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San Pedros broke at the base - need help

CosmicRiver

CosmicRiver

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Hi guys. Tonight i was bringing my cacti indoors because temperatures here are starting to fall below 10 °C during the night and there's lots of rainy days lately. So i brought 5 of them inside without any problem but then while i was lifting the pots of the tallest ones (70 cm) they broke off at the base. One of them was once a pup that grew from a cut base, while the other one grew a pup at the base and bent while growing. So i guess they were both unstable and i had no idea because they grew so much this summer. So i cut them right above the breaking point and now i have two 60-cm tall cuttings.
Now i have to wait for them to form calluses but it will take a few days and i'm very worried they won't root after that because maximum temperatures now are just slightly above 20 °C and i'm afraid they will get lower in the next days. Do you think they will still root? How long can they survive without roots? Any advice? Thank you
 
Pics?

Cut like a 2 inch mid section to brew, let the base pup and put the top cutting on a shelf somewhere to callous over then put it into dry soil until it roots. That’s what I do when that happens.

Also those temps are fine for now…I’m in southern Canada usda zone 8b and I do not plan to take any of mine indoors until maybe December…if at all. They go onto my deck in a week or so where it’s sheltered from the rain so they dry out for winter.

At some point I move them to the greenhouse. Last winter I think they only came indoors for 2 weeks but they have gone through many nights where it drops to -5 C etc..
 
Jamie01 said:
Pics?

Cut like a 2 inch mid section to brew, let the base pup and put the top cutting on a shelf somewhere to callous over then put it into dry soil until it roots. That’s what I do when that happens.

Also those temps are fine for now…I’m in southern Canada usda zone 8b and I do not plan to take any of mine indoors until maybe December…if at all. They go onto my deck in a week or so where it’s sheltered from the rain so they dry out for winter.

At some point I move them to the greenhouse. Last winter I think they only came indoors for 2 weeks but they have gone through many nights where it drops to -5 C etc..
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Hi Jamie thank you. I bring them inside because autumn gets very humid and foggy here and i had problems with mold in the past.
Anyway do you think that the cuttings will root even with these temps?
I have a pic but it's from early May so they were shorter than they are now. And i have the pic of the cuttings as they are now (they're 60-cm tall).1000289898.jpg1000289897.jpg
 
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For sure yes they will root. Bring the cuttings somewhere dry…I like to bring mine indoors and leave them on a shelf until they heal over a little and then I put them directly into a out of dry cacti soil. Don’t water until you see roots.

Also don’t let water pool inside the wound on the base. You want that to heal over so it can sustain healthy pups.

It’s best to really start getting them out of the rain soon anyway so they don’t etiolate over winter once you do bring them indoors. They do much better through the cold spells when slightly dehydrated also.
 
Jamie01 said:
For sure yes they will root. Bring the cuttings somewhere dry…I like to bring mine indoors and leave them on a shelf until they heal over a little and then I put them directly into a out of dry cacti soil. Don’t water until you see roots.

Also don’t let water pool inside the wound on the base. You want that to heal over so it can sustain healthy pups.

It’s best to really start getting them out of the rain soon anyway so they don’t etiolate over winter once you do bring them indoors. They do much better through the cold spells when slightly dehydrated also.
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Thanks 🙏
I used to wait a few days for the cut to heal and then plant them in dry cactus soil. But i never did it in this season. So i looked for info on the web and i read that the callus takes 2 weeks to form and the roots take a month to grow and require warm temperatures, so i got worried they wouldn't root and would die. So i don't need to worry? I almost lost a full night of sleep for this... if they're safe i can finally go to bed :sleep:
 
CosmicRiver said:
Do you think they will still root? How long can they survive without roots? Any advice?
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They'll survive for a long time without roots. Looooong time. Years.

If the temperature is low, they won't grow roots until they become high again in the spring time, but that's not to worry: Really, they'll survive just fine, they're like biological batteries. They hybernate with the low temperatures, that means they won't grow, but also that they won't waste resources.

