Is there hope for this Christmas cactus? - Ask Extension
This plant is an off-shoot of a very old Christmas cactus. I removed the main section, but left this section in place. It was thriving for several mon...
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Is there hope for this Christmas cactus? #864128
Asked April 11, 2024, 2:30 PM EDT
This plant is an off-shoot of a very old Christmas cactus. I removed the main section, but left this section in place. It was thriving for several months, and then this happened. The same happened to a young plant also. Can you please tell me what causes this, and whether there's hope for it? I have had two of these plants live for about 40 years and have successfully rooted and donated dozens of these plants.
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
The wilted symptom suggests the roots are staying too wet or too dry, though it's hard to tell which from the photo since symptoms can look very similar between the two. (When roots are too wet, they become stressed or die back, and since they aren't functioning properly, the plant effectively becomes drought-stressed since it can't absorb enough moisture from the damaged root system.)
If you haven't changed your watering practices much recently (since clearly they've been working well for you otherwise, to have a plant decades old), how long ago was it repotted with fresh potting mix? If it's been a few years, it may be due for a repot to remove as much of the old mix as possible and replace it with fresh. Aged potting mix degrades over time into a state that compacts more easily, holding water for longer, and into a more powdery or muddy texture (when wet) that may deprive roots of needed oxygen. Old potting mix can also accumulate "salts," which is a term used for a range of mineral residues that build-up in the soil from tap water and/or unabsorbed fertilizer. Too much salt will damage roots and cause water stress symptoms, since it interferes with moisture absorption.
If none of these circumstances seem to fit, we're not certain why it's withering and wrinkling a bit. Is it closer to a drafty window or air vent than it used to be? Might it have gotten too chilled at some point, when we had a temperature drop in the weather for a few days? (For example, is it in a sunroom that perhaps wasn't heated after we had a warm-up followed by a chilly spell?) Christmas Cactus can handle somewhat cool conditions, but a more drastic change in temperature might be a contributing factor.
Was the piece separated dug out of the pot, or pulled/clipped off of existing stems? Maybe roots were disturbed too much and need time to regrow, or a stem cut is experiencing some tissue death from opportunistic infection or drying out as is calluses over. It's hard to say, but these are other ideas.
Even if the plant has root rot or is otherwise losing roots, you can probably still root pieces to perpetuate the plant and have it regrow into a new specimen clump.
Miri
If you haven't changed your watering practices much recently (since clearly they've been working well for you otherwise, to have a plant decades old), how long ago was it repotted with fresh potting mix? If it's been a few years, it may be due for a repot to remove as much of the old mix as possible and replace it with fresh. Aged potting mix degrades over time into a state that compacts more easily, holding water for longer, and into a more powdery or muddy texture (when wet) that may deprive roots of needed oxygen. Old potting mix can also accumulate "salts," which is a term used for a range of mineral residues that build-up in the soil from tap water and/or unabsorbed fertilizer. Too much salt will damage roots and cause water stress symptoms, since it interferes with moisture absorption.
If none of these circumstances seem to fit, we're not certain why it's withering and wrinkling a bit. Is it closer to a drafty window or air vent than it used to be? Might it have gotten too chilled at some point, when we had a temperature drop in the weather for a few days? (For example, is it in a sunroom that perhaps wasn't heated after we had a warm-up followed by a chilly spell?) Christmas Cactus can handle somewhat cool conditions, but a more drastic change in temperature might be a contributing factor.
Was the piece separated dug out of the pot, or pulled/clipped off of existing stems? Maybe roots were disturbed too much and need time to regrow, or a stem cut is experiencing some tissue death from opportunistic infection or drying out as is calluses over. It's hard to say, but these are other ideas.
Even if the plant has root rot or is otherwise losing roots, you can probably still root pieces to perpetuate the plant and have it regrow into a new specimen clump.
Miri
