My uncle told me I was overwatering my cactus, killed it anyway

I had this little saguaro from a trip to Tucson, kept giving it water every 3 days because it looked dry. He said stop, but I thought he was old school wrong. 6 months later the thing rotted from the roots up. Has anyone else killed a plant by ignoring good advice?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_margaret1mo ago

Oh totally disagree here (respectfully). I think the issue wasn't the advice, it was the plant itself. Saguaros are desert plants - they're built to go weeks without water. Giving it water every 3 days is like feeding a fish every 3 hours - too much of a good thing. Your uncle was right that it was overwatered, but maybe he didn't explain why. The soil needs to dry out completely between waterings for cacti, especially in a pot that doesn't drain well. I've learned this the hard way with a jade plant I drowned because I thought "more water = happier plant" when really it just needed a drink once a month in winter.

hollyg591mo ago

Wait, wait, wait. Once a MONTH in winter? That's blowing my mind right now. I have a succulent that I've been watering like every two weeks all year and I thought I was barely giving it anything. No wonder the bottom leaves keep getting all mushy and weird. I need to go check my pots right now because I bet they don't drain well enough either.

charlienelson1mo ago

See, I'm gonna have to gently push back on that a bit. The bottom leaves turning mushy is almost always a drainage problem (I killed three echeverias this way before I figured it out). Even if you water once a month in winter, if the pot doesn't have a proper hole and the soil holds moisture like a sponge, those roots are just sitting in damp dirt. I'd bet you a dollar it's the pot itself, not the frequency of watering.