I got a big cutting last year around august and never planted it until march or so. Then I know it didn't started growing roots until at least 2 or 3 months later. The thing is, that cutting didn't had roots for something like 8-9 months and it was as good as new, no signs of dehydration (at least, not extreme dehydration) and everything was absolutely fine.

If you're worried that they are becoming dehydrated, you can try some foliar feeding: spray them with some water late at night. But I wouldn't do it unless the weather is hot and dry.

If you keep them indoors in a relatively high temperature place, they'll grow the roots now. But also will etiolate due to the lack of light, so I wouldn't recommend that.
 
CosmicRiver said:
Hi guys. Tonight i was bringing my cacti indoors because temperatures here are starting to fall below 10 °C during the night and there's lots of rainy days lately. So i brought 5 of them inside without any problem but then while i was lifting the pots of the tallest ones (70 cm) they broke off at the base. One of them was once a pup that grew from a cut base, while the other one grew a pup at the base and bent while growing. So i guess they were both unstable and i had no idea because they grew so much this summer. So i cut them right above the breaking point and now i have two 60-cm tall cuttings.
Now i have to wait for them to form calluses but it will take a few days and i'm very worried they won't root after that because maximum temperatures now are just slightly above 20 °C and i'm afraid they will get lower in the next days. Do you think they will still root? How long can they survive without roots? Any advice? Thank you
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Always keep them below 15°C (dormancy begins at this temperature), but not lower than 2°C during winter. Maintain relative humidity ideally below 60% to prevent pathogen development. They enter dormancy and stop growing, and can be kept in complete darkness. Mine stay in a dark basement for about 6 months.


If you had to cut them just before dormancy, allow them to callus completely. This may take weeks, or even longer in high humidity conditions. In very humid environments, use a fan and keep them indoors where temperatures are higher. Higher temperatures reduce relative humidity (assuming lower outdoor humidity), making the process faster and safer. Once properly calloused, store them below 15°C without rooting until spring. Wait until there's no more frost outside before beginning the rooting process. There's no need to rush - they can survive for extended periods without roots. They may shrink and appear unsightly, but as long as there's no mold or rot, they're fine and will rehydrate once they develop roots.
 
CosmicRiver said:
Hi guys. Tonight i was bringing my cacti indoors because temperatures here are starting to fall below 10 °C during the night and there's lots of rainy days lately. So i brought 5 of them inside without any problem but then while i was lifting the pots of the tallest ones (70 cm) they broke off at the base. One of them was once a pup that grew from a cut base, while the other one grew a pup at the base and bent while growing. So i guess they were both unstable and i had no idea because they grew so much this summer. So i cut them right above the breaking point and now i have two 60-cm tall cuttings.
Now i have to wait for them to form calluses but it will take a few days and i'm very worried they won't root after that because maximum temperatures now are just slightly above 20 °C and i'm afraid they will get lower in the next days. Do you think they will still root? How long can they survive without roots? Any advice? Thank you
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How cold does it get where you are?
 
Put them in dry soil and water. Then water sparingly or not at all until temps warm up. I've aged cactus cuttings in the basement for a year and they are still attempting to grow. I'm pretty sure I could just stick them in dirt and root them. May as well have them in a pot and they'll at least root a little. Important thing is to not water much if they are dormant
 
Thanks for all your replies! i fell asleep and i'm reading everything just now.

pantostao said:
They'll survive for a long time without roots. Looooong time. Years.
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😍
pantostao said:
If you keep them indoors in a relatively high temperature place, they'll grow the roots now. But also will etiolate due to the lack of light, so I wouldn't recommend that.
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Right now it's 21 °C in the room. During the winter it's the coldest in the house even with the heating on but it never drops below 17 °C. But my cacti never etiolated. I also have an aquarium led lamp that i sometimes use for my other plants.
My idea is to let the cut heal completely and then pot them in dry cactus soil in big pots so they stand still and not watering them for the foreseeable future. Just because seeing them in the pots would make me feel better than seeing them laying on the table as cuttings. What do you think?
 
