HelpfulGardener.com

I have a small cactus in the kitchen window, it has been there a couple years. It is getting quite tall and thin... now it is getting a bit thicker at the top... It has lots of babies at the bottom.

Should I remove the babies? Can I lay the cactus on its side and create a really interesting cactus instead of this... long thing?

I know the weight up top will cause it to fall sooner or later...

What to do?

Some cacti just grow that way. I think one of the most interesting things about cacti is the unusual shapes they develop. I have one that's fat, then gets skinny, then fattens out again. It looks rather like a small ball set on top of a larger ball.

You can remove the pups, if you like, and pot them up individually. Allow the broken/cut end to callus off before you put it on the soil to root.

I don't think the parent cactus will root if you lay it lengthwise on the ground. It might, I suppose, but I've not ever heard of that being done.

Repotting it into an azalea pan or some other kind of short, broad container should keep it from toppling over. Some pretty rocks in the container can help support the cactus, too.

If you like, you can just cut off the top portion to whatever length you want, callus the cut end, and root it as a new plant.

As far as laying it flat, it all depends on what kind of cactus it is. I have a prickly pear cactus that I found which consists of a leaf that fell to the ground flat, and three new leaves have grown vertically from the horizantal leaf. I picked up the new cacti, and there still isn't roots coming out of the fallen leaf, it's living off the stored food in the fallen leaf. I've got the fallen leaf partially buried in the soil, so you can still see it and I'm hoping the roots will eventually sprout out.

They will. My poor damaged cactus is a prickly pear type... with the huge pads, that some folks eat.

The pads that were broken off laid on the ground, sent up growth, and finally decided to root. But it had good sized growth before it rooted.

For your little windowsill cactus, if you cut off the top to create a new plant, and remove the pups to individual pots, the bottom portion or the original cactus may produce even more pups.

With all those pups, you're gonna have to start finding 'em homes!

Definitely, and that isn't all. I went shopping today, honest, I only went for lights, soil, ph meter, fish meal etc. But 5 little cactuses, and a begonia jumped into my cart.
Right along side the grape vines and climbing roses...
So, I have those to repot already too.
Why do they hot glue blooms on them?
I already had 2 cactuses and an aloe vera that have lived with us, for a couple years.
So, seems like I will need a cactus area!

Ozark Lady wrote:Definitely, and that isn't all. I went shopping today, honest, I only went for lights, soil, ph meter, fish meal etc.

Yeah, sure ... we've all done that!

But 5 little cactuses, and a begonia jumped into my cart.

Sneaky little devils, aren't they!

Why do they hot glue blooms on them?

Because the only taste some people have is in their mouths.

So, seems like I will need a cactus area!

You've been bitten by that little cactus bug! Very contagious!