I picked up this cactus from Lowe's in late August this year. Since cacti grow in the desert and thus need a lot of light, I provided it as much sunlight as i could by leaving it on the (east-facing) windowsill during the day and putting it near my grow light when I get home so that the whole cactus gets adequate light. Recently, I noticed that when I was moving the cactus that it was very wobbly and unstable. I thought that the soil that i used to repot the cactus in (which was miracle-gro cactus mix) was too loose, so i added some and packed it down a little more, which helped a little bit. I also noticed that it had shrunk a lot since I had got it. I'm guessing that that is a reason why it is wobbly. I'm quite concerned about the health of my cactus and what I should do since it is nearing winter and it is supposed to go dormant. Since I live in New England, I've kept it indoors at 62-68°F (not sure if this is cold enough for it to go dormant). I've watered it probably less than i should have (in mid-october and then about a week ago) but the internet said that it is always best to underwater a succulent vs overwater it because of their drought tolerance, but with winter approaching, I'm not sure if I should water it if its deprived of water, if roots broke when I repotted it (i made sure to be very careful with it), not enough light, etc. under a flashlight the cactus is still green, but I want to do something about it before its too late.
fyi the red flower on the cactus is a plastic decorative flower that came with it when I bought it.
The first image is of the cactus on 9 sept, and the second image is of the cactus today (6 dec).
by johnarbuckle19
15 Comments
Water it once every 2 weeks. I would also remove the flower and let the cactus recover first before adding it back on.
Needs more water
It’s probably dead, that level of dehydration is death.
FYI for future use, different cactus species have different needs. True desert cacti are different than most trichocereus sp. Trichocereus grandiflorus which your cacti most likely was, love water when it’s warm. Mine never dry out in the summer. Young plants will struggle drying out completely.
Looks very dead.
Dead
Blue pigmentation makes me think some sort of psilocereus hybrid. Here’s 2 of my psilo hybrids by my 2 blue Browningia Hertlingia. Some cheap perlite and a light make a world of difference. Had these about 4 months inside. Get another one, a bag of perlite, and a bag of fox farms ocean forest. For an inside plant I recommend 70-30 perlite or pumice/biochar for extra rot protection. Water only when the plant needs it. Be careful with sun. Terra cotta pots or fabric pots breathe better.
Good luck on your next cactus friend.
https://preview.redd.it/uz0hjd4txo5g1.jpeg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ffb4ba53499ef078674a188910b0e28f8caa053
They are desert plants doesn’t mean they don’t need water, you should water them when they need.
This poor cactus had a hard hand dealt. Got hot glued and then neglected to death. lol.
The best part about having a plant die on you is that you get to get a new one. Good luck on your next try and don’t be discouraged. Sometimes you can do everything right and they still give up. Happy planting!
It’s dead – not enough water, repotted too soon, in too big of a pot. Try again and this time don’t repot until you need to. Water it throughly when it needs a drink, not on a schedule. And I’d pick off the fake flower too!
You…. you watered it just *twice* since August?
Like, yes succulents don’t need as much water as other pants, but they still need SOME.
In any case, this cactus is totally dead. There’s no coming back.
Also the flower on top isn’t plastic. It’s a freeze-dried [strawflower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerochrysum_bracteatum) which is a type of flower that can be cheaply grown en masse (they’re actually lovely and come in lots of varieties). A lot of merchants glue strawflower onto cactus to trick people into buying them. The irony is that the cactus itself now matches the flower in that they’re both dessicated plant matter… 😅
Anyway. Killing a plant is part of the learning process. You were at least smart about sun, which many people aren’t, so that shows that you’re at least putting in the effort even if you didn’t have all the information. Now you know more than you did before. Potted cacti are cheap; buy another and try again.
He’s dead, Jim.
Don’t give up on it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cactus/comments/1oyv26u/what_should_i_do_about_this_guy/
This one came back after over 5 years of being on the brink.
I would remove the fake flower and toss it in the bin though.
Flower still looks great!
/s
tbh, Totally agree! Just gotta find that balance between light and water to keep it happy!
Maybe because some fool hot glued a plastic flower to its head. Probably the same fool who dips the other aloe-type pants into blue, pink or red paint. So so so sad.