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Cacti & Succulents

prickly pear question

16 years ago

My son has recently become a cactus fan. He is growing a prickly pear that must be happy since it put out a shoot. Here's the weird part. The pad from the starter is about 3" long by 2" wide. The shoot is now 6" tall but only 1/4" wide. Is that normal?

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Comment (1)

wallydraigle
16 years ago
Only normal when the plant is not receiving enough light. The new shoot needs to be removed, and the plant needs moved to where it will get way more light than it is getting now. They'll take full unobstructed sun all day long, and require at least a few hours of sun each day. Since it's been in the shade for a while you'll probably have to shade it from brightest sunlight for a while now.
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