Mystery cactus falling over??

[aharvey0120]

My cactus has started to grow MANY new arms over the past few months. Today it toppled over and was laying against the side of the pot. Im currently supporting it with rocks to keep it from falling over and breaking. There is no signs that it is dying ( firm pads and no discoloration). Can it not support its own weight anymore? What should I do? Also, can this plant be propagated? (I got this plant as a gift over a year ago, I do not have any idea what it is)

 

[Tetters]

Welcome to the forum @aharvey0120 . What a lovely specimen that is It`s a bunny ears cactus if I`m not mistaken - Opuntia microdasys. I shall have a word with Zigs to give you some advice what to do with it - he`s the cactus king around here

 

[zigs]

Welcome to the forum

Tetters is right, it's a Bunny Ears The pot seems deep enough for it to establish a good root system, nothing wrong with supporting it with rocks while it does but I think the problem might be that the new growth has become etiolated, that is it's growing too long as it's probably not getting enough light so it might be over balancing the plant.

I've got the white and the bronze varieties.

Probably best to take off the new pads, you can treat them as cuttings as they root quite readily.

Twist the pads off gently but use tweezers or a cloth to grasp them with, don't touch them with bare hands as they have glochids

Dust the cut surfaces with a fungicide

 

[aharvey0120]

Welcome to the forum

Tetters is right, it's a Bunny Ears The pot seems deep enough for it to establish a good root system, nothing wrong with supporting it with rocks while it does but I think the problem might be that the new growth has become etiolated, that is it's growing too long as it's probably not getting enough light so it might be over balancing the plant.

View attachment 69943

I've got the white and the bronze varieties.

Probably best to take off the new pads, you can treat them as cuttings as they root quite readily.

View attachment 69944

Twist the pads off gently but use tweezers or a cloth to grasp them with, don't touch them with bare hands as they have glochids

Dust the cut surfaces with a fungicide

Thank you so much! This information is very helpful.

 

[zigs]

Our pleasure