Seeking Cacti Growth Advice

[Innocent]

hello all

posting here instead of cacti section as it's somewhat urgent and I don't have permissions to post there yet.

someone had a lighting failure and took a while to get a new light...

the cacti growth has clearly been slowed and they have gone a bit scrawny, however, they seem to have quickly picked up once the light was fixed. to me it looks like they should be cut and the scrawny sections laid horizontally.

what does everyone think should be done about these poor guys?

 

[ManicMongrel]

You could use the slender sections for propagation, they will be replaced pretty fast if conditions are good.

In my experience the short and narrow sections will fill up eventually, when they are as long as in this case I wouldn't count on it.

It's a bit tricky growing cacti with grow-lights since they prefer very high light intensity and a broad light spectrum. Judging from the pictures your setup is still below the preferred intensity range.

 

[anne halonium]

LED is good stuff......
you just need about 6x what ya have.

setup below is about 200W 7500k+
for about 2x2 area at 1 foot distance.........

 

[Innocent]

Nice pics!

Will likely cut up all existing cacti and use it for propagation.

Got any tips for doing this? Best lengths etc. How long to sit it in the cupboard?

Last time this was tried this all the flash rotted away despite it being dry, probably because it was a diseased and broken sample.

Will throw out the calea and get several more lights + move them closer.

Currently 80% red led and 20% blue at 60W. Is this okay? They're not dead yet

The p. Viridis and alba is in the corner soaking up residual light and it loves it

 

[KillaNoodles]

Can't forget these things grow natively near the equator. Gotta keep 'em lit and warm. Think of it as a living creature (it is) and that should help. If it was a pet desert snake and your lamp went out, you'd be killing it. Take such care of your cacti!