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[SoulGrower]

Seeking advice from our Cacti gurus 

What to do about etoliated cactus

I'm def a newby when it comes to growing cactus but I'm starting to get the hang of it.  I clearly wasn't giving several of my plants enough light and consequently they have grown etoliated.

One was a cutting of pachanoi given to me about a year ago.  It was about 6", grew etoliated for about 3", and then another 4-5" of normal growth.  So that it looks like it has a waste lol

The others are peruvianus that I grew from seed.  They have all basically grown into wiffle ball bats 

My instinct says to just let them be and hope they recover.  However, my seedling peruvianus keep falling over and require support. 

What do the experts do?

[modern]

Cut them near the base and new growth will do well. You can either replant the tops or save all the material and dispose of them another way. With the pachanoi cut it right where the elongated growth, remove two inches of the etoliated growth from the bottom and replant the top of the pachanoi. Or leave it growing until it snaps naturally.

Depending on how tall the seed grown seedlings are you can just bury them deeper or add a gravel layer to help support them. The base does thicken a bit with age and new pups will help support the cacti in the future.

You could also let the seedlings fall over and grow later bury the body that is laying sideways.

I tend to cut my cacti but you do have options.

[Hummingbird]

had the same problem, I was thinking of cutting it but didn't and I'm not sorry. the only problem is aesthetics imo, and cactus doesn't care about that.
he uses the etiolated parts just as any other, and it won't suffer from it. it will just continue growing, and get fatter.
unlike if you cut it, which would introduce additional stress on the plant, also increasing the chances of rot or other disease.

the only problem might be the new growth being too sensitive to direct sunlight (if its light green), but slowly introducing it to full sun helps a ton.
good luck 

[Bach]

I'm with modern on this one.

IME the etoliated sections tend to be weaker and more prone to breakage. I'd rather cut stems when the weather is amenable to callousing rather than run the risk of it breaking in a storm and having a jagged break collect rainwater.

[Ian Morris]

For temperate growers like myself, avoiding etoliation is an art.  You will get better, however those already suffering will always bear evidence.

Mostly my preference is to let them run, I even have TPach that mutated after etoliation so perhaps the aesthetic is not ruined but improved?

However, if you have cacti falling over you have to do something (I ignored this warning two and lost several three year olds (my original lessons) to a sticky black disease, my theory is they were too weak after falling over in each breeze and had no natural defense. 

I would; 1) cut off the growing tips above any weak or already pliable bend in the cacti (had some success here plus you will likely get two plants out of the deal)

or

2) let them continue but support them as you would a large cutting (string and Tmato stakes work) and see if they develop a stronger trunk, just remember this will only help with the plant staying upright, nothing is going to help the look of the cacti

hope this helps,
Ian

[misplant]

What do the experts do?

well i'm certainly no expert but i stake em down & let em keep on growing, if it breaks it breaks, its like I'll cross that bridge when i get to it.

the problem is us humans, thinking we're gonna control how a plant is gonna grow, what its gonna look like, how fast it should grow, yada yada yada.

if its not broke theres really no need to 'fix' it.

2 Likes Chicsa and Hummingbird like this.

[Radium]

Why does etiolation occur at all?

[misplant]

Why does etiolation occur at all?

primarily due to insufficient lighting but can also be induced by hormonal imbalances (auxin's etc)

2 Likes Chicsa and Radium like this.

[SoulGrower]

Great advice and I thank you all!!