Question
QUESTION: 1. Why is it suggested not to water them for 7-10 days after their transplant?  Contrary to other plantings?
2. After transplant, can you hose them down regularly to not only clean away cob webs, blown matter, etc.-and-to water?
3. After their transplant, are they prone to transition disease caused by shock?  Scabbing or fungus, etc.
YOUR ANSWERS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME, I'd like to purchase a couple for the yard, about 3' each and their quite costly of course. I'm weighing the risk since guarantee's are hard to come by.  Thanks!
ANSWER: George,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, have been having computer issues. See my answers below:

1. Why is it suggested not to water them for 7-10 days after their transplant?  Contrary to other plantings?
Mostly because it is a succulent plant. They are designed to store water and will be fine without it for a while. If you water right away, it may cause rot to form, which will damage or kill the plant.

2. After transplant, can you hose them down regularly to not only clean away cob webs, blown matter, etc.-and-to water?
Again, being succulent plants, they don't need a lot of water. You can hose them down, but wait a few months before you do.

3. After their transplant, are they prone to transition disease caused by shock?  Scabbing or fungus, etc.

Not necessarily, however they must be oriented correctly north/south. if not they will sunburn and die. Also, you may notice that as the plant grows, what was the top when you planted it will be a smaller diameter than the rest of the plant, that is normal.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Greg


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

QUESTION: A neighbor of mine bought a native saguaro cactus about 5-6 weeks ago, approx 3 ft tall. This spurred my interest to maybe obtain one too. He's concerned, about 2-3 weeks ago
he gained a definite purple color cast to ribs on areas of
the south & west sides of his saguaro. Is this a concern? Will it go away? Your statement regarding north-south orientaton promted this follow-up question, Thanks.  

Answer
George,

Sounds like it could be sunburn to me. Have him buy some shade cloth (Home Depot usually carries it), and use it to shade the south side of his plant. He may be able to save it and get away with only minimal damage. Hope this helps.,

Sincerely,

Greg