Cephalocereus senilis with branches

[Roland]

Can anyone help please. I think the branches are already too heavy for the trunk. The photo was taken last year and they have grown since. Can I remove these 2 growths without damaging the plant.
Any thoughts appreciated
Roland

[Dodi Russell]

It's a oreocereus species, it is not a Cephalocereus senilis because it doesn't have a Pseudocephalium and the appearance of these two plants are different.
The plant can manage the weight of those branches, why would you ruin such a beautiful plant . If you want you can give it extra support or if you want you can cut off the branches at the point where they meet the main stem and root them separately.

[greenknight]

Agreed - it's an Oreocereus, doelzianus would be my guess, and no need to remove the offsets.

[Roland]

Thank you so much for the reply, Dodi and Greenknight. The last thing I wanted to do is, remove them. Now that you've set me straight, I'll educate myself on this species.

[DaveW]

Generally if a cactus grows branches the trunk thickens up and lignifies to support them. There are a few Cerei that flop over and creep along the ground as they get longer, the "Creeping Devil" for instance, but yours is not one of them, though it can tend to sprawl with the ends held upright as in the links below.

There is an article by Paul Hoxey on Oreocereus here:-

https://www.essexsucculentreview.org.uk ... r-2017.pdf

Some branching ones in these pictures:-

https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=667