One of my bridgesiis needs a little help

[neomad]

During last winter I picked up a bridg:

It was seriously root bound being in a pot about the size of a coffee mug. I replanted it in a large pot at the beginning of summer and it's been been growing like mad and is also pushing out a pup at the base but I have notice a couple of problems.

First: I have noticed patches of white skin. Is that sunburn? Should I be concerned?

Second: It is now growing fatter at the top than at the base and leaning over:

I was thinking of cutting it at the point where it goes from thin to fat (about one third from the bottom) and rooting the top part in a new pot. Does anyone have any other ideas or should I leave it alone?

[Evil Genius]

Yeah sunburn. Nothing to worry about. But the scars might even get a little bit worse over time. Just keep an eye on them to avoid them getting infected.

I agree the second one would look better if being cut and re-rooted. But its certainly not a must. Apart from the look, this doesnt affect its general health in the slightest.

[neomad]

Yeah sunburn. Nothing to worry about. But the scars might even get a little bit worse over time. Just keep an eye on them to avoid them getting infected.

I agree the second one would look better if being cut and re-rooted. But its certainly not a must. Apart from the look, this doesnt affect its general health in the slightest.

 

Thanks for the tips EG! I'll keep an eye on the sunburn then.

If it's not a must to re-root then I'll leave it as is. I was just worried that it might become too top heavy and need to be re-rooted anyway, but if it can survive and prosper like that then I'll leave it and see how it carries on growing.

[nothinghead]

It really got a lot of mileage out of that tiny pot! If it does happen to snap from being top heavy you can dry the section that broke off and root it later, no harm done. It'll probably thicken up at the base before that happens anyway, if it is getting enough light and doesn't need to reach.

[ballzac]

If you cut it, the base will stop thickening up, and the pups that grow from the stump will not grow very quickly. I cut one in a similar condition, and regretted it. If it snaps then you don't have much choice, but if you can stake it or something (if it needs it) then you will get better growth as it fattens up, and then if you choose to propagate it more, you can cut it and you'll get much faster growing pups from the fatter base.

The scars look nice and dry, and I wouldn't worry about them at all. Adds character IMO.

[Nemisty]

Hehe I better show you mine. Its was being sold as a 'white variety' I called their bullshit and scored it for 5 bucks.

The reason it got so sunburnt was because a slug had gone to town at the base and bitten out a decent crater, and must had weakened the plant immensely but it seems to be back on the up.

This ones also a bit skinny at the base but is holding up.

[Stillman]

I have never seen anything like that before? Does the Whiteness chip or rub off?

[Nemisty]

Nope. But I repotted it and once the roots started taking up water causing the plant swell slightly, enough for the sunburn to crack and split all over the show. You probably could pick it off very slowly and tediously but the skin/flesh underneath isn't all that great so the sunburns a good shell for now.

I wouldn't have normally bought a cactus that sick but bridgesii in NZ aint all that common so I couldn't pass it up.

[Stillman]

I would have brought it too. I'm thinking the only way it could get such an even burn is if it was white oiled then put out in the midday sun? Or something like that. Cool plant with a cool story anyway.

[bit]

I wouldn't have normally bought a cactus that sick but bridgesii in NZ aint all that common so I couldn't pass it up.

 

I have quite a few - you'd be welcome to come choose one but as anyone who's dealt with me before will tell you, i'm f*cking useless at replying to messages and getting things posted etc. Pickup only lol ;)

[neomad]

It really got a lot of mileage out of that tiny pot! If it does happen to snap from being top heavy you can dry the section that broke off and root it later, no harm done. It'll probably thicken up at the base before that happens anyway, if it is getting enough light and doesn't need to reach.

 

I was amazed when I bought it. I walked into a specialist cactus nursery and found a TBM. I then asked if they had any regular bridgesii and the woman who was helping me said no, because regular bridgesiis are not very interesting plants! I carried on browsing and found a crate of thin looking trichs shoved away under a table. I had never seen a bridgesii in the flesh, apart from the TBM I had just found and the woman wandered over and told me that those are san pedros and asked if I knew san pedros. I was thinking: "What are you on about? San Pedro could refer to several different kinds of trichocereus." But I thought that it must be a bridgesii from the pictures I had seen and asked for one. She then pulled the one I pointed at out of the crate with a set of tongs and up came the plant and ball of roots without the pot and she just stuck it into a new pot the same size. The ball of roots was rock hard. When I re-potted in spring I could not separate the roots and just had to put it in new soil and hope for the best. It seems to be getting on fine though.

If you cut it, the base will stop thickening up, and the pups that grow from the stump will not grow very quickly. I cut one in a similar condition, and regretted it. If it snaps then you don't have much choice, but if you can stake it or something (if it needs it) then you will get better growth as it fattens up, and then if you choose to propagate it more, you can cut it and you'll get much faster growing pups from the fatter base.

The scars look nice and dry, and I wouldn't worry about them at all. Adds character IMO.

 

Rapidly growing pup(s) would be great, so yeah I will leave it be and just try make sure it does not get so heavy that it snaps or stake it before it gets that far.

Since the scars are nothing serious I am not concerned about them either. As you say, more character.

Hehe I better show you mine. Its was being sold as a 'white variety' I called their bullshit and scored it for 5 bucks.

The reason it got so sunburnt was because a slug had gone to town at the base and bitten out a decent crater, and must had weakened the plant immensely but it seems to be back on the up.

This ones also a bit skinny at the base but is holding up.

 

That plant has sure had some hard times! I hope it carries on improving!

[r2pi]

Mine always become top-heavy and fall over and break after a few years anyway - so any time you want to cut it or even break it off, fear not. They seem to thrive on neglect. After all, breaking off and re-rooting is how they spread in nature. The only time I intefere is when rot takes hold. Don't stress, they are very resilient and seem to thrive on neglect. They have always done better in pots than in the ground for me, and better in smaller pots than bigger. I have had them not only grow, but pup and flower, having been sitting for months on dry bare dirt as cuttings.