereus family ( dragon fruit) but not sure with one it is, it could be a hybrid of some kind, it,s a epie and the rood ball could be all peat, you can pull the root ball apart and repot it in a fast draining mix and only water when dry. Your little plant will become VERY large in time, you can train it to climb or use it as a hanging plant.They will give you a nasty bite when the get bigger and after a few years it might even give you fruit to eat. you can give it a few hours of morning sun about 4 hrs. should do