Winter to Spring

[JCcares]

My cacti have been out side now out of hibernation for 6 weeks.

Is there something wrong with this cactus or is this normal?

See image. Thank you.

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[Aeonium2003]

Etiolation. I suspect it was not given enough light while in "hibernation". Alternatively, it was given too much water/fertilizer.

[JCcares]

Will it ever get back to normal again? I did give it a little water in the winter thinking because of Etiolation. Was that wrong to do. It was at a south window all winter. @Aeonium2003

[greenknight]

Yep, it was growing when it didn't have enough light. See: https://www.cactiguide.com/cactipests/#etiolate

See also: http://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dic ... r_rest.htm

That skinny section will always be skinny. Give it better light and the new growth will fatten up above that, but it might not be able to support the weight - it will look funny anyway. The only fix is to prune off the etiolated section.

[Steve Johnson]

Yeah, I'll second what Evan and Spence said -- etiolation. JC, if you're bringing your cacti into the house for winter, the problem is that artificial indoor heat will encourage them to grow, and etiolation is the result of inadequate lighting. If you have a cold room or garage for the cacti and you keep them completely dry, low light or no light isn't a problem because they'll be asleep for the winter. When you bring them outdoors at the beginning of spring, they'll be ready to grow.

Unfortunately etiolation is permanent, so I'd recommend that you chop off the stretched-out growth and let the plant grow a new stem. Here's what to do:

• Sterilize a sharp knife with alcohol and cut down to the point where the stem has a normal diameter. If you need to cut more than once, sterilize with each cut. Be sure to cut at an angle so that water doesn't have a chance to pool up on top of the base.

• Give the exposed surface a liberal dusting of sulfur powder -- this prevents mold or fungus from taking ahold of the freshly-exposed tissue.

• Let the exposed surface form a callus before you start watering the plant. Although I've never had to do a chop-chop on any of my plants, my guess is that a month after cutting should be fine.

Your cactus should start growing a new head on top, but unfortunately I can't tell you how long it should take. The plant looks like it has a healthy root system, you have about 4 months of growing season ahead of you, and if all goes well, you may see the new head start to grow before the end of summer. In fact, you might see more than one!

[Aeonium2003]

Agree on the chopping. You can re-plant the top section after callousing. But be careful not to have too much of the etiolated portion, or when new healthy growth appears, it might leaves a weak point (which could make the plant bend or fall over).

[7george]

This plant looks like some Lobivia, looking at its normal part. It needs really cold winter and no water during that time. Some light even filtered would suppress growth during the rest time.

[JCcares]

I am SO thankful to all of you

I have five children BUT I feel like a new parent with these Cacti. And I was a BAD parent last winter I just stood there and let spider mites take five of my cacti.

I never knew there was such a thing as a “ spider mite“.

Not going to happen this coming winter!!!

[JCcares]

I hear and I obey.

I hope it was ok to use cinnamon on the cut?

Image attached.

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[Aeonium2003]

I think so. People say it's a good antifungal, and some cactiguide members swear by it.

[Steve Johnson]

I hope it was ok to use cinnamon on the cut?

Just did a quick search on DuckDuckGo, and apparently there's no clear evidence that cinnamon is an effective fungicide. Sulfur powder has been tested and proven to be highly effective over the course of many years, so I recommend that you blow off the cinnamon, and spread a liberal dusting of sulfur powder all over the exposed surface. By the way -- from what I saw in your photo, I think the cut should have a little more of an angle.

[greenknight]

I agree with Steve - but I wouldn't re-cut it, it has enough slope to keep water from puddling, and it's going to be indoors anyway. You'll see as it dries that the interior shrinks more than the skin, causing it to cup - this is why you don't want the cut to be horizontal.