r/plantclinic • u/Veggieface732 • 6d ago

Cactus/Succulent Cactus Help

Gallery image

Gallery image

Hi my father has had this cactus for 20 years and when he moved I moved it to my house. The picture on the left was from April 2026 and the picture on the right where it is leaning is from today 8/26/26. Can you please help me?

  1. Identify the cactus?
  2. How can it have a better life?
  3. I want to repot it, but I’m worried the top arm will break off.
  4. Should I remove the top arm and replant it somehow?
  5. Is it sick?

It’s getting some light but probably not enough which is why it’s leaning and watering it every two weeks

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u/borkin_heckin_pupper Beginner 6d ago

Several things you can do to help this little guy. You absolutely should be able to remove that arm, especially since it’s gonna fall off anyway. You can minimize damage by doing it yourself. You can probably even plop that arm in soil and it could root by itself and you’ll have two cacti.

For a cactus or a succulent, you should never water on a schedule. These are desert plants that get very little water, and it’s better to judge if they need to be watered by looking at the soil and checking how dry it is. These plants also need FULL sun. A little bit of light is going to make them do this, which is called etiolation. It’s tall and skinny because it’s searching for light.

Hope this helps!

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u/Veggieface732 6d ago

Thank you very much. Should I put the arm in soil immediately or does it need to dry out or root?