The Resurrection of Sabo-san (Gymnocalycium denudatum)

When I lived in Nagoya, I once went all the way to the Izu Cactus Park in Shizuoka Prefecture just to buy cacti.

Perhaps because Kasugai City in Aichi is famous for cactus cultivation, Nagoya's home centers had many different types of cacti on display, but the main reason I was so anxious was that the 'Gymnocalycium denudatum' I wanted was never in stock.
So, I went all the way to Izu and got a small 6-ribbed Gymnocalycium denudatum (a 3-year-old plant)! Even though the base price was only about 500 yen, it was a purchase that ended up costing quite a lot in travel expenses (lol).

I raised it carefully indoors, but about half a year later, it clearly started to shrink.

Suspecting root mealybugs, I dug it up and bingo! There were white specks on the roots...
I immediately washed the roots, disinfected them, pruned them, and let them dry before repotting.
Just as I was hoping for healthy roots to grow...

The area around the growing point started to turn brown.
I even repotted it into a black plastic pot to help the roots grow better, but...

Following information online, I was told it might be mite damage, so I bought mite-specific pesticides and tried various things, but...

It suffered the tragedy of having its entire surface covered in a brown film in the blink of an eye.
Even so, I patiently misted it so it wouldn't dry out, gave it fertilizer without weakening it, and cared for it persistently, and gradually, beautiful green skin began to appear from the growing point!
Perhaps it's because the roots, which had been weakened by the mealybugs, recovered and started spreading out??

One year later.

Although mite scars still remain at the base, my Gymnocalycium denudatum is returning to its original form by about half! I'm so happy~♪

And another year and a half later.

My Gymnocalycium denudatum has made such a huge comeback that I can't believe it's the same plant.
The mite scars have even disappeared under the base! It's amazing, the recovery power of cacti.
Since it's still in the same black plastic pot I repotted it into when it was weak, it's easy to see how much it has grown in size.

My Gymnocalycium denudatum is so incredibly cute because of all the effort I put into it.

By the way, a five-ribbed Gymnocalycium denudatum I found at a local home center for about 300 yen a year after I went to Izu has been growing rapidly; it even bloomed and bore fruit this year.

It grew so fast that it was filling up its pot, so I repotted it this year. It seems like I should be careful about this one splitting.

The spines on the six-ribbed Gymnocalycium denudatum are straight, while the five-ribbed one has natural curls (lol).
It's amazing how much individual variation there is even within the same species of cactus.

The cacti that accompany me on my job transfers are my source of comfort.