Hi... in all my reading on here, when in doubt about watering don't.... if you think it is to wet, what I would do is take it out of its pot and take off as much of the wet soil as I can and lay the cactus on news paper or paper towels to dry out the soil and then repot with new soil, don't water it and give it a chance to recuperate.... cactus can go a very long time without water.... I don't water my cactus all winter in fact I just watered mine 2 weeks ago for the first time since last fall when I moved them indoors for the winter....all are doing fine, but I guess I over watered my stapelia..it rotted and I tryed to save part of it but it rotted too.... well, just passing on what I have learned from the people on here I hope this helps and I am sure others will help too...good luck.....linda

Hi! So I'm a newbie to the cacti parenting world and was hoping someone may be able to tell me if I'm doing this right? I picked these cuties up from Home depot a couple months ago. The yellow one had this great flower bud looking like it might bloom soon but now it looks like I killed it. When I first got them they didn't have the little...bulbs? on the side of them or on top (like my red one.) I thought this was a sign I was doing well with them but now I'm worried I might be doing the same to the cacti that I did to the flower and I of course don't want that! So what I've been doing is checking the soil every week to feel if it feels like it's completely dry. Usually by the end of the week it feels that way. so I take them out of the decorative pots (cause they don't have drainage holes) and water them thoroughly with a slow but steady sink stream. Once the soil seems to have sufficient water, I allow the extra water to drain into the sink before putting them back into their decorative pots and putting them back on the windowsill for direct sunlight. I read that in winter you shouldn't water them as much (like once a month?) but we are still in fall her in NC. Am I doing this right or just being an idiot? I'm kinda bummed I lost the little flower but if I can encourage them to grow more I want to try! But mostly I want to be a good cacti parent.

I also think that it is A. aristata. Ogre ears is just a common name, I believe it is Crassula ovata 'Gollum' (I can't see the plant). Some plants will have few leaves just like C. o. 'Hobbit'. All succulents need good light, otherwise they will just grow weak, and with improper color. All succulents should be watered when needed, thoroughly, and the potting mix should drain fast, without retaining too much water. Watering in sips is not good in the long run. Plants will not die immediately, but the possibility of all kinds of problems is increased. If you like to grow succulents to their best potential and have them for a long time, it would be best to consider making changes to potting mix and the containers. Your container could have drainage holes drilled in it (many of us do it). Plant I was questioning is the small plant with white spots in 3rd pic of your original post. It could be, possibly, an offset of A. aristata?

I think my moon cactus may be over watered but I'm not positive. Also is it possible for a moon cactus to be sunburned too? It seems to be a lighter shade red after a day in the sun. But are the spots on the stem part due to over watering? Thank you in advance.