Zygocactus

[Phisherman]

This year all my zygocactus rotted at the base. I took the stems that fell from the plants and these are beginning to root. I know that these plants will rot if left wet, and although I had all of them in clay pots (no saucers) resting on sticks for quick drainage the plants' roots rotted. They were put on my deck with brief morning sun. How often should these plants be watered in summer? Is cactus/succulent mix the best potting soil? Should I drill additional holes in the clay pots?

[David E. Ross]

Try my do-it-yourself potting mix. See . Change the ratio to 3 parts coarse sand to 2 parts peat most instead of equal parts of each. This will drain very quickly yet remain sufficiently moist for tropical cactus (which includes zygocactus). Also, the peat most inhibits rot.

[Johnny Borborigmi]

Let soil dry out then water well. Also, My mix is 50% potting soil, 50% perlite for drainage/aireation. We don't know what soil you're using so that would help us.

[Phisherman]

The potting mix used for the zygocactus was either Hyponex or Miracle Gro cactus/succulent mix. Perhaps I should have added some perlite. Some of the plants were well-established, others just potted, but they all died. We had a period of daily rain which I think caused the rot, so I'm thinking these plants need to be under sheltered protection rather than an open deck.