Re-potting problem

[AlanW]

I was re-potting a Parodia werneri (kindly identified for me by DaveW) from the peat compost it was in when I bought it in October. The rootball was solid & I tried to break it up with a plant label but it came away from the plant as photo. Well I sure got rid of the peat compost! Will it survive? What should I do next? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Nic]

It will be fine, Just put it into a better mix, then treat it sorta like a cutting for a while while it regrows its roots.

[greenknight]

Agreed. Best if you put in in a pot not much larger than the root ball so the soil won't stay wet too long - but that would take a tiny pot in this case, it would be too top-heavy to stand up!

Work around that by using a pot large enough to hold the cactus and filling most of the space with some largish rocks. Work the potting mix down between the rocks to create drainage channels, no air pockets. Leave a small space in the middle for the roots. Once it has filled the available space with roots un-pot it, pick the rocks out, and repot it back into the same pot.

[DaveW]

Don't think I identified that as P. werneri (= N. uebelmannianus) Alan. That's Parodia (Notocactus) submammulosus.

It has roots so it will be OK. Some of the Japanese growers of those fancy Astrophytum's actually chop of all the roots and re-root them when repotting, though I would not advise it. Unlike normal plants cacti can exist for quite a time on their reserves of moisture before needing to root to replenish it again.

[AlanW]

Thanks Nic that's very reassuring.

Thanks Spence -I'll try that.

Sorry if I misquoted you Dave-I said I was confused. So I shouldn't be worried if I have lost roots in in the peat removal process on the other cacti?