Cactus Brown Stain at bottom. Is it Rot?

gardenguy2014

9 years ago

I have just purchased this Cactus from a nursery and didn't realise it has this brown stain at the bottom of the plant.
After reading on the forum about rot I am worried that it is rot and the Cactus is not going to survive.

From the picture can anyone tell me if this could be something else.

The brown part seems to have the surface intact and not damaged, it is not soft to the touch and feels the same as the rest of the plant.

I have not watered the cactus for 2 weeks since i bought it and the potting mix seems very gritty and well draining.

Can anyone help?

Comments (7)

wantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years ago
I do not think it is rot. I think it is just what cactus do around the ground line . A chlorophyl issue. Is it soft? Rot will be browner and soft. If it ever does rot there, one can just cut off the pad and re root it by callousing and then r putting it back in soil after a few days and not watering it. It is winter so back way back on the watering. What kind of opuntia are we talking about.
gardenguy2014
Original Author
9 years ago
I am not sure what type of opuntia it is. The Nursery didn't even have a label on the plant.
Can anyone identify the Species from the full size picture??

No the discoloured part is not soft at all, it is just as firm as the rest of the plant.

It is quite large, about 20inches tall in total, can the whole plant be re-rooted or would the top pads need to be removed first?
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cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
9 years ago
I can barely ID them in flower - out of flower, I don't have a clue with it.

Yes, you can repot it in toto.
succulover
9 years ago
It's an Opuntia, for sure. But i don't have a clue of which kind it is. sorry
gardenguy2014
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the advice, I will try asking the nursery what Opuntia it was but I don't think they are all that knowledgable about what they are selling.

So is it best to wait for now and see if that dark stain develops into Rot and becomes soft to the touch or shows other signs of rotting?? As it is firm now and not soft so it could just be colouration issue or something?
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
9 years ago
It's just discolouration where the plant meets the soil - it's not going to develop into rot if you don't overwater it. This is not uncommon among cacti - nothing to worry about.
wantonamara Z8 CenTex
9 years ago
Hiper-vigilance kills more opuntia than anything else.

It might be a O. robusta but it might not. Something doesn't look quite right. Mine has fewer needles , but that is not a definitive defining character since species will have variation of quantity and quality of needles within the variety. It might be a O. englemanii. There are so many varieties of it. I have a white needled variety, but it does not look like mine either.. IDing Opuntias are for more digilant people than me. There is SOO much variety within specific species.

If you want to spend a few hours/days emerging yourself familiarizing yourself. Try perusing these pages. Opuntia Robusta is a mexican variety hardy to about 15F(-4 to -5C). Its pads get HUGE.

Here is a link that might be useful: Opuntia web