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@pete666 i can't keep them below 15 °C because i have no room for that. I could keep them outside because it goes slightly below zero only in the winter, but outside humidity is 90% pretty much every night and even on several days. While inside the room it's 70% but with the heating i expect it to lower. This means that temps will be above 15 °C, but all these years they never etiolated indoors during the winter, they mostly stop growing so maybe they get dormant even if the temperature is higher or i don't know.
 
-5C is fine for healthy mature cacti as long as it’s not consistently that low for days etc. I have had it go to -7 for a few hours and only had frost damage on the apical buds of the smallest seedlings that were like thumb size..and they still recovered.

I’m really into pushing it through winter though and I have lots of space on a covered deck and greenhouse. If you are not sure you can keep them dry etc outside then def bring them in, or be very observant and obsessive about watching temps.
 
I would be very cautious about going below 0°C. Every cactus is different, and frost sensitivity varies between specimens. Actual temperatures at ground level may be lower than those measured at standard thermometer height. The water content of cacti is also important - a cactus in a dry climate might tolerate -5°C overnight, but the same cactus could suffer serious problems when full of water due to rainy weather.

The direct, visible damage that people see when cacti die or are damaged immediately after frost isn't the only problem. I've had cacti that survived night with low temperatures and looked fine afterward, but refused to grow for the entire following season because thermal shock caused serious internal changes. They're growing normally now, but they lost a whole year. Such plants are also prone to diseases, as they spend too much energy healing and can't use it for other purposes.

Having them safe in the house, even at higher temperatures, is much better in my opinion - as long as they don't etiolate.
 
Jamie01 said:
-5C is fine for healthy mature cacti as long as it’s not consistently that low for days etc. I have had it go to -7 for a few hours and only had frost damage on the apical buds of the smallest seedlings that were like thumb size..and they still recovered.

I’m really into pushing it through winter though and I have lots of space on a covered deck and greenhouse. If you are not sure you can keep them dry etc outside then def bring them in, or be very observant and obsessive about watching temps.
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Like @pete666 says, I find it depends on the specimen - some are more frost-sensitive than others, and there's only a hard way of finding that out (without actually freezing them on purpose). My cacti stay out but under cover in a makeshift conservatory. I use a small heater for the properly cold periods - it will occasionally reach -12°C outdoors here although -5°C is more usual - as well as lining the conservatory with bubble wrap to lower the heating costs a little. This is mostly because of some more tender plants, however, but I too prefer to keep my cacti above 0°C to the best of my ability.

As far as callusing goes, I didn't see anyone mention that air flow will help so I'll do my job of stating what might be obvious - suffice to say, keeping the cuttings anywhere too enclosed will increase the risk of rot or mould.

I'll second @pantostao in confirming that unrooted cuttings will keep for years, although warmth and humidity will lead to etiolation and adventitious root formation.
 
Not watering will help them go dormant and not etiolate. So will no light. I used to have my cactus outside in the summer and put them in a dark, basement room with no water in the winter. If they etiolate, get them thicker again and take a cutting at the base of the etiolation. Stick the skinny part under the ground.
 
They are inside. I really don't risk keeping them outside because it's really really wet here during the autumn and winter. My question is if i'm fine if i keep the cuttings to dry and then when the callus forms i pot them in dry soil without watering. They won't be in the dark or in the cold but it's where i put all my cacti during the cold months and they have never etiolated. Is it ok? Will they grow roots by spring or probably not? They would be at 17 °C - 20 °C consistently. I really have no colder option.
 
Transform said:
That's great, so long as you can actually get them in the house. I now have a dilemma of one of my specimens being too big to fit in my conservatory - to chop or not to chop? Hmmm…
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Every year I have some cacti that are bigger than what I can fit into my basement. I cut them 40cm above the ground and root the upper part to get a nice thick cactus once rooted. The bottom part is used either as rootstock (directly if not woody, or grafted onto a pup if it is woody) or as a base for growing pup(s).

The question is what happens when I no longer have more space in my basement for new pots, but this hasn't happened yet.
 
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