Recently i have noticed my cactus appears to be drying out, it started with one limb a couple of weeks ago and now appears to be about half of its ten limbs and the trunk as well. At the top of the trunk there appears to be some new growth though but when i tap the dried parts it sounds hollow. please help
it looks to be some type of euphorbia, rather than a cactus - they've got the same basic care requirements though...and look similiar so it's easy to mis-id them :) it looks like there could be a fungal infection going on. older plants (like yours) do tend to 'cork' at the bottom of the main trunk as they age...it's usually limited to just the bottom portion of the plant though...and what you've got going is more extensive than that. i would treat with a systemic anti-fungal and hopefully you've caught it in time and the whole plant is salvagable...if you treat and there's no improvement, i'd take cuttings (cut about two inches ABOVE where infection is) and let the cuttings callous over for a couple weeks and then pot them up and then let them sit in the dry soil for a couple more weeks and then start a watering schedule. good luck!! it'd be a shame to lose such an old and lovely plant!
the brown colour on the trunk and some of the limbs occured when someone put the plant outside for a couple of weeks a few years ago, as it just seemed cosmetic i have not worried about it too much. its the drying out of the limbs and trunk that has me really concerned as it seems that half of the plant has already died. i rarely water it and wondered if i should just give it a really good drink or if this would do more harm than good. i have had the plant many years and would hate to lose it as it looks so bold and beautiful. thank you
if it is a euphorbia, it will not like cold temps (say less than 5-10 degrees C). No plants like rapid changes to its environment. Eg even cacti can get sunburnt if moved into the sun too rapidly. Sometimes getting too cold or sunburn can leave similar looking scars. However I'm no xpert. All the best, and avaguday
ahh, then it's not corking or fungus!! so, if it was too chilly when it was put outside, it's frost damage...and if it was too sunny and it wasn't eased into it, it's sunburn. either case would leave permanant scarring...not much you can do about it. when was the last time you repotted it or, at least, unpotted it and just put fresh soil in??? when was the last time it was watered and how much did you give it? what about room temp and proximity to heater vents?
