If your Opuntia snow cactus is drooping on one side, but the leaves are firm, not wrinkled and not discolored, this is usually caused by etiolation – unnatural, overly-stretchy growth caused by insufficient light. Other causes can range from dehydration, stress, rot problems and certain pests.
Symptoms of Drooping in Opuntia Snow Cactus
If the leaves are wrinkled and shriveling, the drooping is caused by leaf dehydration, which can happen because of insufficient watering, over-watering, poor soil or heat stress. And sometimes, healthy indoor Opuntia plants naturally droop slightly when they get too tall – that’s because they lack healthy natural stressors (such as wind) which promote strengthening of the tissues. Drooping is also common during dormancy and as long as it’s only slight, it can be considered normal in the winter.
Drooping is relatively common in Opuntia, as well as in other tall, indoor-growing succulents – the lack of bright sunlight promotes elongation of the stem and leaves and the absence of natural wind leads to lack of strength in the tissues. It’s important to differentiate between this somewhat natural wilting (which can be solved by just providing some support to the plant), and problematic wilting caused by dehydration, stress or root disease.
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In the common Opuntia (also called a ‘Prickly pear’), diseases can be tricky to spot, but in the snow Opuntia any disease becomes quickly apparent by the scaly, flaky look of the leaves and spotty loss of the natural white coating of the cactus. Most of those diseases start because of over-watering, poor soil or low light levels.
Causes Of Drooping In The Opuntia Snow Cactus
Let’s take a look at the most common causes of drooping in Opuntia snow cactuses and learn how to identify them. As
you’ll see, apart from low-light etiolation, virtually all drooping is caused by tissue dehydration. However, there are many possible sub-causes of dehydration – from the obvious lack of moisture in the soil to root rot, insect pests and a combination of multiple, poorly-met growth conditions.
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Insufficient Light
All plants elongate their stems in response to low-light conditions – this is a very well-known phenomenon to most gardeners who start plants from seeds. Without sufficient light, seedlings elongate so much that they can no longer survive and mature, because the thin long stems can’t support them. Many times it is best to use grow lights if growing indoors.
In succulents like Opuntia, this phenomenon isn’t as severe and doesn’t occur as quickly, but it’s still there – unless Opuntia receives 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight every day, it will start growing more in height than in width and will eventually become prone to drooping.
There is no quick solution to this problem and placing the plant in a sunny spot will rarely fix the issue in less than a year. If your Opuntia is etiolated, the best thing you can do is provide some physical support for the plant to prevent breakage.
To read more about different shade cloths to acclimate your plants to sunlight, this article may help. Shade Cloth vs Blinds: Which Is Better For Patio Plants?
Dehydration
Tissue dehydration is a common cause of drooping and it has many sub-causes. The most obvious cause of dehydration is under-watering, which can be quickly diagnosed by seeing if the plant returns to its healthy look when watering is resumed.
If watering doesn’t appear to help and the leaves are still soft and wrinkly, the problem may be more complex – consider one of the causes we’ll discuss next.
Stress
Almost every type of stress can lead to wilting and drooping in tall Opuntia succulents. The exact stressor which causes the drooping can be diagnosed by looking at how quickly the problem is developing.
Drooping that occurs as soon as the plant is placed outdoors in the direct sun is obviously caused by heat stress – to avoid that, the plants needs to be slowly acclimatized to direct sunlight.
Diseases and Pests
White, irregular, cotton-like formations are the first hint that your Opuntia has been invaded by tiny bugs. The Opuntia snow cactus obviously already has a natural white coat, but the cottony formations caused by bugs are very easy to spot because of their uneven development and concentration in specific spots.
They also develop on the green surface of the leaf and on the base of the spines and not on the spines themselves. The Cochineal scale is the usual suspect – it’s very common in stressed Opuntia plants and those bugs are well equipped with jaws that can penetrate the coating of the leaves.
However, only weak plants typically succumb to such infestations – strong, direct sunlight creates an unsuitable environment for the bugs and the plant develops thicker outer skin in harsh outdoor conditions. Indoor plants on the other hand are much more vulnerable to all insect pests. Insects can be difficult to get rid of and an insecticide may be required.
Rotting problems
The snow Opuntia variety is somewhat prone to root rot, especially if it’s over-watered during the winter. Over-watering usually first leads to unhealthy yellowing on the tips of the leaves. If the moisture of the soil is not reduced, root rot may set in and a large portion of the root may rot away and die.
Once this happens, the roots of the plant can no longer keep the aerial parts hydrated and drooping occurs. We’ll talk about how to revive a plant that has succumbed to this problem in the next section.
Since cactus are considered succulents, it may be worth it to check out this article: How much root damage can succulents tolerate?
How To Revive a Drooping Opuntia Snow Cactus
If your Opuntia snow cactus appears to be dying and nothing you do seems to take care of the drooping and wrinkling of the leaves, this usually points to either a severe light deficiency or root rot problems.
Root rot is very tricky to resolve, because the plant suddenly lack the capability to transport enough water to its leaves. Repotting and cutting back the cactus may be a way to save it, but there are no guarantees.
Some sort of a humidity dome may temporarily resolve the wilting, but this is not a good long-term solution, because succulents don’t tolerate high humidity well and it will make the plant prone to all sorts of fungal diseases and pests. In extreme cases, sacrificing the plant and cutting it into leaf cuttings may be a final option.
Optimal Growing Conditions
Now let’s briefly go over the growth requirements of the Opuntia snow cactus and see how they relate to possible wilting/drooping issues:
Light
The Opuntia snow cactus likes direct sunlight. However, if it’s used to growing indoors, suddenly placing it in the sun can lead to heat stress, so it should be acclimatized slowly by first placing it in partial shade.
Lack of light causes stem and leaf elongation – a natural phenomenon in all plants called etiolation, which makes Opuntia very prone to drooping. In very light-deficient situations, the cactus may start yellowing and will not have enough energy to supply water to its aerial parts, again leading to drooping.
Temperature
Opuntia tolerates heat, but is not frost-hardy – it shouldn’t be exposed to sub-freezing temperatures. Freezing and thawing will damage the tissue of the plant and it will droop – this is usually a death sentence for this cactus.
Soil
Use a well-draining soil. Compacted soil will lead to root rot and subsequent drooping that can be very tricky to resolve – repotting and gradual acclimatization to the sun will be necessary.
Or read our article on different soil types, What Are The BEST Potting Soils for Every Type of Plant?. If you potting, also read this article, The Best Soil for All Types of Gardens
Watering
Over-watering (which means watering too frequently) is one of the worst things you can do to your Opuntia snow cactus. Always let the top of soil dry between each watering. Frequent watering can lead to root rot, which is often a death sentence for the plant, unless it is properly repotted and given good recovery conditions.
Final Thoughts
Opuntia snow cactuses are somewhat prone to wilting, because of their tall, slim bodies. Indoor Opuntia can be particularly prone to drooping, mainly because of low light levels. The most problematic drooping comes from the root system of the plant being affected by a rotting fungus. The only solution in this case is repotting, cutting back or in extreme cases – sacrificing the whole plant and reviving it from the collected leaf cuttings.
