Part of my xmas cactus died

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tinkerbell Colorado Springs, CO(Zone 5a) Sep 18, 2002

I've had an xmas for 5+ years. About a month or so ago one of the stems that was in the soil started dying. It turned rust colored and the stem just died. The rest of it looked fine except that it went limp. The other stem looked fine. It didn't go limp like the other one. At first it looked like it was just falling out of the pot so I transplanted it into a bigger pot. That didn't work. Up until then it had been in the same pot for at least 3 years. When I transplanted it the roots looked fine but maybe they were from the other stem. It wasn't really pot bound either. So I took it out and snapped off pieces that came off of the main stem. I let them sit out for a day then put them in water. When I do they get a funky smell to them and they get that rust color to the base of them as well. Anyone have any idea what might have happened?? It's like the stem just rotted. The other stem that's still in the pot looks good and healthy but I'm wandering if I should throw out the soil and put new soil in the pot after I clean it?? Please help me!!

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makshi Noblesville, IN(Zone 5a) Sep 23, 2002

Tink,

I hope you get an anwser for this one because mine did the same thing. I really think it may have been overwatered at some point on mine. I hope someone else stops in and lets us both know.

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WillCreed New York, NY(Zone 6a) Sep 23, 2002

Overwatering and stem rot is the likely cause. Sometimes this affects only one stem and other times remaining stems fall apart later on.

Make sure there is no loose soil on the surface of the rootball. Allow the soil to dry about a third of the way down into the rootball before watering. Lots of bright light and keeping the plant potbound will also help prevent root and stem rot.

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tinkerbell Colorado Springs, CO(Zone 5a) Sep 28, 2002

Great, thank you for your help WillCreed. I thought I was letting mine dry out enough before watering again but perhaps not. From now on I will make sure that the soil about 1/3rd or more of the way down into the rootball is dry before watering again. Mine is in a very sunny place in the house so that part isn't a problem. Thanks again for your help!

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