Sounds a little hefty. Either one by itself I would think is plenty for a single dose but maybe I'm sensitive or something. I would think both might land you a bit past the "sweet spot". I suppose it's different for everyone. Just gotta be careful

Thanks for the advice and confirmation! I probably won't collect any more cacti until the next growing season. However, the monstrose looks promising and will definitely be on the list for next year!

I planted the middle cutting on July 10th and left it outside in a screened in porch, away from direct sunlight. Much to my delight and confusion, a pup sprouted and has been steadily growing bigger. However, the cutting has not put down any roots yet. Is that normal?

I've read that the cactus will shoot out roots when it is ready, and not a minute sooner, so I'm obviously going to leave it alone to see what happens. The pup appears to be very healthy and is growing rather fast so I am content with these results.

I find it quite fascinating that the cactus is dedicating energy and resources for pup production before establishing a root system. See pic below:

Edit, sorry for sideways pic.

TGO beautiful pup!

Not really sure about the no roots/pup question. I'd imagine it has quite a bit of energy stored for continued production to some degree, and maybe that gave the pup life [just a guess, could be wrong].

And when the roots take and go it'll only add to the awesomeness.

Congrats on the new fam! One of my first two bridgesii just got a whole bunch of rot. Somehow the rot occurred internally and halfway up the cactus. So the whole thing is pretty much ruined... Usually i just get it at the tips or base and slice it off. But i just lost like 8 inches

TGO,

Beautiful cacti! It warms my heart seeing more and more folks getting into growing!


They can pup before rooting without problem, roots are not far off Normally as soon as I start seeing signs of growth, I'll give the plant a bit of water whether or not the cutting has roots. The water can help soften the scab tissue and let the roots poke out a bit easier. Just a touch of water though, you don't want it sitting in soggy soil.

I think the "keeping cuttings bone dry" for rooting is a bit overplayed. Granted, you do need to be careful about causing rot.

Another thing you might consider is gradually increasing the amount of light your plants are getting. The neon green growth with the smaller diameter is a tell-tale sign of needing more light. Make sure the transition is gradual and keep track of the cacti's ordinal direction. It helps to keep the South side of the plant facing South when you move it.

Happy Growing!
wap

I've had cuttings sprout roots, cuttings sprout pups, and both, in or out of the soil. Sometimes they sit there refusing to root and then something changes, who knows what - well, it's a relief when half a little-finger's-worth of cactus saves itself from the brink. Your goodly chunk there would keep going for a good couple or three years without soil (at least, without direct sunlight), by my reckoning.

You guys are awesome! Thank you all so much for the help and advice!

I checked the pup yesterday to find that it had some black spots on it, some small and one big spot. At first, I thought it might be rot (panic!) of some sort but it seems to have hardened up, so perhaps it is just scarring...? The pup itself is firm too.

What is most peculiar is that I didn't directly change anything in his environment since my last post, at least not purposely (still waiting on roots. Today is the one month mark since planting). The only thing that did change was that it rained/stormed for a couple days. Naturally, the humidity was pretty significant, but he was under the cover of a roof, so no rain fell on him.

Now that I think about it, it may be an accidental sunburn? I was doing my best to keep it out of direct sunlight but I may have moved him into a hot zone or turned the pot slightly to where the pup was inadvertently exposed to the sun.

Whatever it is, I am going to be keeping a close eye on the pup and hopefully I won't have to cut anything off. I'll post a pic so you can all see what I mean:

Here, warm and humid, almost all my bridges, to some extent, have the same kind of black spots. No worries if not squishy.

I've had all sorts of those things on my bridgesii and san pedros. I've peeled a few off and they were rotten behind. But others i've left and nothing came out of it. Probably just a contained infections of some sort. Like a scab. Just keep an eye. I've noticed mine are like ten times more resilient in the sun. I was getting all kinds of nasty scabbing on my pedros and none of them would put down roots until i got them outside. They they shot out roots and started growing instantaneously and healing up wounds. Haven't had a mold issue since. I don't know the consensus on that sort of thing, but i feel like these guys are pretty rock solid so long as they don't get over watered. Even then it's been pouring down every day and my pachanoi are growing like champs compared to the one bridgesii that rotted (which is the total opposite of what's supposed to happen i hear). I doubt it'd be a sun burn though. At worst mine get a little blotchy but not injured. I try not to overthink these guys anymore. When i got really ill i basically neglected my bridgesii for like 2 years and they did great. So if i had to sum up this ramble i might be trying to say stick the guys out in the sun and let them do their thing...? At least while it's not raining. I really don't think you're going to sun burn a desert cactus. If anything you're going to give it a more natural condition for growth. But someone please shut me up if i'm wrong. This has just been my experience. I've been growing two bridgesii turned four over 3 years and 2 large san pedros the past year. I've had my scares but they always pull through and worst case is they get a few inches cut out of them

If it stays solid its bruising/fought off infection.
If it turns a very bright beige its okay because thats just callus&scab.
If it turns more black and spreads you should cut those.

Alright, thanks guys!

I double/triple checked today to confirm that the black spots are hard, not soft and squishy. I feel relieved, but will still keep a close eye on him. I hope he decides to throw down some roots before it starts getting colder. It rained again last night so he hasn't had much opportunity for extra sunlight. Hopefully the weather will clear up soon and dry out a bit!

I feel that. It's been raining here every day. My Kratoms are absolutely loving it. My cacti, not as much. I had to cut off like 6 inches of one of my bridgesii this morning and toss it because the rot kept coming back no matter how many times i tried to surgically remove it. Time to invest in a green house i suppose...

Yeah, I'd just keep on eye on it, and yeah as long as it doesn't become squishy and start oozing.

The nice thing is that if this was at the base and were actual rot - you could always cut it above the rot [the cut you do above the rot should look fresh n' green, if not keep cutting a tad higher until it's fresh n' green]. Then once it's cut above the rot you can stick in the shade for a couple weeks or so to callous the cut, then stick in dry soil for a month or so, allow some new root development in that time, then start introducing water.

If that black spotting on the top of your cactus does get worse though you could always scalpel out the the area and add fresh ground cinnamon powder, dust it in with a brush of some sort.

They sell really cheap pvc greenhouses that can help against the rain [if you get alot of it]. I have a small cheapo pvc greenhouse, like 36"x24"x30" or so. Only issue is with storms and strong wind it could blow away [and has lmao], so good to put some sandbags around the bottom or a few bricks to help weigh it down.

I bet the HOA would have a fit Though that that's pretty small i suppose. I have at least 6 cacti i would want to fit and grow and plans to add more plants. It's no biggy though. I'm thinking about getting an actual larger green house permitted and installed for a variety of plants. I was supposed to dip off grid this summer and start a homestead but that plan failed. So i guess im going to have to bring permaculture to me

Sorry to hear of your loss
Have you tried dusting your cuts with sulfur?

A bit late to say this, I suspect, but rotten cactus is excellent for extracting alkaloids as the cell walls have already been broken down. Maybe the off-cut is still retrievable?

New mantra: If it's got rot, throw it in the pot!

My bridgesii get those black spots too. It seems to be just something that they do. Warranted, I keep a close eye on them!

Ha i thought about it! Not sure the health concerns of eating an infected cactus though... I haven't tried sulfur, but it seemed like it was coming from inside so i'm not sure how much it would have helped

That's why I say 'extract alkaloids' - the purification process should make things considerably safer, especially if repeated. I wouldn't just make soup and drink it.

When cutting off diseased cactus parts I clean my (razor sharp) knife with 70% isopropanol before cutting. Then the remaining healthy part I dust with sulfur.

words of cactus force