Question
I think I have some kind of barrel cactus. Recently, it started to lean and discolor at the bottom. The bottom is somewhat mushy and there is water leaking out of it.

Here's a link if you would like to see what my cactus is looking like:

http://www.angelfire.com/punk5/miska/sad.html


I water it once a month and it is kept indoors. What is happening to it?


Thank-you,

Leah M. McCullough

Answer
Dear Leah,

I am afraid that your plant (I think it's an Oreocereus, but the picture isn't clear enough) is going to die. One of the signs of that is water leaking out of it.

Judgind from the soil, which looks to be too water-retentive for a cactus, I'd guess that that was your problem.

You need to use soil that's much more porous. The reason your plant rotted was due to the soil not shedding water soon enough. Perhaps this was combined with not enough light/air circulation, perhaps not, but, at any rate, you need to add something to the soil (pumice or gravel) so that the plant doesn't have wet 'feet' for so long.

Let me know if you've other questions.

Regards,

Jeff