The cactus doctor arrived Saturday evening to diagnose our fallen saguaro. He said it had been overwatered, got top heavy and crashed to the ground. Unfortunately, he said because of the trauma it suffered in the fall it wouldn’t survive being replanted.
Then he walked around our yard inspecting our other cacti. He drilled a hole in one saguaro and told us it had to be removed because it has bacterial necrosis. It’s leaning slightly and could crash into the house or damage the patio roof.
More bad news in the front yard. Our tallest saguaro with budding arms was declared dead. He said it died from vascular disease.
We learned that saguaros not only get water from their roots, but they have pores that open up in the day and absorb water from the air.
Another fact we learned was that a saguaro’s root system is twice the size of its height.
The doctor also told us how to spot native saguaro from ones that had been transplanted from other areas by the size of their bases.
Not the news we were hoping for. Now we need to hire someone to take out two saguaros and remove the fallen one. At least the rest are healthy. I’m thankful for all the healthy succulents and cacti in our yard and that the bacteria seems to be only in one saguaro.
What are you thankful for today?
Not good news but still the rest are healthy and thriving.
Yes. Hopefully the bacteria won’t spread.
I hope so too
This native Arizonan landscape is a lot of work! Cactus doctors? Glad the others are healthy! 🌵C
I had no idea. I thought this yard was hands off!
Wow. Glad the rest are okay. Do you have to have the roots removed too? What a job.
I think the roots will have to be removed and the soil treated with bleach to kill the bacteria.
That we are still ticking and moving forward!
That’s definitely something to be thankful for!
Wow. This is fascinating.
I’m learning a lot! Next step is we wait for the person to come and remove the diseased cactus before it falls and damages our house.
So interesting! So are the larger based seguaros the native or transplanted ones?
They are the transplants. Their root structure got cut down in size so they need a larger base to get water.
Thank you- very informative! 😁
🙂
Hard to beat the art created by Mother Nature.
True.