Wobbly cactus cutting
I received my cactus, Molly, as a cutting from a friend’s thirty year old cactus. I received her in December 2025, followed procedure for allowing the cut to callous and then placed her in succulent soil. The problem is that six months have passed and her root system is still not developed enough to hold her up. She is a foot tall however and I think that plays a part in matters. Is this normal? I have to be very careful not to move her in any way that causes her to wobble and she even fell out of the dirt once. I have placed a support around her to prevent the worst of it but I still worry. Are her roots growing slower than normal? #SucculentLove
0ft to light, indirect
7” pot with drainage
Last watered 1 week ago
5
Best Answer
Don’t hesitate to use stakes, too! That’ll save you the headache if it does get bumped and hopefully keep it anchored better. Also, have you looked into using any sort of rooting hormone on the bottom of the cutting or in the water you use on it? Might jumpstart the process, but it’s worth doing the research to double check that it’ll work on cactus without stressing the plant.
How far down did you put the cutting? I would suggest putting at least 2-3 inches of the cutting in the soil and the dress the top with some lava rocks or very small decorative pebbles to help stabilize it until it forms a good root system. Hopefully that helps? Good luck as you have a very beautiful cutting!
Thank you everyone. Molly now has a stake to help her stay more stable. She is a happy cactus.
