Hi, Rachel's mom here :) we are thinking the base is soft so it's rotting. Does anyone have any tips or references on how to properly repot? We've read that we can just cut it from the mushy part, lay out of the sun for a week until the cut heals over then replant. Don't water until roots begin coming in. Is this correct? A couple of questions- how do u know when the roots have begun? Also, how deep should the new cutting be planted? We are using a soil mix for catcuses but just read this might not be good drainage. What is a good mix? Thanks for any help! This was a gift to my daughter from a friend and we would really like to save it.

Yes those bases are rotted and the mix looks too wet and too fine. Cut those off bases off about a centimeter or so above the black........make sure the cut areas have no black rot. Yes let them dry and heal over for a couple days. Get a good cactus soil......you can buy commercial cactus soil mix but further mix it with about equal parts perlite. You can essentially lay the cuts on the soil or bury a bit of the bottom of the cut in the soil enough so it stands up (you can prop it with some small stones too). Keep it warm and in bright light to encourage rooting (going into winter now is not the ideal time but should still get some roots on it). BTW if you move it to much brighter light again do it slowly, over several days or it will sunburn. Not sure if that is a true cactus, maybe some sort of Huernia or related (?).

This succulent (not a cactus; while all cactuses are succulents, not all succulents are cacti...) looks like it is rotting from being in very water retaining soil. It is best to plant succulents in gritty-type mix that offers good drainage. They don't need much water and as it gets colder, even less.

Original 'bar shaped base' was plant cutting that rooted and grew new plants.

The cuttings can be placed in dry mix. Do not water until they grow roots--they have water stored in their tissue for just this purpose.

Ok, thanks for the advice! We thought we planted it in good draining soil with the catcus soil mix but will add 50% perlite to it.

We also didn't realize this was a succulent- would you happpen to know what kind? We would love to read up more on its specific needs. Thanks too for the tips on accumulating it to more sun. Really appreciate the help :)

Thank you all so much for your help!! I've cut off the roots and now the remaining bits are sitting in a tupperware with dry soil. I have to go get perlite but that'll be tonight so just a couple hours with the soil.

Also, I had asked my friend to find its type, and we believe it's a pfeiffera monacantha

Whilst I'm not familiar with the name above as an identity for your plant, my immediate thought on seeing it is that it's a type of Stapelia/Huernia or similar. If so, it's a succulent, not a cactus. Has the original plant flowered for your friend as I'm sure they would know if it's a Stapelia or not due to the, err, 'fragrance' of the flowers!

Gill

Oh I think you're correct! I looked up pictures of the plant name I gave, and the stems/bits (not sure what to call them) are too wide to be my plant.

I looked up Stapelia, and it looks exactly like mine. This one is the original, sorry for the miscommunication there!! I I got it from my school's green house but none of the biology majors helping us that day were plant specialists so they couldn't identify it for me. I sent pictures to my friend since she has a garden full of succulents and is usually very good at knowing what the plant is. I think the plant is too young to flower, though a tiny bud did appear one stem, and I mean really tiny. Like maybe 1cm long at most.

Sorry for the late reply!! I think mine is similar to yours. The stems aren't as textured as yours are, they're a lot smoother. But it could be similar which can help us figure out how to take care of it!!

Update on the situation is that I've cut off all the rot and now each stem is sitting in a tupperware that I've lined with some potting soil. The ends are sealing up but I'm not seeing roots form yet. Any suggestions on what I should be looking for? I've never propagated a plant before...

A Tupperware lined with potting soil is not a good idea. I believe you have been advised to cut 'till healthy tissue, let it callus for few days and then pot into dry mix.

It really doesn't matter that much what exact name of the succulent is; they all suffer if in water retaining mix. Yours is showing sign of rot (very visible in the 2nd pic of tour original post).

