Death and sickness after dormancy?

[allygracebz]

My first ever cactus, Lucy: owned for 2 years, just died about 2 weeks after her first watering of the spring season after dormancy. It happened very quickly, not gradually. I don't know what happened, could I have watered her too much? Too little? Too late? Did she just have a hard time adjusting? She turned more green than normal and became extremely soft and squishy in death. I'm really upset especially since this was my first cactus raised, and don't want to make the same mistakes. I watered the other cacti and succulents the same amount and they are healthy. Help?

[Steve Johnson]

Great topic for a poll, and I'm sure that pretty much every grower has gone through this kind of heartache at some point in his or her experience.

[greenknight]

Interesting question. I've killed my share of cacti, but usually not first thing in the Spring - that's when I'm most cautious about watering. I always wait for a warm, sunny spell to give them a full watering, and they don't get another until they're definitely dry.

Could you have left that one plant sitting in water? It's always a good idea to double-check that after 15 min or so, in case more water drained out of the pot.

[iann]

At least two options! My plants usually thrive if I treat them correctly, but certainly I've killed some. Maybe they were pretty much dead and I didn't know it until I warmed them up in sprint. Maybe they had longstanding problems that weren't obvious so long as the plant stayed cool and dry. Or maybe I just got the conditions wrong in spring. Clearly there is no fundamental problem with cacti getting some water after a period without it, just me getting it wrong.