Is my cactus dying?

Trouble shoot problems you are having with your cactus.
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voidable
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:35 am
Location: Manila, Philippines

Is my cactus dying?

Post by voidable »

Hello,

A newbie here. It is my first time owning a cactus. A friend of mine gave me a common cactus, one that is usually seen as decorations in receptions, etc. I gave the name Cici to the cactus.

Unfortunately, I think Cici is dying now. I don't know what I am doing wrong. Cici lives indoors but I always bring her out for a few hours to receive sunlight. I only give it little amount of water every other day for fear that it might drown if I water it too much.

This is what Cici looks like when she was given to me:
Image

This is what she looks now:

Image

The leaves on the bottom are dying. I don't know if I should remove them or let them stay.

Please help. Any tips on how to care for her will be much appreciated.

Thank you very much.
george76904
Posts: 487
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 2:01 am
Location: Americus GA

Re: Is my cactus dying?

Post by george76904 »

Ok few things I can see right off. Cici is not actually a cactus she is a succulent an enchevaria I think. I can see right off that cici isn't getting enough light. I understand that you like her indoors, but the skinnier growth on top shows that she needs more light. Also the watering, once every other day is way too much. Here in the US most plants are dormant for winter, but I don't know about the Philippines. In dormacy plants need next to no water, like once a month. Even during their growing periods I only water like once a week. Also I would recommend a soil change. There are many listed here on the forum do a search using the search bar to see some of them.
Pushrestart
Posts: 244
Joined: Fri Jul 17, 2015 4:11 pm

Re: Is my cactus dying?

Post by Pushrestart »

I second much of what George said. This is not a cactus, but rather an echeveria.
Two key things.
First it hates that soil because its rotting right up the stem, so you need to get it out of that soil immediately. I see that you're growing in the Philippines which means HIGH humidty and HIGH heat, you should be growing in almost a hydroponic medium, like rocks to avoid rot.
Second it needs WAAAY more light as its etoilated, streching for light.

If I were in your position I would take the plant out of the pot, get rid of ALL the soil. Secondly chop the echeveria head off, two to three rows of leaves from the top. Imagine taking a knife and slicing the top part off. You want to make sure there is no black or rot in the stem. Then lightly dust the end with sulfur powder let it dry off for a few days then plop it ontop of some pumice or rock-like material dont water till you see new growth.

Good luck!
voidable
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:35 am
Location: Manila, Philippines

Re: Is my cactus dying?

Post by voidable »

Thank you for the replies. The plant is now dead.
To compensate for that, I was given a new cactus. This time, I am pretty sure this is a cactus.

Image

My next question, is that brown thing on top of the cactus normal? :mrgreen:

Thank you.
jmoney
Posts: 242
Joined: Thu Jun 04, 2015 11:26 am
Location: Florida
Contact:

Re: Is my cactus dying?

Post by jmoney »

If you are referring to the color of the spines at the top, yes, I believe that is normal.
Budding cactus enthusiast

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