Cactus cutting gone bad (cont'd)

[Chindit]

Sorry for an confusion, but these photos are a continuation of my earlier post here. These offshoots were planted about 4 or 5 weeks ago.

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[Steve Johnson]

Sorry for an confusion, but these photos are a continuation of my earlier post here. These offshoots were planted about 4 or 5 weeks ago.

Looking good, Joe. To be technically correct, they're offsets (also known as pups), not offshoots. Now would be a good time to review something I said in your first "Cactus cutting gone bad" thread:

Buy a watering spray bottle if you don't already have one -- easily available at your local nursery or grocery store. The bottle will have 2 settings, mist and stream. Set it to mist. Starting in April, mist the stems once every 3-4 weeks (believe it or not, this helps in the rooting process). Don't worry if the potting sand gets a little bit moist, but don't let it get saturated either. Be prepared for the fact that the offsets will get shriveled over the course of spring and summer -- once again, don't worry as they'll do their growing below-ground first before they start growing above-ground in 2025. When you get into summer (either July or August) gently (and I mean gently) pull up on the offsets. If you feel like they want to come right out, they haven't rooted yet. But if you get a little bit of resistance, that means you have new roots. Should that be the case, you can mist the potting sand to moisten it more than you did before the offsets started putting out new roots. Let the potting sand dry out completely between mistings, and don't mist at all in fall and winter. If all goes well, the offsets will be ready for their own pots in spring 2025. Good news there, the 50% Rosy Soil-50% pumice mix should be perfect for them.

If you haven't started misting yet, you can now since we're well into April. New spines forming on the tippy-top is a good sign, so keep an eye out for that.

The indirect light from your window also looks good, although a full-spectrum LED grow light would be helpful -- this is something I mentioned in your first thread. Once again, you'll find a good selection on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=grow+lights+ ... doa-p_3_11

Nice thing about LED grow lights -- they won't scorch, unlike what happens if cacti get direct sunlight when they're too close to a window. This isn't a big priority for you at the moment, but I'll recommend that you get one soon.