My cactus keeps falling over - help!

catrionawoodley8Rgsb7IZ · July 2020

Hi all, I've had this cactus for about ten years now, as you can see early in its life it had a difficult period but it has grown really well since and flowers most years with lovely pink flowers. Usually I rotate it for sun exposure as it tends to very quickly after a day or so bend towards the sun.

I recently repotted it into a larger pot using suitable compost as it was falling to side more and more, so felt it was due to pot size. However it has now completely fallen over and the weight of the plant seems to be too much for the roots. It just does not want to stay upright!

I had tried a small stake which had helped before but now it just seems too heavy. Is there anything I can do potting wise to aid the roots or balance the weight or do I just need to build a better stake structure to support?

Any advice appreciated!! Many thanks ☺️ Cat.

Blue Onion · July 2020

Yes.. just a better staking structure until it gets its roots down to hold it upright. I suggest you stick three chopsticks or such just along the inside of the pot in a triangle.. then use a strip of old tshirt or a wide ribbon to tie around all three to make a support on all sides. You might need four sticks, as you want the tie to barely touch the spines (not press into the cactus in any way). Leave it on for six months then see if it's steady by pressing gently against the cactus to see if it still leans.

Joy* · July 2020

I would agree with Blue Onion but I would look at taking it out of the pot and try to make sure that the whole of the old root ball is buried, without allowing compost to touch the cactus. Perhaps you might even be able to tease the roots out a bit so that they spread out over a bigger area to give it a better anchorage. If it was pot bound and you have just put the entire contents of the pot in the compost and the new compost is very light you will have an ongoing problem. You could also try to weigh it down with some decorative stones.