When I repotted all but two of the plants on my flower cart, back in June 2022, the WalMart Waif was one of the two. That was unthinking on my part; the potting soil used for plants in greenhouses is not appropriate potting soil for use at home, at least not for very long; the Waif has been in this same pot for at least four years. My Bad! Since spring, this poor plant has declined . . . . . . its symmetry has been destroyed; there is no "bounce" in its stems; and many of the clalodes (lobe) are purple. (The four most likely reasons for purple-hued discoloration are: bright light, inappropriate moisture, nutrient deficiency, and extreme temperature fluctuations.) I had already moved the plant to a less sunny area and removed all the purple clalodes . . . I think I probably hit them all, but I'll take the plant apart to see what's going on in the root ball. Absolutely nothing, and that's the main problem: after four years, there should have been a root ball completely filling the pot, but there are hardly any roots at all . . . . . . the plant basically fell apart in my hands; it was so glad to get out of the waterlogged soil! So here's the culprit . . . a pot with a water barrier at the bottom. SUPPOSEDLY, water will drain into that reservoir. It has filled up and kept the soil way too wet. In fact, I saw a YT video on this very issue last night as I was writing this webpage . . . It was so full that it had become home to two miniscule toads; one decided to strike out for a larger body of water and . . . (with apologies to Loudon Wainwright III) You got your dead toad in the middle of the pool One toad was still in residence today, although I think not for much longer. I punched some holes in the bottom so I could still use this pot, as it was only slightly larger than what I had used previously . . . I added a large amount of sand to my potting mixture (organic potting soil, cow manure, peat & sand), put the reservoir back in the pot, some stones on top of that and proceeded to put all these separate pieces back into the pot . . . Because several of thee non-rooted stalks are already woody, I don't know if they'll grow roots again; only time will tell at this point.
WORK DOESN'T BOTHER ME . . . I COULD WATCH IT FOR HOURS!
Here's the end result . . . I know, it doesn't look much different than when I began this process, but it is in a much better soil mix and will, I hope, begin to grow roots again and thrive before blooming season begins . . . Because I can't give it a good soak to settle the soil around the bases of the stalks, I did have to pack down the soil by hand and then give the pot some really good THUMPS. The Walmart Waif is now residing in the shaded lanai with the orchids, rather than on the flower cart in the sun. This has made me think about the ORIGINAL Christmas Cactus that Jackie gave me for Christmas 2018 . . . and which is still in its original pot! That pot has drain holes and the plant has not been showing any signs of stress, but I think it's time for a repotting. I first have to buy a larger pot, as it is already in a large pot. This will be a two-person job, as it is quite cumbersome; Neal has already "volunteered" to help. I have two other "self-watering" pots; I will ask Neal to drill holes in them, just to be on the safe side.

INTRODUCING MISHA (@RB), APRIL (@RB), CARI (@RB), RICOBADBOY (@RB),
ROSIEVI THE SHY (@RB), DAISY2LEGS (@RB), LUUCEEE YOU GOT SOME 'SPLAININ' TO DO (@RB),
CHRISSI-ONE-EYE (@RB), HEATHER (@RB), SERVICE DOG SWEETEA, BUDDY (@RB),
ZOE FROM SARASOTA (@RB), BONNY (@RB), EMMIE & TIPSY GIPSY

Remember to bring along your virtual pooper-scooper!