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Regenerating an old cactus

Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:58 pm
by gillinger
I've just been given a very old Mammillaria bocasana, which was bursting put of its pot. The person who gave me it reckons it's around 20 years old.
I've broken up the original and I now have a half dozen or so sections that can probably be potted up again. Some questions, as I'm not sure of the best way forward.
Should I cut the long taproots back a touch, to encourage new growth?
Should I repot to a level where only the green tops are visible?
Any help greatly appreciated. I'd like to give the donor a new, healthy plant back to replace what she gave me. I also got from her a couple of Echinopsis oxygena which she says are over well over 30 years old and were given to her by her father. She's in her eighties!

Re: Regenerating an old cactus

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 5:33 am
by greenknight
I wouldn't prune the roots more except for the one in the second picture, which you would have to wind around to fit in a reasonable-sized pot.
They've lost enough roots already.

Don't plant them any deeper than they grew previously, you don't want anything holding moisture around the neck of the plants. Keep the pot sizes as small as the roots will comfortably fit in to start with.