Do not put it in anything creating slightest humidity (like tupperware+soil) - keep it on a paper towel, out of direct sun and in well ventilated spot. You won't see roots in just few days. If the plant had callused well, so as already advised:

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

The cuttings can be placed in dry mix. Do not water until they grow roots--they have water stored in their tissue for just this purpose.

Btw, there is no need 'to see the roots'. After plant/cutting is potted up, roots will start growing when it is ready. Do not try to see them by digging, that is just disturbing and perhaps even damaging the fine, just forming roots. It will start showing some growth when roots start growing.

Ah gotcha, I'll move them to a paper towel then. My thought process was that once the ends had callused over, the roots would "reach out" for the soil and when I saw them, I could move them back to their pot. Just a misunderstanding. No one clarified where the cuttings needed to dry and I assumed they'd like to rest on soil.

I was hoping to get the exact name so I could find out what it wants best. I'm new to plants and I want to try to give them the best care possible.

What sort of growth should I be looking for? Height growth, color change, etc? I was already aware digging for the roots is bad. Like I said above, I was waiting to see roots while they were lying flat.

Update on the plant! My mom came and helped me with the cuttings. They had unfortunately rotted again while they were in the tupperware, so we had to cut them again. The ends have sealed all nicely and now I've put them in their pot with soil that we mixed 50/50 soil and perilite. I'm currently using toothpicks to hold them upright, but I'm thinking I want to upgrade to better support

Picture of the cuttings back in their pot!

Positive ID is nigh on impossible until it gets much bigger and it flowers. The pot is rather large for the amount of cuttings, so please do be careful in watering them, leave well alone for a couple of weeks and until you see the tips start to elongate, that is when the roots have started to form, then water sparingly. Hope the pot has drainage hole/s? Keep in filtered sun, not direct till you're sure it's growing. Small gravel or stones can prop the stems up till rooted firmly.

Gill

Ooh gotcha okay! I will wait for flowers then. Okay, thank you!! I will keep an eye on all of that. Yes, the pot does have drainage holes. I tried with little stones but it wasn't working very well. The toothpicks are working really well right now

Just want to add that they should be in a fair amount of light. Yes they should not be in hot direct sun but filtered light can mean different thing. Sunlight filtered through a canopy in Los Angeles can still be brighter than directly on a windowill in Oklahoma, as a rough example. You don't want them too dark either. If they are in the house I would keep them near an east window where you would say get a little bit of direct sunlight early in the morning then just bright light on the windowsill rest of the day. This is still not the same as direct sun. A bright desk or table several feet from a window may be "bright" for reading a book but way too dark for a succulent. Also the days are getting short and colder in much of the USA now. Warmth will help rooting so keep them in a warmer area to help stimulate root growth. You can also keep them a couple inches below fluorescent tubes of a shop light which will give them good light for rooting/growing but you won't have to worry about scorching them. All a learning experience and enjoy your plant!!

Unfortunately my apartment doesn't get any morning sun, but I have moved the plant from where it was. I have a collection of succulents near a window that I have moved this one too, so now they can all get some good light! It's also gotten cold enough here to need the heater, and that spot is near enough to it that all the succulents will be warm. Thank you so much for your advice!!

Rachel

Near the window is questionable...how near is your near? Most ppl find windowsills are not bright enough, and moving away from the window the light intensity decreases rapidly. I do not know what other succulents you have, but if you post photos (number them if there are few different ones), we can suggest which ones need more light - unless, of course, you already know that.

Hi Rina, so sorry for the delay, school got busy!! Here's a picture of my current set up. this window receives about 4-7 hours of day light, depending on the season. Last year the zebra succulent (back right plant) was on the windowsill itself during the spring quarter and all the leaves ended up singed from the hot sun. The other succulents seem to be really content on the table, it's just the one I've posted here that is struggling.

The cuttings developed rot again and unfortunately I only have one cutting left. I'm not sure what I did wrong, maybe I put them in the soil too quickly? The school greenhouse is open today so I might see if they have another one that I can try again with.