Content

• Steps

Discoloration, wilting, and droopy of leaves or branches can be caused by a number of factors. First you need to identify the problem and apply appropriate emergency care, followed by creating the best conditions for cacti to grow long-term by providing soil, light and a favorable environment for the plant. .

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Urgent care

1. 

   Water the withered cactus more water. If part of the cactus is curled up, wrinkled, or wilted (droopy or looks droopy), the plant may need more water. If the soil is dry, you need to soak it until the water drains out of the bottom of the pot.
   • If the soil does not dry out, the problem the tree may have is chlorosis, when the round or branch-shaped parts of the tree are pinched. This indicates that the plant needs more light, so move the pot out of a south or west window.

2. 

   
   
   Cut off the rotten parts of the plant. All brown or black parts of the tree need to be removed. Rotting can be caused by fungus that occurs when over watered. If the soil is soaking wet, remove the plant and replant it in the correct soil mixture. If the soil is not soaking wet, you can allow the soil to dry completely before watering it again.
   • The standard soil mix for desert cacti is 2 parts garden soil, 2 parts coarse sand, and 1 part peat.

3. 

   
   
   Give more light to the atrophied cactus. Pointing in spherical cacti and other round cacti, or pinched and thin branches in long branch cacti indicate a condition called chlorosis. This is caused by lack of light, so look for a place in your home that has long-term sunlight (south-facing windows) or higher intensity light (west windows).

4. 

   
   
   Check for yellowing on the bark. If the bark on the sunny side turns yellow or brown, the tree is overexposed. Move the tree quickly to a cooler place, such as an east window with milder sunlight.
   • Wait and see how the cactus reacts when moved to a more shady spot. If the yellow parts of the plant do not improve after a few weeks, cut them away, leaving only the green remains.

5. 

   Kill insects. The main pests that harm cacti are aphids and red spiders. Mealybugs are tiny, chalky white and appear in clusters. Red red spider, relatively small and paper-like between the spines of the cactus. To eradicate both species, you can use rubbing alcohol on the affected plant area with a cotton swab. You can also use a miticide to kill red spiders. advertisement

Method 2 of 2: Ensuring long-term healthy plant growth

1. 

   Use the right soil mixture. For most desert cacti, a suitable soil mix is ​​2 parts garden soil, 2 parts coarse sand, and 1 part peat. Soil mixtures should have good drainage and do not harden when dry.
   • You should also use clay pots - the weight of the clay pot keeps the bulky cactus from tipping over; These pots also help the soil clear, preventing root rot.

2. 

   Water only when the soil is dry. Check the soil moisture by pressing your finger against the topsoil. If the soil is completely dry, soak it until the water drains out of the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot.

3. 

   Adjust your seasonal watering schedule. The need for watering the cactus depends on how long the plant is growing or hibernating. During the growing season of the plant from March to September, you need to water your plants on average once a month. During the winter hibernation season from October to February, you should only water up to once a month.
   • Excessive watering during the plant's hibernation season is the main cause of cactus problems.

4. 

   Provide enough light. Most cacti need plenty of sunlight. In the summer, leave the tree outside, be careful not to let it catch much rain. First, leave the plant in a shade place first, then gradually move it out to a more sunny place to prevent it from getting sunburned. In the winter, place the pot in a south or west window where the sun is most sunny.

5. 

   Monitor the temperature in the room. Cacti prefers cool temperatures during hibernation. Be careful, however, not to place the plant in an open air - away from drained windows and not on the floor near doors. Appropriate temperature at night in winter should be between 7 - 16 degrees C, so a basement or room without heat is a good place to preserve plants during this period.
   • Unless you have a cactus that can withstand cold climates, you should be careful not to let the temperature in your room drop below freezing, as most cacti cannot tolerate the cold.

6. 

   Replant the tree according to the growth of the plant. You will know when to switch the cactus to a larger pot when the top is growing so heavy that the pot cannot stand, or when the plant is within 2.5 cm of the pot's edge. Use a soil mixture of 2 parts garden soil, 2 parts coarse sand and 1 part peat.
   • Repot the plant at the same depth as in the old pot.

7. 

   Cut away dead roots. A common consequence of over-watering is that the roots rot when soaked in wet soils with poor drainage. Before replanting the plant, gently brush off the soil that is stuck on the roots after removing the root ball from the soil in the old pot. Examine the root system and trim away any loose black roots or dry roots that appear dead. Cut close to the live roots.
   • You can avoid root rot by growing plants in a pot with a drainage hole and keeping the water from standing in the collecting plate on the bottom of the pot.

8. 

   Do not re-plant as soon as the roots are damaged. If the roots become damaged when you removed the cactus from the old pot or need to trim the dead roots, leave the plant outside for about 10 days. This will give the plant time to form scarring around cut or damaged parts. You should place the tree on a piece of paper, keep it in a place that is out of sunlight but not too cool.
   • A cactus will do best after replanting if you do this during the growing season (March through September).
   • Usually, most cacti need to be replanted every one to two years.

9. 

   Use fertilizers with a low nitrogen content. Most fertilizers have numbers indicating the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in a fertilizer (in the form: N-Ph.-Po.) An example for a fertilizer with a nitrogen content. A suitable low for cactus is a 10-30-20 fertilizer, in which the nitrogen content has a ratio of 10.
   • Too high a nitrogen content will give the cactus a soft texture, which inhibits plant growth.
   • A cactus should never be fertilized during the plant's hibernation season (October through February).

10. 

    Wash off dirt. The ability of plants to photosynthesize will be worse if the bark is covered with dirt. Use a rag or sponge soaked in aqueous solution with a drop of dish soap to wash away dirt from the plants, then rinse under running water or use a sponge soaked in water. advertisement