This little Pilosocereus was one of my clearance sale purchases at the end of last season for my personal collection. I absolutely love the genus Pilosocereus and will buy one whenever I see one, regardless of the condition or species. He doesn't look too bad from this angle.
When I turned him around to look at his backside while doing a monthly winter check of my cacti, I saw the dreaded rot. Fortunately, I found this before the rot made it all the way to the top of the plant and performed emergency surgery.
With a sharp knife, I cut the top off the cactus just above the rot. The top is healthy and there is still a chance to save it even though the piece is small. I will let it sit on a paper towel until it calluses over and then place the callused part on top of the soil in a small pot. In a few months, I should see small roots.
Rot happens despite our best efforts. This particular plant had been potted in regular potting soil in a plastic pot for sale by a mass producer. I repotted this cactus in my "cactus soil" in a terra cotta pot but it was obviously too late to prevent it from rotting.
The combination of poor draining soil and plastic is not good for cacti. Cacti need to dry out completely between waterings. A good draining soil and a pot that allows the moisture to evaporate out (such as terra cotta) is best.
If all goes well, it will be happy and sporting new growth this summer!
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