Question
QUESTION: My thanksgiving cactus had never felt better- it bloomed and still produces new flowers, but now its leaves has become soft, squishy.

I just took it out of pot to look at roots, since I thought that they had started to rot from over watering. (I have cut back on  watering, but it haven't get better.)
And roots looked pretty bad. They weren't juicy, strong, but looked grayish-brownish and were very fragile. It seemed to me that there isn't enough roots.

Since I don't want to loose my cactus, what #and how) should I do?
Should I make cuttings from it, so it would produce new roots?
If yes, then what should I do with flowers since they could take away all energy from rooting to blooming?
Or should I start fertilize it? If yes, with what?

Thanks!





Thanks!

ANSWER: Dear Renate, The first thing you need to do to save your Thanksgiving cactus is to dry it out.  Be sure when watering the plant to water more lightly and any water that remains in a saucer under the plant (if you have one under it) is poured out.  You can make cuttings that will root easily.  Just make cuttings about 3 or 4 inches long, remove any blooms and add rooting hormone to the cut end to help it grow roots, although they should grow well without it.  Any parts of the plant that have become squishy should be cut off and thrown out.  Did something change to make this plant suddenly unhappy?  Was is watered more than usual or is the weather colder than usual?  Generally, the time to fertilize is after flowering, but I would wait a bit until the squishy stem problem goes away, and I would wait to fertilize any of the new cuttings until they had some roots growing.  Please feel free to ask me any more questions you may have.  I am sorry it took so long to return this answer but I have had internet problems the last few days.  I will respond more quickly in future.  Good luck, Melissa

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Squishy stems   QUESTION: Although, at summer I watered my cactus maybe more than I should, it never had to sit in water- soil was always moist/ wet, excess water just drained. But, yes- it never dried between watering.

Now if I try to recall when the soft stem problem occurred, maybe it was in late summer. But apparently it wasn't so noticeable, since I didn't start to worry about it.

Perhaps repotting it in bigger pot with not the best soil for cactus made my thanksgiving cactus 'over edge'. Now, when I started to search information about this cactus, I found out that it likes to have it's roots tight, so maybe with taking cuttings I should repot it into better pot, soil?

About taking cuttings- what if whole cactus is equally squishy?
And after adding rooting hormone- do I just need to put cutting in soil, or what?

I also added picture so you could tell me how bad/ good it is.

Congratulations with getting back on Internet!

Thanks again!

Answer
Dear Renate, I am glad that you included the picture.  The plant does look odd, but it is not as bad as I imagined.  Here is what I would do:  First, since when you repotted it before you say you didn't use very good soil and you used a pot that might have been too big, I would repot it using very good fresh soil into a clean pot that is only slightly bigger than the pot that you move it out of.  Then water it well, let the soil get almost dry but not hard before you water again.  Be sure to tuck the soil in firmly around the roots.  I would try to replant the whole plant, but make some cuttings as well.  Be sure to plant the cuttings firmly as well.  Plant the cuttings at the joints between the leaves, and you can let these dry for a day or so before planting them.  This isn't something you can do with other cuttings but you can let Thanksgiving cactus dry out a bit before planting.  So repot the plant firmly in a pot just a little larger than the old pot in good soil, keep the water even, avoid drafts, and plant any cuttings, and I'll bet your plant perks up fairly soon.  It may take a few months before the leaves start to look better.  If they look any worse, you can spray the plant with NEEM, an organic product that is probably available in your area, as I have found it in India and Cyprus among other countries.  This product will get rid of any fungus that the plant may have picked up, and either way it won't harm it.  I think the plant is probably overly stressed and will start to look better once it is repotted.  Please keep me advised if you need more help.  Good luck, Melissa