What should I do?!

[jackcnichols]

I'm an absolute beginner at growing cacti, but this one I've recently inherited seems rather unhealthy. There is a long brown mark on one side (picture 1) I wondered whether this could be a scar? And then white marks on the other side, and a brown/whiteness at the bottom (pic' 2&3).

I'm not sure what any of it is, but I was wondering whether I should cut off the top and try to grow that from scratch in a new pot? The top seems much healthier than the rest of the plant.

picture 1

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picture 2

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picture 3

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Thanks in advance, Jack.

[bruno]

it looks like it does not like staying in that potting mix, you should check the roots if they are gone you' d better restart it as a cutting in a well drained mix. By the way where are you keeping it? Cactuses like open air and sun

[jackcnichols]

Thanks Bruno, I'm working on the potting mix, just waiting on a delivery! How will I be able to tell if the roots are rotting/in a bad way? And it's on a south-facing window, getting plenty of sun and good circulation of air.

[hoteidoc]

Looks healthy enough- nice shine to epidermis! Little corking/scar in the middle. Rotten roots are squishy (in cacto-lingo ) or just very sparse. If that's the case, then you back to the "making a cutting" stage. That columnar's roots should have some length to it. I just froze a Mexican Fencepost (@ 24") & in the process of checking everything to try to save something (couldn't ), I checked the roots. Soil bone dry & root ball was the size of 2 hands cupped together. Soil would be the only issue & you're working on that ! Good Luck!

[jackcnichols]

Thanks a lot for the information! I'll have a look at the roots when I'm re-potting it, how long would I need to leave a cutting to dry out before re-potting it?

[hoteidoc]

"If" you need to get to that, you'll probably need to dry it for @ least 2 - 3 wks. I usually "dip" the cut end in sulphur powder. Let's see if other comments or ideas come in. My growing soils over the last 2 yrs have changed from 50% potting soil/25% vermiculite/25% coarse grit to 20 - 25% potting soil, 25% coarse grit, 25% Turface or NAPA, 25% vermiculite. Minor variations for specific cacti.