They look peculiar because they are stretched from not having adequate light, the ones that were snatched by your friend are called a MAMMILLARIA GRACILIS FRAGILIS "Thimble Cactus", with adequate lighting they are very short to the ground and pup out in the shape of little thinbles.
The very long tall thing you said might have been a seed, is prob a very very very stretched type of opuntia but that's my opinion. Its way to stretched out to really tell what type it is andif it is indeed an opuntia there are way to many sspeciesthat i can't even name let alone if they are in perfect Condition - they should look like pads, unless its an cylindrical opuntia which is more like a trunk kinda shape. The big one I'mnot sure what it is prob some type of Mam, but I'm not the best at iding many cacti I'm sure someone could tell u what that one is. They aren't RARE cacti they are actually some of the very common ones to own. Id suggest you do a repot in a mix of 50:50 (sifted) Cacti and succulent mix and perlite in a pot with drainage holes if the one you're using doesn't have them and slowly adjust them to stronger and Stronger light over a week or so so they can not get scorched by the sun and maybe they will grow new growth that is healthy and not so misshapen. Goodluck hun
About growing conditions: Initially the cacti were planted in very bad soil and they stayed there for a long time (few years,unfortunately). Summer 2014 I did some research and repotted everything. The planting medium is 50% garden mix and 50% fine gravel. Pot has drainage holes. Lighting: they are placed on a windowsill and it's the brightest place in my home. I think maybe wait-and-see approach for now is ok since they're still probably recovering.
Incidentally the small cacti started "falling over" since I repotted them... They also grew little buds this summer. Anything I can do to address the falling over or the cacti are going to stay like that forever unless I uproot/cut/replant?
They will continue to get top heavy when they pup out unless u bury the long cacti they are attached to deeper in the soil. I would suggest using a cacti and succulent mix instead of regular poting soil cause it holds to much water, you'd just have to sift out the heavy material outta the C&S mix with a grate or a small plastic pits drainage holes, and ad 50% perlite to the mix which helps with drainage and air circulation.
You could cut the long ones and reroot them but it will take a long time for them to reroot themselves and the can't really be watered withouta establishes root system, and the cuts would have to be sterilized with sulfur powder so they don't rott or mold.
U could just pluck off the pups and stick them back iinto tree soil and they will root pretty quickly and then maybe they cash hmmm grow normally to pup out without causing them to trail inside the pot. Goodluck
The opuntia prob isnt saveable, but it might produce a normal healthy pup with good lighting witch you can remove and reroot so it can grow normal pads that aren't so long and skinny looking.
Kittiekat, that opuntia seedling looks perfectly normal to me. As a seedling much opuntia's will first grow long and without pads, and later they get the normal form with pads and shorter. Try searching 'opuntia seedlings' in the search section for more info about them.
Young professional amateur in Schlumbergera and Rhipsalidopsis growing and hybridizing
Well that shows u what i kno about opuntia seedlings lol! I've only ever proped from the pads of my plants never by seed , unless it wasn't a seed and was a freebie that was accidentally covered in the soil of the pot, id say listen to snarfie. Since I'm sure he may have experience growing from seed. But if it was a pot hitch hiker then you'll prob get pads reguardless so just make sure you fix light situations for these guys until summer/spring.
I thought i was right, i didn't mean it was DEAD i meant prob never gonna be a normal shape lol
Maybe i should have chosen a different word....hmmm.
I prob should have said beyond fixable for it to be shaped normally?...atleast that's my opinion but I'm not really sure how big it is
I don't mind misshapen cacti, I'll love them as they are
Though do you have any tips for how to get more light? I live in Canada so it's not cacti weather 9 out of 12 months in the year. I leave the pot on a windowsill which is the brightest spot in the house. Should I invest in lamps?
jk
