Al,

Any decent porous soil will do, but remember, you're only (1) going to use a fairly thin layer of it (no more than an inch I should imagine) and (2) you're going to water it via spritzing only (it has no roots and therefore doesn't need to have its soil wettened). If you have pure pumice to use as the rooting medium, that would be most ideal, but any porous soil will be fine. A heating mat would be helpful, too, in order to provide it with 70F+ temps all of the time, but not necessary, but rooting plants like it warm.

And let it dry out until you see roots forming, keeping it in low light, They are summer growers, I am getting ready to do it with an Echinopsis, haven't the nerve yet. That is a very nice plant and species. Let us know how it works out for you. Wrap it in newspaper, and put in a closet, take it out in the spring and just set on top of the soil mix. Norma

I think there are some little roots forming already. If you look at the picture of the cut side, at about 9:00 (if the cut was a clock face) you can see small, hair-like growths. I believe these are roots. I may be wrong. ;)

So, if I get my hands on some pumice, and water by misting, do you think the container in the picture would be sufficient? I have access to a heater which would be good for keeping it warm. Would perlite work?

Thanks!

- Al

Al, how about using a semi-deep saucer for a container? I've rooted many succulent cuttings in saucers with 98% success. The saucer must have drainage holes.

I believe your cactus/succulent has roots around 9 o'clock.

BTW, Al, you said you have access to a heater. You are talking a heating 'mat,' not an electric or gas heater, right? lol.

Your adopted suc/cac is very unusual. Do you know what it is? I really like the little guy. Toni

when you say semi-deep, how deep do you mean? The saucer in the picture is maybe 2 inches deep.

And the heater I'm talking about is the heater in my classroom. I figure I can put the cactus close to it for somewhat higher temps. Not ideal by any stretch, but my other plants survive just fine on the heater.

I haven't got the slightest clue what it is, I just really really like it. :)

Howdy, Al, fancy seeing you here! ;-)

Yes, a shallow dish/saucer is just fine - 1-2 inches perfect.

Porous mix like the Gritty is perfect, as are other single ingredient media like Pumice or Perlite.
Once rooted fully, I would suggest the Gritty or a variation thereof...

Josh

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I found just enough gritty mix from last year, so I punched some holes in the bottom of the saucer, thoroughly rinsed it, and placed the cactus on top. How often should I water it? I was planning on spraying it a little bit every other day. No fertilizer, AT ALL, right?

Every other day is right, as is the no fertilizer - it has no roots, but after it does, you can repot and fertilize.

It looks like a Mammillaria.

I don't think it's a Mammillaria. Though my research efforts are far from rigorous, after skimming this site:

http://cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Mammillaria

Makes me thing it's not this. Before it rotted horribly, this cactus must have been 18 inches tall, if not more. It was huge. According to the above site, few species reach higher than 4-6 inches. (Though it's entirely possible that mine is one of the lucky few)

Because of the size, I was thinking about Thelocactus, which have tubercles instead of ribs. Thelocactus rinconensis looks something like your plant. What is it's diameter?

Brad

I also don't think that it is Thelocactus. It's too small. I tried to create what I think this cactus would look like in its natural environment, however my photoshop kung fu is not strong.
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The important information is that it is about 2 inches in diameter and grows like a column. I saved the top from massive rot in the rest of the plant.

And yes, I imagine this cactus would hang out with Indiana Jones.

Coryphantha?

And the habitat is wrong - Isn't that Africa / Asia? Don't you have something with Pancho Villa?

It's great to ID it, but I hope you can just get it (1) rerooted and (2) growing to a point where it will flower, whereupon you can easily ID it.

So it's been a couple of weeks since I've started watering. I've been spraying the base of the cactus liberally with water once every two days or so. So far there's no changes, as far as I can tell anyway. I suppose no change is better than seeing rot.
What should I look for to know that things are going alright? How long should it take to establish a good root system.

And as for an ID, I think it might be a Coryphantha durangensis. It seems to be a corypantha anyway. It looks very similar as far as I can tell.

Hey, Al, I was at a Cactus show last weekend, and there was a Thelocactus on display....
I immediately thought of your plant, and I see Brad suggested it previously. Maybe not
a match, but when I saw the plant I immediately made a mental note.

Any update on how this one's doing?

Josh