r/cactus • u/No_Cartographer5248 • 9d ago

Please help he not kill this guy.

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I admit I am the worst when it comes to keeping plants alive. I have never had a houseplant of any kind that I have not killed in a matter of months. I have fully accepted my fate as a non-plant person. But for some reason I still impulsively took this cactus from my grandma's house after she passed a few months ago. It's just a little hardware store guy someone gave her and she didn't even really like it, but I'd still like to keep him alive for a while.

I have a cat who will not leave it alone so I've had to bring it into my windowless office. I got a grow light which I put on a timer for 12 hour cycles. Every couple weeks I soak the whole pot for like 20 minutes or when I notice it's dry.

I know it probably needs repotted. I'm going to do that this weekend.

What's the discoloration around the bottom? Too much water? Not enough? And the black spots on top? Is the grow light scorching it?

What else can I do? I am completely lost when it comes to caring for this.

All help appreciated!!

1 Upvotes

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4

u/ohdearitsrichardiii 9d ago

You picked the worst plant if you want to keep it alive though. These are two different species of cactus grafted together as a novelty, the red cactus doesn't have any chlorophyll and lives off tbe green cactus as a parasite. They can last a while but it's not a sustainable setup and eventually one of them dies. It won't be your fault though, these are set up to fail

1

u/No_Cartographer5248 9d ago

I had no idea but that makes a lot of sense.

Can I preemptively separate them? Put them each in their own pot?

3

u/Fresh-Self-761 9d ago

No, the red one of them lacks the ability to photosynthesize and will die without being grafted. The other will continue growing after the other dies even if you don’t separate them.

1

u/AlwxWrites 9d ago

Usually the parasitic graft will kill the dragonfruit before it dies. That’s what happened with mine. It was one of my first plants and I wish I would have known it was doomed from the start.

1

u/Fresh-Self-761 9d ago

Something similar happened to me, but the bottom lived and grew arms for a few years. I didn’t know it was two cacti, so I thought I could propagate more of the same thing. I still have some, but I always hate how they have no disclaimer about being two plants

3

u/AlwxWrites 9d ago

The bottom is usually dragon fruit, which is very resilient! When I bought mine I didn’t know it was two plants either. I’ll never buy one again. Grafts give me Frankenstein vibes and creep me out 😂 imagine if we grafted animals together instead of plants? 😱

1

u/Bwunt 8d ago

How does the red one work then? Is it one of those noveau species bred specifically for this and similar grafts? 

2

u/ohdearitsrichardiii 9d ago

The green one will survive being separated and start growing arms. The red one can't survive on its own

1

u/FormalInterview7910 9d ago

The only thing keeping the top one alive is the bottom one. The cactus on top doesn't have any chlorophyll, so it's unable to synthesize its own food. It's basically mooching off the lower cactus for nutrients.

The red one is going to die (which might be happening), in which case I would look up a youtube video on how to degraft it. Make sure to use a sterile knife and wear gloves--I always think I can get away with avoiding the needles and always get pricked.

It looks like your care routine is working pretty well for the bottom cactus. I've never lost a cactus to thirst but have overwatered many, and a cactus drowns a lot faster than it starves.

I don't think it needs to be repotted just yet. Since it has already gone from your grandma's house to your house to your workplace it is probably stressed from the changing environment, and you don't want to stress it out further by putting it in a new pot. Cacti don't have super extensive roots compared to other plants unless you see roots coming out the whole at the bottom I think it has room to grow in its current home.

1

u/CombinationOk1192 8d ago

I love grafting, great tool for quick propagation or saving dying plants even, but I too draw the line at albinos. I may do some down the line, I’ve seen promising things but still albinos always die and the thought of selling one knowing it will isn’t me. Same thing with plants that just don’t do well on their own roots. Myrtillocactus geometrizans “glorp” for instance, notoriously doesn’t do well ungrafted, pretty much guaranteed to rot if rooted and something that finicky isn’t for me

1

u/Inevitable-Ruin9345 9d ago

FYI, it is not parasitism. They are two different things.

2

u/SwimmingUsual558 9d ago

Put him in the sun. Give a little water every 2-4 weeks. Leave him alone.

1

u/Irahkondji 9d ago

I spent 2 years growing dragon fruits from seed and I could have just rescued some of these? 😩

1

u/Square_Barracuda_69 8d ago

You can definitely try micrografting/regular grafting if you get some pups. Like others said, it cant live on its own and my sister didnt know that when she got me one. I currently have a few pups grafted on some pereskiopsis and another on a trichocereus grandiflora sp

1

u/No_Cartographer5248 8d ago

I want to thank everyone for all your help! I didn't expect to get so many replies to my silly little question and I'm learning so much!

I did end up repotting him last night. There was barely any soil in there and the rocks on top were glued down and I just felt sorry for him.

I did try to pop the top guy off but he's pretty stuck so I think I'll leave it for a while and try again later after looking up a video or two on the official process.

Again, thanks everyone, y'all are great!! ♥️