Welcome to this article that will be talking about trimming the spine of the cactus plant. It might not be the best alternative in all honesty since the spines play a vital role in the plant to survival.
But perhaps it can be an option if you are keeping the plant indoors and you don’t want an accident to happen.
Below we will be discussing more in-depth the possibility of trimming the spine of the plant and the impact that it might have on the plant.
Can You Trim Cactus Spines
We briefly mentioned at the beginning of this article that there could be some negative side effects to trimming the spines of the cactus plant. The way they work is that they will collect water from the ground, water that is condensing when the weather is very hot.
This is a vital process when the cactus plant is growing in the desert in the wild. Here access to water is scarce and it’s every plant for itself.
But there shouldn’t be a huge problem if you want to grow the cactus indoors as here the cactus should have to collect water from the soil itself. You are probably keeping up a watering schedule for the plant that will immensely help it with continuing to grow and thrive.
But if you are to cut off the spine of the cactus, the likelihood that you will be having any new growth is very small. Given this reason, we need to be aware of the consequences we talked about above here.
When you trim the spines, cut them almost an inch from the plant to leave at least some spines left. They won’t be very pointed or sharp but they will at least keep the look of the cactus plant still. In our opinion, they will look a lot nicer this way.
The spine’s themselves are technically dead as they are modified leaves from the plant. This way they won’t harm the plant if you cut them off. But will likely not continue to grow longer once they have appeared.
Is your cactus starting to shrink and do you want to know why this might be happening? In this article we will be discussing this issue further, Why Is My Cactus Shrinking.
Do Cactus Spines Grow Back
The spine itself that you have cut off will not be regrowing as it’s a dead part of the plant. But when you trim the plant of any spines that might be on it then it can give room for new ones to grow out.
If the plant is growing steadily and living in a healthy environment then the plant will most likely start to continue producing spines. They are after all a pretty vital part of the plant and the cause is that they can manage in some really rough conditions.
We have talked a little bit about the plant being able to collect water from the spines. But since you are growing the plant indoors at home most likely then the need to do this process is limited.
If you have cut off the spines of the cactus plant be aware that you might need to continue keeping this practice up as more spines will come out with time. Make sure that you also cut them the same way as the cactus plant is also a very decorative houseplant.
Are you curious about the types of cactus roots that exist? In this article, we take a deep dive, Types Of Cactus Roots.
Is It Okay To Trim Cactus Spines
If you have read this far in the article then you have already learned about the pros and cons of rimming the cactus spines.
Generally speaking, it’s perfectly fine to trim the spine on the cactus plant as they are not a vital part if you keep it indoors and care for it. Then the watering will be done by you and not by the spines collecting water in the air around it.
