About one week ago I transplanted my cacti (3 in one pot). I also moved the pot outside to see how it would do with more sun light. Now I am noticing that the top third of the cacti are losing their green and are turning more like whitish-yellow. I don't know what this means. Are they dying? I only water them once per week, when the soil is dry as far as I can stick my finger. How can I revive my cacti? Please help!
This is how the cacti used to look. (Its the pot in the back).
How long did you leave them out in the sun? I am not an expert but it looks to me like it was sun burned. when you have plants that are indoors and want to take them out to full sun you have to acclimate them. Leave them in the sun at first for a few minutes , everyday keeping them out longer until they have acclimated, usualy takes about a week.
Now I don't know if you should cut off the burned area off ? I am not sure what kind of advice to give you on that. I am sure someone else will give you better advice. Also I wouldn't water them once a week but more like once every 3 weeks to a month. They are cacti and can go with out water for a long time. Could be you are watering them to much plus got sun burned? If you haven't yet, I would bring them back indoors until you get better advice about what to do..
Sorry I am not much help...
Good luck with your plants
Amalie
I'm not a cactus expert either, but I also suspect sunburn. Knowing what sunburned leaves look like on other plants, that's how I would guess sunburn would look on a cactus.
Thanks guys. I read up on sunburned cacti and there is a chance the cacti will survive! I have moved the cacti back into the house in a window where they aren't receiving so much sun. I read that I shouldn't cut just yet because the color could come back. For now all I can do is wait and hope my babies get better. Thanks again...you guys pointed me in the right directions. Hopefully I will come back in a month or so with good news!
Hi SemiGreeenThumb, I am glad we were able to help you out. Good to know that her color can come back, please keep us updated on your cactus progress... I hope the color does come back for you.
Take care.
Amalie63
My cacti are getting worse! It seems like they are shriveling up from top to bottom. There is still some healthy looking cacti toward the base, but I'm not sure if they will survive. What do I do? Can I cut the top off?
I want to post on the cactus blog, but I don't have a subscription. Are there any members who don't mind posting for me just asking some cacti ppl to look at this blog...
Pls help if you can.
I am so sorry to hear that. I also don't have a subscription at the moment, so I can't help you that way. If no one can help you on here then I would cut the dead parts off before the whole plant dies and see what happens.
Sorry I am not much help.
Amalie
Here's a site talking about cutting off cactus:
http://www.cactusjungle.com/blog/archives/1757-Dead-Cactus-Questions.html
I wonder if its a combination of sunburn and overwatering. On one of the sites I looked at(possibly the one I listed) it said to water every 3-4 weeks. The best hope you have may be to cut the top off like the above site says. Good luck!
The white part I still blame on sunburn but the rest of what's happening seems more like a watering issue. Unfortunately it's hard to reverse that sometimes, so hopefully you're able to get a cutting started with the info from the link that kls posted.
Thanks everybody for your help. Kls I looked at the site you recommended and followed those instructions. If it isn't too late for my cacti, they should heal within a month or two. I had to cut over half of the cacti :-( I hope they recover and I will keep posting as they progress.
Well, it looks like you removed all the damaged part of the plant, so hopefully it will survive....good luck!
Kristie
Thanks for your well wishes Kristie. I will keep you posted.
