plant gurus! cactus question? - Democratic Underground

chickenscratching

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Tue Apr-05-05 12:02 PM
Original message

plant gurus! cactus question?

my boss has a small baby cactus who has had a crazy growth spurt. However, this growth spurt is more along the lines of height while his poor width can't keep up. Now, he's falling over....
is this indicative of too much/too little water? sunlight? because his body seems out of proportion?
i'm planning on using a post to give his body a bit of support.
any other tips i would be much gracious of.
thank you!
-c

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wicket

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Tue Apr-05-05 12:06 PM
Response to Original message

1. hmmmm...

I'd try repotting and tie a small stick to it to brace it. I had a similiar problem with a plant and that worked great.

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Hell Hath No Fury

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Tue Apr-05-05 12:22 PM
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2. What caused the crazy growth spurt?

Edited on Tue Apr-05-05 12:23 PM by Hell Hath No Fury

Was he moved into a sunnier spot? Was he fertilized? That sounds like what the problem is -- the rapid growth out-paced the natural process that would allow the cactus to grow but with the necessary strength to maintain his new height..

All you can do is stake him, keep his growth stable, and wait for him to catch up to his new height.

On edit: No need to repot -- cactus like a tight pot and repotting throws a plant into stress unnecessarily.

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mimitabby

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Tue Apr-05-05 12:23 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. and tell him to water it only 1 time per month

it's a cactus and you can kill them with too much water.

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Hell Hath No Fury

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Tue Apr-05-05 12:25 PM
Response to Reply #3

4. Yes!

Overwatering cactus is a major problem, especially in an office setting where the plant is already probably getting less sun than it truly needs.

I have a giant milk cactus on my front porch and I throw a small bucket of water on it maybe once a month.

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Magrittes Pipe

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Tue Apr-05-05 12:30 PM
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5. Two guesses, and I'm pretty confident one is the correct answer:

1) Too much nitrogen in the fertilizer. If you replace the potting medium often enough, you probably don't need to fertilize a cactus. If you do, use a low-nitrogen blend.

2) Too little sunlight. Plants, especially full-sun-loving plants like most cacti, seek the sun. When there is too little, they tend to get leggy: observe trees on the forest floor, for instance -- they tend to be long and skinny, with long, skinny branches.

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Hell Hath No Fury

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Tue Apr-05-05 01:09 PM
Response to Reply #5

6. Etiolation is what you are talking about...

when a plant gets too little sun and "reaches" towards its light source. Etiolation is a gradual process in response to an ongoing lighting situation -- that wouldn't add up with the sudden growth spurt the OP mentioned.

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miss_kitty

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Tue Apr-05-05 01:15 PM
Response to Original message

7. How many threads do you need on this?

or are you copycatting yourself?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2990295

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chickenscratching

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Tue Apr-05-05 01:18 PM
Response to Reply #7

8. yep

inadvertantly however

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