Huge Saguaros leaning over and brown towards bottom - Help? (Phoenix: transplants, mover)

[liz451]

I bought a house recently with two gorgeous saguaros in the backyard. I don't know a ton about saugaros but I estimate them based on the wall height to be close to 30 feet high. My concern is with the one specifically that's leaning, very brown/gray on the bottom, and has a big hole in the side. The other one (or two I guess, close together) is still blooming and relatively straight but still looks like it may not be very healthy at the base. The leaning one I haven't seen bloom but we moved into this place in May so may have missed it. I can't tell if it's dead or not...

1. Am I in danger of the leaning one falling? Can it be secured by a professional somehow?
2. Is there a resource I can speak to about making sure these stay up and as healthy as possible?

From my research it sounds like these could easily be 150 years old, and selfishly really make my backyard , so I'd like to keep these around as long as possible!

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by liz451

I bought a house recently with two gorgeous saguaros in the backyard. I don't know a ton about saugaros but I estimate them based on the wall height to be close to 30 feet high. My concern is with the one specifically that's leaning, very brown/gray on the bottom, and has a big hole in the side. The other one (or two I guess, close together) is still blooming and relatively straight but still looks like it may not be very healthy at the base. The leaning one I haven't seen bloom but we moved into this place in May so may have missed it. I can't tell if it's dead or not...

1. Am I in danger of the leaning one falling? Can it be secured by a professional somehow?
2. Is there a resource I can speak to about making sure these stay up and as healthy as possible?

From my research it sounds like these could easily be 150 years old, and selfishly really make my backyard , so I'd like to keep these around as long as possible!

Try this website:

cactus doctor, cactus care, The Cactus Doctor sick cactus Phoenix Arizona, healthy cactus, water conservation plants

[MNSvenska]

I've noticed, during our time in Sun City, that Saguaro can look like there is nothing left of their trunk, but still seem to be healthy. Some flower every year, some don't. Yours look healthy and don't seem to be leaning that much imho. I have seen saguaro that have cables for support. The sagauro in our landscaping probably isn't as old as a comparable one in the desert. They usually send out their roots to search for a water source. Mine had its roots into our citrus tree's water, 20 feet away. A steady water supply made it one plump saguaro, indeed. A far cry from the thin ones in the desert. I'm sure that they grow faster with a steady water supply, although they could suffer from too much. They can do just fine in the desert, though, too. That's where they belong.
Hope this helps you.

[wit-nit]

Your saguaros are suffering old age like we people. They are very mature and changes like the discoloration of gray and bird holes is normal. Now if you start seeing black gooey stuff oozing from the plant(s) then you have a diseased situation (bacterial necrosis) and that means the demise of the cacti.
Saguaros rarely if at all should be watered by your irrigation system. They are ribbed for natural expansion and contraction when the natural rains come. Overwatering is the #1 killer of saguaros and other cacti. Sure they will plump up and look fat and maybe attractive, but soon they will rot from the inside collapse and then you'll have a dead plant.
As far as leaning, they are top heavy and those replants are usually are not planted deeply enough when 1st planted. You may want to call a professional cactus mover (google or yellow pages) to take a look and see if they need to be straightened. In many cases leaning sauaros have to be dug up and re-planted deeper.

[MNSvenska]

So if your Saguaro is feeding from a water source 20 feet away, you should remove it's roots there? It's 20 feet high, looks very healthy and blooms every year.

[FloppyRunner]

Honestly, they look fine to me... When you said "leaning" I was expecting much worse. Look out in nature sometime; a lot of times the mature ones don't have the most aesthetically pleasing bases. As a side-note, I notice that saguaro seem to look greener and nicer down south near the Saguaro national monument, but maybe that's why it's a national monument!

I'm not sure why somebody would have put those rocks (not the gravel) at the base, but it probably doesn't hurt anything.

For how mature they are, I would water them NEVER, outside of natural rainfall. I would also do what you can to make sure it's not getting drip irrigation from nearby plants, but I suppose it's impossible to tell for sure.

[tumamoc]

Looks totally normal to me. If the arms grow plumb, then the plant is attempting to counter-balance (that is, correct for) the lean.

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by MNSvenska

So if your Saguaro is feeding from a water source 20 feet away, you should remove it's roots there? It's 20 feet high, looks very healthy and blooms every year.

Move the water source.
Good read on the care of saguaro cactus transplants...
http://cals.arizona.edu/mohave/maste...aguarocare.pdf

[liz451]

Thanks, everyone! I feel much better. Just not knowing anything about saguaros and with the color at the base, I wasn't sure if that meant it was dead, rotting, etc. I am not watering them at all, no drip, and I've been careful about monitoring the sprinklers to make sure no spray gets on them. But, there is a lawn, and other plants on drip in the backyard, so it's very possible the roots are getting water somewhere...not sure how i can prevent that though without overhauling the whole backyard.

Fingers crossed for these guys lasting a whole lot longer!

[wit-nit]

Originally Posted by liz451

Thanks, everyone! I feel much better. Just not knowing anything about saguaros and with the color at the base, I wasn't sure if that meant it was dead, rotting, etc. I am not watering them at all, no drip, and I've been careful about monitoring the sprinklers to make sure no spray gets on them. But, there is a lawn, and other plants on drip in the backyard, so it's very possible the roots are getting water somewhere...not sure how i can prevent that though without overhauling the whole backyard.

Fingers crossed for these guys lasting a whole lot longer!

How far away from the saguaro is the lawn and the nearest sprinkler system. How long has the lawn been established. When was the saguaro planted.