Leaning Desert Ace

[akcheat]

Hi everyone. I have an in ground opuntia that is leaning over pretty bad this week.

Desert Ace 1.jpg (133.17 KiB) Viewed 1774 times

Desert Ace 2.jpg (139.87 KiB) Viewed 1774 times

It had not been watered for two weeks, and was watered on Sunday of this week, but started showing this lean today and I wanted to see what your thoughts were. My working theory is either that 1. it needs to be watered more, or 2. it grew too fast and has become top heavy (all of the upper two layers of pads grew this year). I don't think it's sun or heat stress as it's been over 100 F most of the summer in NM without issue, and gets direct sun most of the day. I also pushed on the base and checked for rot, but don't see any signs of rot.

Desert Ace Base.jpg (109.38 KiB) Viewed 1774 times

Thanks in advance!

[jerrytheplater]

Is it looking for more light?

[akcheat]

I think light is unlikely to be the issue, it gets 9-10 hours of sun per day and has done well in that position for about two years. I was thinking it might be heat, but it’s withstood bad heat before without doing this.

[anttisepp]

It needs much more water IMHO

[akcheat]

Would you recommend a slow drip for a few hours? I do that with some other plants, but have been hesitant to try it on this cactus.

[greenknight]

It looks very thirsty, it needs a good soaking. A slow drip for a few hours will only moisten the surface.

[akcheat]

Gotcha, so more than a few hours? Or more water? The soil is loose and drains well, but I want to make sure I don’t rot it.

[greenknight]

More water, I think.The surrounding soil will wick away excess moisture, so it won't stay saturated long. Do whatever it takes to soak it deeply, like you had a heavy thunderstorm. If you don't get any natural rainfall, do that every 2-4 weeks in summer, making sure it dries out between waterings.

Up against that rock wall, it gets extra heat. While you want to avoid overwatering, prickly pears can use quite a bit of water, especially in this kind of position.

[akcheat]

Sounds good, I’ll give it a good deep soak and keep an eye on it for a few days. I imagine it’ll take some time before it perks back up.

[greenknight]

You should see results within a few days.

I checked your weather history on Weather Underground - no significant rainfall June, July and August. I imagine that's why you're seeing this happening.

[akcheat]

You’re definitely right about the weather, normally we’d have had monsoon rains come through southern NM by now, but it hasn’t happened yet. It has been especially dry and hot this year.

Will I need to do anything to help it stand back up (like staking) or do you think the water would be sufficient?

[greenknight]

Just water, it'll straighten up. Opuntias can be so dehydrated they lay flat, when they get water they stand right up.

[akcheat]

Awesome, thanks for all your advice!