What I'd need to see is a picture of the soil. That'd probably confirm whether it's over-watering/rot, which is what I'd guess.

Here a picture of the soil. Some of the wide original stalks look like they had rotted. I think it was poorly potted originally as it is not soft soil like potting soil or peat. One plant is in a 9" pot and the other is in a 7" pot. If it needs repotting, when can that be done and what is the best mix? I am also posting a picture of the full plant.

Here is the full plant. Thanks for your assistance!

Top pic shows a result of overwatering but would also be from perched water at the soil line.
Second pic shows a compacted soil which doesn't allow water to flow though the pot and would also contribute to the unwanted perching water.

Over all your catus looks good the wooded areas at soil line are normal, wooded stems on these show age but add an amount of extra care when repotting.

It could recover easily ( and over time as well) with repotting in a bark based soil. As mentioned for reminder It's the wooded areas with what ever roots remain inside and under them that would need to be handled with care.

Most tropical tree dwelling epics ( yours is a Schlumbergera or Thanksgiven cactus) seem to prefferance a bark based soil which allows for free flowing drainage when watering and still retains enough moisture to not have to worry about over watering and elimates the perched watering problem for a resonably long time.

Thank you so much! That all helps very much. When is best to repot it?

Well, the mix looks as though it's too heavy and water-retentive, which is what you'll typically find. These plants love a mix of bark combined with a few handfuls of regular potting soil. They like the airy nature of the bark, and because these are actually tropicals and thus do want to consistently have some level of moisture in the soil, a little potting soil in the mix keeps things from drying out overly quickly.

I find what will happen with heavy, peat-filled soil is that when it's old, it will eventually harden up and stop receiving moisture, becoming almost like a brick. The water will just run alongside the old brick of soil and out the bottom of the pot, and the plant won't receive it. So, in that respect it's possible to have bad soil put you in an 'underwatering' type of situation, but probably after a couple years of it being overly water-retentive. It's your second picture that makes me wonder if your soil has become old and brick-like.

Keep in mind that the woody stems you see at the base of the plant is just woody, old growth; that's not rot. It's natural. You may know that, but just want to make sure. Rot is squishy, mushy, obviously rotten.

The bulk of your plant looks pretty good from here. I'd pull up the plant out of that cruddy soil mix and see what the roots look like. If the roots are almost nonexistent, having rotted away, you have a situation of over-watering, and make sure none of the plant above-ground is rotting. If the plant itself has rotten portions at the base, that growth has to go...which in this case means you must remove all healthy growth and re-root those healthy cuttings in new soil. If nothing has rotted above the soil line, then just new soil is in order. Get rid of what you can of the old stuff.

Haha, and I was slow there... all the prior advice is great stuff. I wouldn't worry too much about the plant. Proper soil should fix it right up.

This post was edited by teatree on Sun, Dec 29, 13 at 22:58

Thank you so very much. I totally understand what you are saying and will check the roots and plant for rot and repot or start new plantings accordingly. I am confident with the advice received I can take care of this plant. Your help is greatly appreciated! It is great to find people who are knowledgeable about these things and are willing to take the time to help.

Yes, a bark-based mix will improve the vitality of your Thanksgiving Cactus without question. If you can, get yourself some fine-grade "Orchid Bark," and add in a little Perlite and a little Potting Mix (just a pinch!) for "binding" and moisture retention (as Teatree) mentioned. If you can't find the individual ingredients, you could use a pre-bagged "Orchid Mix" with decent results.

Best time to re-pot would be this Summer.

Josh