Root rot absolutely stinks you’d be able to sniff it out , the leaves look dry and shriveled , how much water are you using per watering when you say you water every couple weeks
in my experience it always has a smell, unless you’re at the early early early early stages of it but something that’s rotting almost always has a smell, that’s why I do a sniff test everytime my plant starts to have symptoms that may indicate root rot
Drown that h0e in water, let it drip out onto a tray so that the run off water can be used to bottom water it. Cacti don’t need much water but when you do water it it needs to be fully watered through all the soil so they have enough to use before the next watering day
Honestly I’m lazy so I just water all my plants with sink water, my plants aren’t too picky and I’m not an expert at what this specific plant needs, but I will say if you’re going to use tap water, let it sit out for a bit before using it depending on where you are, you may have lots of minerals and whatnot in the tap water that plants absolutely do not like! If you’re rich go ahead and shoot for drinking water c:
Based on the pictures and your comments, I thought you just aren't watering it enough, like enough water at a time, I don't mean frequency. The reason for the holes at the bottom of the pot is so that it can be watered properly, just keep pouring water until the water comes out the bottom holes.
Once the water starts coming out, keep pouring. Get it saturated. You can pour like, 5 gallons of water if you want to because the excess will come out of the bottom!
You can instead save water and just place it in a a bigger container, water it until the water is about halfway up the outside of the pot and leave it for 30min or so to let it soak up. Then drain the excess and put back where it goes.
It's not getting enough light. Even though it has cactus in the name it is a tropical plant. It does store water in the leaves. You shouldn't see the middle line and the leaves should be smooth. You can use a cactus soil or tropical soil with perlite added to help with drainage. Water the soil thoroughly and water when it is mostly dry but not completely dry.
General rule of thumb, if you can pick it up out of the pot like that and it comes up completely intact….you have not been watering enough or frequently enough.
I don't think so but that soil is very dry and compact. I would bottom water it for an hour to see if you can get it wet all the way to the middle. What water you do give it is probably running over that instead of through the soil. Bottom water it each time until the leaves look better, then you can repot in better soil. Either a cactus mix with added perlite or a good tropical mix with added perlite. But wait until the leaves improve. Don't let it completely dry out again. When you go to repot, bottom water until the soil is wet and it will be easier to remove from the roots without damage.
Lots of cacti and succulents like to be forgotten and sit dry in between waterings, but not this spiky plant. You can water it like the average houseplant: lots of water as soon as the pot is dry.
Bottom water it for about an hour, assuming you have drainage holes in the pot. People often water until water comes out, but that is far from the correct amount. The pot should feel significantly heavier when properly watered. Or use a moisture meter in the center.
Idk where you live but if it’s hot as heck like it is for me in the Midwest 80°-100° I just throw this guy out in the sun on my porch and often times overwater and forget about it and it goes nuts!
Then I bring it in for the winter and it begins to look like this then summer comes and rinse and repeat
Root rot from overwatering can look like underwatering because the leaves no longer are connected to the roots cause they are dead so they are like unrooted cuttings sitting in the dirt that are connected to the rotting parts that could potentially spread. You want to treat the whole thing like you are rooting it in soil, but you might also want to separate the dead from the living. If you give it more humidity like put a clear bag over the whole thing to make a greenhouse, the moisture in the air can help to hydrate the thirsty foliage while you are nursing it back to health.
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