Saguaro woes

[DougStark]

They (saguaro) can also become sun burned (not sure what the specifics are, but probably more of a problem on recently transplanted cacti.)

[tumamoc]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Just as we had established that the previous owners of our home had been overwatering like crazy ($1200/month water bill!), part of a large saguaro in front of the house came down overnight. It's clearly because of the excessive watering over the long term.

I'm confused. Overwatering usually causes the whole plant to topple over from its own weight. Is it just the arm (arm socket) shown in the photo? Judging by the ooze, it does look like the cactus is a goner. But I'm not sure that is a product of too much water. Perhaps it's a woodpecker hole gone bad. Can you put up a picture that shows the whole plant?

[wit-nit]

OP your picture shows the signs of saguaro "bacterial disease".
https://agriculture.az.gov/sites/def...%20of%20Ag.pdf

Watering of landscape cacti, rule of thumb, if in doubt don't water, mother nature has a habit of taking care of it's own.
Saguaros are naturally ribbed for expansion and contraction for it's water conservation.

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by tumamoc

I'm confused. Overwatering usually causes the whole plant to topple over from its own weight. Is it just the arm (arm socket) shown in the photo? Judging by the ooze, it does look like the cactus is a goner. But I'm not sure that is a product of too much water. Perhaps it's a woodpecker hole gone bad. Can you put up a picture that shows the whole plant?

I'll try to get better photos tomorrow. The top 1/3rd of the saguaro is thoroughly necrotic.

We had an irrigation company out last Saturday to help us figure out why the water bill for the property is $1,200 a month and why water is seeping through the block wall on one side into our neighbor's yard. What we discovered was that while there are 18 zones, they all get water three times a week all-year-round. So the saguaros were being constantly watered.

I wasn't expecting to see the results so soon, though. :-(

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

OP your picture shows the signs of saguaro "bacterial disease".
https://agriculture.az.gov/sites/def...%20of%20Ag.pdf

Watering of landscape cacti, rule of thumb, if in doubt don't water, mother nature has a habit of taking care of it's own.
Saguaros are naturally ribbed for expansion and contraction for it's water conservation.

That's a great link, thank you.

[veritased]

I will check my controllers programming see what's what.

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

I'll try to get better photos tomorrow. The top 1/3rd of the saguaro is thoroughly necrotic.

As of last week, the entire saguaro is necrotic. Three more arms have detached. I speculate the warm weather has increased the rate of bacterial growth. There are large horizontal cracks near the base and about 2/3rds of the way up.


Sad that something that old can be brought low so quickly.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

As of last week, the entire saguaro is necrotic. Three more arms have detached. I speculate the warm weather has increased the rate of bacterial growth. There are large horizontal cracks near the base and about 2/3rds of the way up.


Sad that something that old can be brought low so quickly.

Very sad. Such magnificent beings! Also to realize you won't be around to see a replacement's maturity.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

Very sad. Such magnificent beings! Also to realize you won't be around to see a replacement's maturity.

Well, if you follow the book you won’t - but a slightly over-watered saguaro can grow much faster than a wild one. We bought a 3 ft saguaro spear & unintentionally over-watered it to about 8 feet in maybe 4-5 years or so. We set up two watering zones & just guessed at the settings- we did once a week for like 1/2 hour for the saguaro & the other cacti & they got big really quick.. I shut the zone off completely after realizing the mistake, but I’m quite pleased with the results.

[wit-nit]

Overwatering and or fertilizing a saguaro even a little bit can create an unnatural spurt of growth, which can weaken the cacti's structure and cause, albeit slow, premature death.