Lorieu, the commonest cause of wilty, droopy leaves in phals is rotted roots. Url for a method of rehydrating and reviving rootless phals is below. The title of it was "Don't give up!" There is also a thread below started by a poster named "bevo" about success she had reviving failing phals. If you do a search for that name, you will find the original post where the methods she used to save her dying phals are described. Finally, a few minutes spent reading culture notes for phals at the Canadian Orchid Congress, Big Leaf Orchids and Bedford Orchids will repay you handsomely in success with your phals. The yellow patch on the leaf-- I'm not sure what you mean about a lump, but if the yellow patch does not extend across the leaf, just cut out the yellow part (use a sterile razor blade). Dust the edges of the cut with cinnamon. That often will take care of the problem. If the yellow keeps spreading, you may not be able to save the leaf. The center leaf on a phal (called the crown) is the growing point, so you want to save that at all costs. Hope this helps Here is a link that might be useful: rehydrating and reviving rootless phals

Thank you everyone for your replies but I live in the desert. When I dug that hole the ground was dry at the bottom. This is an arid environment meaning less than 8" of rainfall per year. Usually much less than 8" rainfall per year. I live in the middle of the driest state in the nation. I have seen many cacti die from lack of water here. This one was perhaps watered to much as I wanted to encourage root growth. At this time though the hole is dry and the point is well taken. At this point I plan on watering once every 4-6 weeks or less if it looks healthy. Keep in mind this cactus was burned with fire before I received it. Then it sat outside in the heat for four weeks before it was planted. It had some damage to the skin on some of the pads before it was planted. I still have a question or two. There are four large pads coming out of the remaining stem. They all have some damage. There are parts of them that are tan and shriveled. Even so there are some new pads growing out of them. IâÂÂm concerned that the damage will cause them to be more susceptible to disease. Are those four pads damaged to the point where I should remove them?

I knew it was Parvo before I read all the posts. My sister's Great Dane puppy survived and he was really sick. He was at the Vet's for 5 days. It is expensive. Some make it, some don't. There's always a better chance if caught early. My friend's Dobbie had the same thing. All she needed was her last series of shots. She contacted Parvo from their own back yard. Apparently (from what the vet said) Parvo can lay dormant, for years, in the soil, from a previous infected dog. Her puppy loved to dig. They knew she was sick on Saturday but waited to take her to the vet on Monday. By then it was so far gone. They opted to put her down. I was upset over that. I would have spent and/or done whatever possible to save my dog - but not everyone thinks like me. Your friend needs to sanitize EVERYTHING including wiping the car down with bleach.

Hi Emma There is nothing wrong with sand in succulent substrate providing its the right type of sand. I'm also in U.K. and use a product called Grit sand or Sharp sand in my substrate. This type of sand has very coarse grains and improves drainage. Don't use builders sand which is fine grain and doesn't improve drainage - makes it worse. If I were you I would avoid so-called specialist pre-mixed composts like you have shown and make your own - the manufacturers just use cheap ingredients (naturally) - the culprit in that compost is peat! I use a John Innes mix (which is peat free) mixed 50:50 with grit sand to give a nice free draining substrate. I'm not a fan of perlite but that's just personal preference and it seems to work fine for people who use it. Good luck Andrew