Ziga Cactus Help

[Zigazaga]

I've become concerned over my old Ziga cactus(in Scotland) and even after reading guides online I cannot work out if I've under or over watered it.

Basically I've noticed more leaves falling off of late than and I'm unsure if this is just normal or I've neglected it. I'd been watering it every fortnight over winter with random amounts of water each time, maybe even missing out a water. At first concern I noticed the top was very dry and gave it a good drink with water collecting in the bottom. Got overconcerned then mopped up the water. Leaves continue to fall off. I've lifted up the soil by the branches and note the top is bone dry, but the bottom is very dark and sightly damp. Not wet. It's been maybe a fortnight since it's last drink.

I've attached some pics. I think maybe I'm being worried for nothing, but something tells me I need to do something as normally I don't have any concern over this plant.

 

[Fishfur]

Did it bloom this past winter? Has the soil ball shrunk away from the pot a bit?

 

[Maf 2500]

Looks like it needs a bigger pot

 

[Zigazaga]

Did it bloom this past winter? Has the soil ball shrunk away from the pot a bit?

Yes it did at Christmas so nearly 3 months and yes the soil shrunk away from the pot a bit or it seemed more evident when I first thought I'd not watered it and gave it a drink.

 

[Zigazaga]

Looks like it needs a bigger pot

I would agree there. Could that be having an impact

 

[Maf 2500]

Could that be having an impact

Yes, if the roots are too cramped, or the old soil is stale and exhausted, both things would cause the plant to suffer stress and drop leaves.

 

[Fishfur]

Yes it did at Christmas so nearly 3 months and yes the soil shrunk away from the pot a bit or it seemed more evident when I first thought I'd not watered it and gave it a drink.

When a soil ball shrinks it compacts the soil & can even make it a bit hydrophobic. What tends to happen is that the centre of the soil ball gets very dry & doesn’t absorb any water no matter how often or abundantly you water it.

The only fix for this is careful repotting. Because the middle is dry & compacted, it’s too easy to cause a lot of damage trying to open it up. Once you get the easy soil off you may have to soak the dry centre in warmish but not hot water so it can be loosened up.

I would lift the plant out of the pot & gently rap it on a surface to knock off whatever soil is loose enough to fall off that way. You may find the roots at the bottom are in bad shape & mushy from rot.

Try using a fork or chopstick to gently comb soil away from the roots & remove any roots that seem mushy or rotted.

Depending on how that goes, there might not be a whole lot of root ball left when you’re done and since these plants are epiphytic by nature, they don’t have a huge mass of roots anyway,

If not much rootball remains I’d pot it in a pot a size or two smaller than the one it’s in now. If enough remains, it can go back in the same pot ( cleaned of all built up mineral deposits).

Use a coarse, free draining mix to pot it up again - something that’s got plenty of perlite or pumice or coarse sand in it, so it won’t compact easily and won’t hold onto excessive amounts of water.

I would enclose the entire plant within a big plastic bag but make sure some air is able to get in. The extra humidity helps so much while it recovers & grows new roots.

Once there is substantial new growth, you can remove the bag in a couple of stages.

These plants do not like to dry right out but they also hate being too wet. They come from forests where they grow in the forks of trees & it’s very humid & moist.

You might want to use a moisture meter if you’re the type that’s not consistent with watering but try never to let it dry right out in the future nor should it be flooded with water.

Make sure the pot has drain holes & pour away
all the water that drains out after watering so the roots aren’t sitting in water & do your best to water it regularly.

In winter, after it blooms, it wants a rest and will need much less water. Let the top inch of soil get dry before watering, Come spring, slowly increase the watering and you can feed it monthly during the summer.

If it can go outside it will like that - leave it out in a shaded spot & don’t bring it in until it starts to set buds in late fall if possible. It can handle temperatures down to near 0C if it’s been outside all summer.

Don’t let the buds get too developed - they should be quite small - 6mm or so but not much more. That way the change to indoor life is unlikely to make it drop all the buds.

Incidentally, just fyi, these plants are now classified as Schlumbergera rather than as Zygocactus.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Try spraying it, the leaf looks like it has Red Spider Mite

Cheers Darrel

 

[Maf 2500]

Red Spider Mite

Yes, I thought there might be mite damage also, tiny white dots on the leaves. Would still recommend a repot into something larger.

 

[Fishfur]

Yes, I thought there might be mite damage also, tiny white dots on the leaves. Would still recommend a repot into something larger

Rubbing alcohol diluted 50% with water does a nice job on most plant pests. But a larger pot won’t help much if the centre of the existing plant has dried out due to compaction, which it very likely has.

 

[Maf 2500]

But a larger pot won’t help much if the centre of the existing plant has dried out due to compaction, which it very likely has.

I also agree with your advice for removing old soil during repotting, as posted above, which would deal with this.

Spider mites dislike humidity, so even just spraying the leaves with water will help knock them back.

 

[Fishfur]

I also agree with your advice for removing old soil during repotting, as posted above, which would deal with this.

Spider mites dislike humidity, so even just spraying the leaves with water will help knock them back.

You can even give the leaves a gentle hand washing with very soapy hands & then thoroughly rinse off all the soap.

I use bar soap for this & it will even wash off eggs, though just one treatment won’t be a permanent cure. But it will really knock them back.

 

[Zigazaga]

When a soil ball shrinks it compacts the soil & can even make it a bit hydrophobic. What tends to happen is that the centre of the soil ball gets very dry....

So that suggests I underwatered it? Aside from it needing repotted and Spider Mites battled.

 

[Fishfur]

Shrunken soil has only one cause - underwatering.