I also agree with dsledge. I have aerated most every year that I have seeded. The couple of years that I did not, were miserable failures due to heavy rains that completely washed the seed away with a couple of days. I had to completely reseed in those years - a huge PITA not to mention $$$. I just put my seed down yesterday, and due to both time constraints and a tight budget this year, decided to forgo the aeration as we are not due for any rain this week, at all. I plan to water appropriately with my sprinklers, to get the seed set properly. I may even walk the yard in the bare spots (I have several - our summer was just brutal). If you have the time and money to aerate, I highly recommend it. It has always worked best for me. I am keeping my fingers crossed this year.

Looks like a Cereus peruvianus, hildemannianus or some people say repandus. And no, the plant can't be fattened in the middle. Every cactus tells a story. That one has had a time when it was starved and dessicated, like from 2007 til 2010?. It carries its stories on the skin. Don't worry, if you live long enough you'll have your scars on the inside, but it won't kill you either. Some columnar cacti can be rerooted, don't know if this is one. You can practice with the little one. What you do is make a clean cut with as much as you want to save, put it in dry soil in bright but not direct sun. Keep it warm. Do this in the spring, like April. Do not water and don't touch it for 2 months. After 2 months, it should make roots if it will make roots. The cut end still on the root will make offsets just below the cut. I know these can be rooted. I understand the attachment to the plant, but these are not ideal houseplants. They rarely bloom in the average home, are top heavy, and typify the blah! a lot of people feel about cacti. The only worse plant charges are the similarly styled Euphorbias. They are blah! and have toxic sap, a real twofer. On the plus side, they are better than no houseplants at all, and can be a gateway drug....er, plant, into succulent land.

Hi, I would cut that "root" right up to the cut you already made....the white part looks dry and dead and is therefore useless. Let the whole thing callous over before replanting it in new soil. I believe Jeff already addressed this in another thread. Nancy

I forgot. I found the best thing for handling cacti (when repotting, planting or trimming) is a pair of ordinary kitchen tongs--the scissor-handled jobs. I got two pairs for a dollar at Dollar Tree a couple of years ago.