EmmaS32
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Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2018 1:39 pm
Location: SW England

Help! Bunny ears cactus fallen over

Hi, newbie here!
My sister has left her bunny ears cactus with us for the last 6 months and it’s been doing really well, and has grown a lot of new ‘ears’. (Not sure what they’re called!)

Yesterday though the whole thing has flopped over. The bottom of it has gone a lighter green. My mum watered it yesterday because she thought it was too dry, but I think it might have too much water. Neither of us know much about cacti.

Is it salvageable? Can we cut bits off it to make a new one?
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imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

The roots are probably rotting from too much water for too long. Do not water plants in cache pots. The cache pots collect water and drown plants. You can remove some of the ears carefully, the spines hurt. You need to use padded tongs and a sharp knife or newspaper and thick gloves. After you remove the offsets. Let them sit in the shade for a few days to make sure the ends has calloused off. I would use a smaller pot, maybe a 2 inch clay pot. You only want about a 1/2 inch space on the sides of the plant. Bunny ears don't grow fast so they can stay in tighter quarters. For soil use cactus mix or turface. Plant one offset per pot. Water well but don't water again until the soil is dry. Take pots out of cachepots to water and let them drip dry before you put them back.

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applestar
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Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Yes. The danger in placing the nursery plastic pots inside decorative bowls and pots is you can’t tell how much water has drained out of the plastic pot to pool inside the solid container. Because the inside container fits close, even small amount of excess water is displaced and rises up along the side, inundating the plant roots. Super BAD for plants that do not like wet “feet” and are susceptible to drowned roots and root rot.

I agree with imafan that cacti and succulents are best grown in porous, unglazed terra-cotta clay pots.

If you need to protect the surface the pot is on, use a shallow catch tray or plate that is wider than the plant pot. For decorative purposes, I like re-purposing saucers and plates from broken up set (you could get pretty extravagant about it by picking them up 2nd hand). For larger plants, casserole dishes and trays....

Although attentively watering and draining the excess is ideal, another useful trick is to use rocks or pebbles etc. to raise the plant pot up from the bottom surface so small amount of drained water does not pose immediate risk. When I do use a cachepot, I use things like empty non-rusting tuna or cat food can, juice bottle lid, etc. as a riser underneath the interior pot since you can’t see them at all and they can raise the pot high without displacing the drained water pooled in the bottom.



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