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Hi Everyone,

I don't have a proper picture so I will try to describe the situation as well as possible. I have (had) a Rebutia which I repotted a while ago. You have the main stem which splits into two seperate stems. Each of these two stems has various offsets. Today I noticed the main stem has started to rot. The color of the stem was quite dark when I got the plant, but had a firm structure. I though nothing of it. I'm pretty sure the two seperate stems can be saved. If I manage to seperate the two stems with healthy tissue, would I be able to root these? Or is the safer choice to remove the individual offsets and attempt to root these instead? Thanks.

You should be able to root all of your cuttings as long as you cut back to healthy tissue.

Yep - root anything which doesn't show any discoloration.

Unfortunately I had to separate the offsets. Both of the branching stems had discoloration. I hope they root well. They grey stuff is aluminum powder to prevent infection.

The cuttings look good. The smaller ones might be a bit of challenge, they tend to dry/rot more easily. Grafting is another option, but I had few successes with even smaller cutting, especially the ones that separated from the joint area, possible because the cut surface heal faster.
Good luck!

Agreed - they could all grow. The reason cuttings separated from the joint area root better is that the joint contains a concentration of meristem cells, growth point cells which can develop into any kind of growth including roots.

Always learning new stuff here. Thanks.

This species is rot prone. I lost the main stem of my plant but rooted 2 offsets of it. Now I keep those in a small pot with mineral soil and wait more between waterings. Plus maximum sunshine.

7george wrote: ↑Sat Sep 10, 2022 1:31 am This species is rot prone. I lost the main stem of my plant but rooted 2 offsets of it. Now I keep those in a small pot with mineral soil and wait more between waterings. Plus maximum sunshine.

Thanks for tip. All of the cuttings have sent out roots.
I maybe watered them once in August and kept them out of direct sunlight. They're placed on a mineral soil and will check on them again next spring. Is the texture of the soil important in rooting cuttings? I now have them on mix of 60% pumice and 40% small gravel. The texture feels right for repotting rooted plants, but I wonder if cuttings need a more fine grained substrate. More sandy or something...

ohugal wrote: ↑Wed Sep 28, 2022 6:25 am

7george wrote: ↑Sat Sep 10, 2022 1:31 am This species is rot prone. I lost the main stem of my plant but rooted 2 offsets of it. Now I keep those in a small pot with mineral soil and wait more between waterings. Plus maximum sunshine.

Thanks for tip. All of the cuttings have sent out roots.
I maybe watered them once in August and kept them out of direct sunlight. They're placed on a mineral soil and will check on them again next spring. Is the texture of the soil important in rooting cuttings? I now have them on mix of 60% pumice and 40% small gravel. The texture feels right for repotting rooted plants, but I wonder if cuttings need a more fine grained substrate. More sandy or something...

Doesn't seem to be important for rooting but I have some % fine vermiculite in my mix to keep the moisture long enough in my small pot and dry home atmosphere.