Cactus split open on side

[ghftde24]

So I'm growing a trichocereus pachanoi and today it fell off of the ledge that it was siting on and landed on the tip of the cactus, thankfully it is still attached but it cracked on the side about 3-4 inches from the top. most of the dirt fell out of the pot so I went and got new soil for it and repotted it. I just don't know if I should cut the top off and let it try and grow new shoots or just let it heal and keep going because it is pretty small at the part that cracked. The spots all over it are from it being given too many nutrients when it was forming roots

[baileysup]

It depends on the internal damage of the cactus. I had two cacti fall off a window last year (cats). One was fine, but the other sustained too much internal damage, and started rotting from the inside out. It's up to you weather you want to chop it or not, but I would keep my eye on it. If you see any parts start to go mushy, you won't have a choice. The cactus that made it for me was a myrtillocactus (looks like a close relative of cactus you have), and the one that died from the impact was a more delicate mammillaria. Good luck.

[ghftde24]

So I moved the cactus inside last night because I heard direct sunlight was bad for them when they have an open wound and today I looked at it and the entire ridge underneath the wound is soggy. I remember reading before that these cacti are actually really good at grafting though and I think I might try to graft the top farther down on the stalk of the cactus. I'm not sure if this would be a good idea though because yesterday when it fell at also broke off a section of roots, it wasn't a huge section(it maybe comprised up to 10% of the root system) but I'm sure that it still shocked it and I don't know if attempting a graft would work with it in shock. Conversely it does look like the wound is pretty deep and I'm not sure if the cactus will be able to heal itself at all. I circled the damaged part in red.

[baileysup]

It looks like it may be starting to rot, but it's hard to say from pictures. If it was me, I would chop it. As far as grafting goes, that's a great question. I have no experience with grafting, so I can't say if it's a good idea or not. On the other hand, I don't see how you would have anything to lose, by trying to graft it. If it fails, you could probably just plant them separately anyways. Just my opinion here. Good luck.

[ghftde24]

The wilting hasn't changed very much at all since the last picture, the part right by the wound has turned a brown color but the top is still firm and doesn't flex at all even when the cactus is turned sideways (I tested that when I was repotting it today, I read on another forum that the wound from where the section of root ripped off needed to dry so I pulled it out of the pot and buried the roots allowing the wounded section to be exposed to the air for about a week to dry) Other then that the roots still look healthy and the color of the cactus hasn't changed so I think it'll probably pull through. I did notice on the wound that I had some reddish colored stuff where the root had been ripped off, I'm not really sure if that is because of an infection or if it is just because of the dust off of the lava rock that I put on top of the soil so that it didn't move around when I water the cactus. The stuff is the same color as the lava rock but I also found a bunch of areas in the soil when I was adding more sand to it that were the same color as the lava rock as well only they weren't solid and were completely soft (the same consistency as the soil) so they just ended up mixing into the soil when I tried to pull them out.

[baileysup]

Wow, sounds like it's going to make it! I must admit, that I'm a bit chop happy sometimes I guess. As far as the red stuff, I'm guessing it's lava rock dust, but hard to tell without some good pics. I'm so happy for you and your cactus .

[Gary350]

I had 20 of those in pots, 60 mph wind damaged several. The damaged places turned to brown rot then the top fell off.

Keep an eye on yours.

Cut the bad section out, the bottom half of the plant with roots will grow a new top pretty quick. It will usually grow 2 new tops, maybe 3 new tops, sometimes as many as 5 new tops.

Let top cutting air dry 1 week in shade then plant in 50/50 sand/soil mix. Keep it out side in indirect sun light. Rooting powder might help it root. It took mine 2 months to start growing roots. Put your top 6" deep in well drained soil and water it once a week.

Too much sun will make san pedro cactus turn yellow. Soil that does not drain well will cause the cactus to get brown rot.

If you want your plant to multiply super fast lay the whole cactus on its side in 50/50 sand/soil mix. Cover the root end with a pile of soil. The roots will grow down and keep the plant alive. The whole bottom side of the cactus that touches soil will grow roots. The whole top side of the plant will grow 10 or 12 new plants.