That may be rot on the first one. What mix did you plant them in?

Hey Andy, I did a little digging on the side this morning to inspect the base and some surface roots. This guy's roots seems to be holding tightly, in fact they are very white and fussy roots with some really nice root hairs. It's in the 2nd picture, not sure if I had capture that clear enough.

How do you inspect rot in cacti? What are the signs? I know you look out for soft mushy spots in succulents, but when I nudge this guy with a pair of tweezers at the base, it is still firm and nothing mushy.

The "tucking" appearance seems more prominent when I moved the topsoil away.

A quick google search shows this:

It does not generally holds a regular shape to its appearance.

http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2005/05/07/cacti_lover/ee3f4e.jpg

http://cactiguide.com/graphics/200/e_rigidissimus_j_200.jpg

I hope my plant is ok, I really do not wish to uproot the whole plant. Is there any other methods you can suggest to inspect for rot?

Hey Neil, Does your rainbow one do the "tucking" look like mine? I water them quite sparingly, it's usually the surrounding succulents that gets a weekly drink, I don't water around the base of the cactus at all.

I've definitely considered moving to a warmer climate at some point, but for now, both me and my partner are still building our career in New York, and I don't think it is at the best for both our interest to move just yet. But at some point, Cali is in some serious consideration. We also should visit Cali some time next year, maybe for the annual intercity C&S and observe the city before diving into that decision.

I know the rent here is insane, so as the taxes.

Best of luck House hunting!! I look forward to Neil's fabulous C&S Garden in advance!

Bernard I took this picture last year. I will post some pics that I took just now for you to compare. I may have to post separately.

Neil, thanks for posting your cacti! They are SO CUTE!!

Do you think what my plant is doing is normal?

As long as it's not soft and squishy I believe so. I have seen much taller ones where it looks pinched in...in many areas along the column...looks like banding. It just looks more noticeable on shorter ones with just one area of the banding. I found pics online just now to show you some taller ones with the same thing.

I know nothing about cacti. That being said, could it be like some trees where growth changes year to year and causes thick and thin areas? Or maybe it's trying to redistribute its water for growth? Probably doesn't help but figured I'd suggest it anyways.

perhaps growth spurts?

Thanks Neil for all the pics and research! No soft spot, it's still sturdy and tight. I guess this type of shaped growth abnomali is pretty common for this type of cacti.

Nicholas - you've made an interesting point. You can see the plant's focus now is the upper portion. It could be natures genetic way of signaling the plant to grow taller than the peperomia to compete for light. Just a guess. Lol

Rina - could you explain more about cacti growth spur? Is it a common occurrance?

While I've never grown E. rigidissimus, I can speak to irregular growth in succulents perhaps? My Euphorbia trigona has noticeable (to me) variation in thickness and elongation in different areas. It is currently having a lot of good growth. Mostly, it depends on how much light/temperature/water/fertilizer is available at any given time.

Probably all of this is obvious to you already, but I thought I'd share my experience!

Light has had the biggest impact on growth in height or width (skinnier vs fatter), but only if the other three factors are suitable. When growing, just a week in less-than-ideal light is noticeably different.

Temperature I find works in conjunction with light. With cool temperatures, growth is much faster, provided sufficient water is available. One day of low light is no problem, but after many days of lower light, etoliation will be noticeable in cooler temperatures.

Water mostly regulates rate of growth. I've found that once my Euphorbia has really started growing, it won't really stop if I'm watering frequently, even if there is a spell of dry days. Only if it's extremely dry does the growth rate quickly drop.

Fertilizer is required for growth and I think it's presence is most noticeable in opportunistic growing plants. Since I am now fertilizing regularly, growth is more consistent in rate.

Of course, this applies to many other succulents as well. The majority of mine have really gained some really good 'growing momentum' over the past months outside. But a single watering before 1.5 weeks of lower light and cooler (20-30°C) indoor temperatures really messed up some of the growth. Many plants are not as nice and compact as they were before my vacation.

I didn't really think this was possible in such a short period of time, but it is! So perhaps in the 2 months of owning your cacti, it's had much more favourable conditions and growing quicker than it was before, resulting in uneven growth? Just my thoughts!

If the roots look good then you're probably in good shape.

For what it's worth, in my experience cacti tend to rot from the inside out so the firmness of the skin isn't a good indicator.

Andy- Was wondering where you disappeared to. I always learn something from your postings.

Bernard

Perhaps I shouldn't have said that - I just think of it that way and don't have any scientific proof/explanation...as ew pointed out, more or less favourable growing conditions seems to show in plants in uneven growth that I think of as growth spurs.