Steve, I just realized that while I read your message when posted i never responded.
Thanks for re-posting that info and for all the help with my project.

Sorry for an confusion, but these photos are a continuation of my earlier post here. These offshoots were planted about 4 or 5 weeks ago.

All sounds good!
And thanks for the link to that article--very interestng.

All items have been ordered. I do have some additional questions though: -I had put sulfur on 2 of the offsets where the cuts were made. Can they just be placed in the pot wihout removing the sulfur powder? -Once in the pot, should they be kept out of direct sunlight? -Is there any danger of the fun...

Wow! Thanks a ton Steve for those incredibly detailed instructions!
I can see now how I had been making mistakes in the past (there really is a lot of mis-information out there).
I feel very optimistic that the "progeny" of this 30 year old plant will live on.
Thanks again,
Joe

Steve, the 9 1/2 inch offset, as well as one of the smaller offsets has a diameter of 3/4 of an inch.
The other 3 1/2 inch offset has a diameter of 1/2 an inch.
Joe

Thanks Mike and Steve for that information. It all makes sense to me now. (although one question would be why it took the nematodes so many years (8,10?) to have this effect). Steve, I may have misunderstood your previous message re the offsets since I removed them last week (although the infection ...

Thanks Steve.
Any thoughts on why the most recent cuts I made--using the sulfur powder--still led to the blackenng of the cut area?

BTW, that is one strange, pre-historic looking creature.

Sorry for the delay, but here are a couple of photos of the root after I cut it. I certainly have no idea what I am looking at. Also, on the plant itself, I saw that where I cut off the dark areas (and used sulfur powder this time), the same dark/blackened areas have now reappeared so it looks ident...

I haven't done the surgery yet, but I am kind of resigned to this not turning out well. At some point, I would need some step by step pointers for planting the offsets . Not sure this is the right thread for that issue. (I have planted offsets or cuttings in the past with mixed success, so I obvious...

Wow--this is getting really complicated.
I'll perform the surgery in the next day or so and post the pics. (I'm really curious myself what's lurking in that "bulb").
Thanks Steve.

Here are some pics of my root cleaning over the weekend (decided to do it in my basement).
Please let me know if this cleaning looks good and what the next steps would be.
(the plant meanwhile is lying flat in the basement).
Thanks!

Thanks again Steve

One more quick question--and this may be a stupid question: when you cut off an offset and put sulfur powder on the "parent" plant, should you also put the powder on the offset where it was cut?

Jerry, after living in North-western NJ for over 30 years I am all too familiar with deer assaults on plants! But maybe they are unfamiliar with cacti and avoid them if there are better food options available. Anyway, maybe not worth trying to find out.