What's wrong with my sons Cactus :-(

[fblake]

The title of this post speaks for itself. What's wrong with my sons cactus. He is 7 and loves it, literally says goodnight to it every evening when he goes to sleep. It gets a drop of water every week but now looks like this. It lives on his window seal. Please help!

too much water usually. or not enough light.

they don't need watering in the winter at all and quite sparingly the restof the year.

Yes I'd stop watering it. With mine, I replicate a dry season then a rainy season where I plunge them in water. Often that kickstarter flowering! I'd let the soil dry out completely before you water it again.

Thank you. I thought it was dead. So, shall I move it to a more sunny place, and leave it for a while with no water?

Less water.
Try repotting it too 🙂

I’m afraid it has rotted at the bottom, and probably beyond rescue. Cacti should be grown in a very well drained potting mix (lots of grit added). They should be dormant right now, and not watered until about March, but when grown indoors need very light watering every couple of weeks. They do need as much sun as you can give them, so the sunniest windowsill.

@NanTheWiser thank you - so beyond help then 😢

Yes, agreed with Nan, that brown discolouration is a sign of rot at the base, the slightly withered look indicates it’s not getting any water - normal towards the end of winter when you haven’t watered it at all, but at this time of year and with the discolouration it means the roots are no longer functional.

Cacti are designed to go for very long periods without water, but what they really hate is cold wet feet. It will be cold in winter next to a window. Mine are in a cold greenhouse, and I stop watering in September to make sure they’re dry before winter.

you could try taking a cutting.

cut it off above the rotten bit at the bottom, leave it a few days so the cut bottom dries off a bit. the put on top of pot filled with succulent potting mix (or ordinary potting mix mixed 50/50 with sand).

it might root again.

forgot link
succulentplantcare.com/how-to-easily-root-and-propagate-a-cactus/