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[JMZ]

I have a 24 inch bridgesii that just became flaccid and fell over, but the rest look fine. I had a hybrid that did the same thing last spring and I just planted it deeper and it did find. I brought my cactus to a well lit room inside maybe 10 days ago. So is this a natural thing they do so they can grow "log style", or is it the symptom of a problem? I'm thinking of chopping it into thirds and root the top section.

[Ian Morris]

Unless there was some other underlying health issue I doubt a two foot trich is going to pitch over.  You know better also if the pot was top heavy or other variables.

Check this thing for black spots, found some on a year three seedling, next day leaning heavy, day 3 it was too late the black spots were oozing. 

As for repotting/cutting.  I find the 8 to 12 inch range to do the best without additional support. 

-Ian

[modern]

May just be a cactus genetically prone to leaning.

Here is an example from solaritea
http://www.sanpedrocactuses.com/blog/2015/6/5/trichocereus-glaucus-ss

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[JMZ]

That's a lot like mine. Kind of looks like the Jolly Green Giant after the viagra wears off. It just got soft and fell over. When it happened to my other one last spring I repotted it and buried it deeper, and it stiffened up again. That one was such a beautiful cactus that cutting it wasn't an option.

[BubbleCat]

https://m.



Soft ? I suspect mold and in that case recovery is not possible.

Lets hope its the genes tho.

[JMZ]

It must be a genetic thing, it doesn't look sick or otherwise compromised. I realize that plants don't think, but I believe it's just trying to expand outward rather than upward. I'm sure it would perk back up if I repotted it and buried it deeper, but this one is getting cut today. This doesn't happen to anybody else? This one has done the same thing, and look at it now, strong like bull!

[BubbleCat]

Didnt you say it is squishy / mushy ? If so it doesnt spund healthy to me :/

[Chicsa]

I'll talk some crazy stuff here, but what if this is part of a past gene that would have made trichocereus similar to epiphyte cacti. If it indeed grows log style (without rotting) it would sprout roots all along that bottom. I'm curious if it could too use a tree and root up it...

MY climate is so humid root nubs form above the soil sometimes, but I've never seen them develop past a nub.

Just some crazy speculation from someone who doesn't really know anything

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[Mangrove]

I'll talk some crazy stuff here, but what if this is part of a past gene that would have made trichocereus similar to epiphyte cacti. If it indeed grows log style (without rotting) it would sprout roots all along that bottom. I'm curious if it could too use a tree and root up it...

MY climate is so humid root nubs form above the soil sometimes, but I've never seen them develop past a nub.

Just some crazy speculation from someone who doesn't really know anything

No one knows anything; IIWY, i'd hollow out a section of rotted/withered/damp outer tree bark, place a spare trunk cutting in it, wait a few months and see what happens. Would be interesting to see if it's possible to graft trichs to trees...

[BubbleCat]

"Tree" is was too generic, I doubt anyways you could find one that is compatible, even if by far not all trees would be. The "sap" must be compatible to that if the cactus, amongst other things.

[Chicsa]

i mean like how a selenicereus grows, not grafting. the snake like growth reminds me a lot of those kinds of cacti

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[modern]

There is a naturally creeping/crawling trichocereus that I believe keeps rooting along the body. I'm sure that you can lean a cactus along a tree and those adventurous roots would grow onto the tree if moist enough.

I'm positive that grafting to a tree would be impossible in the traditional sense. However the cactus can be 'grafted' by the roots attaching to the tree bark

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[FewTrueSeed]

Epiphitic cacti are my favorite. The prostrate type growth happens in lots of terrestrial cacti as well. A good example is Echinopsis thelegona, or Stenocereus eruca.

[happyconcacti]

How's it doing at the base? It looks like there was rot that scabbed over? No? See the pic below. If it had/has rot, that's probably the issue.

To get them fatter, introduce them to more and more light. You'll probably want to wait till next Spring to do this. This makes a HUUUUGE difference. They'll never reach their potential without close to full sun.

Many Trichs will grow log-style naturally: candicans, brevispinulosus, spachianus, ect. Bridgesii are prone to falling over as well. They grow upright for a long time then one day an arm will just kind of start leaning. Over the course of about 24 hours or less it will be touching the ground. And, yes, you can just leave them on the ground and they'll root, then the tip will start growing upwards. It's like they crawl around if you give them the space.

Lack of direct sunlight is probably the issue unless: 1) it's a cross of a Trich that naturally falls over, 2) its rotting at the base.

I would cut it up and re-root each section.

[JMZ]

It has been cut, and they are calloused enough to plant soon. There was a brown scab, but I don't feel like it was rotten. It really wasn't getting much direct sun for the past month, so that probably had something to do with it. I've heard conflicting advice on other forums about how much sun trichs can tolerate, so what's your advice on that? That one hybrid that I posted a photo of could use some more girth, so maybe I should be more aggressive with the light next year? My plan for the rest is to put them in a well lit room with no water over the winter.