Welcome to this post that will be talking about whether or not the needles or spines on a cactus plant will start to regrow if you cut them off. The unfortunate news is that they probably won’t.
They serve an important part of the wild cactus plants. When the water is starting to condense from the ground when the weather is very hot, these needles collect some of that water and therefore the cactus is able to grow in harsh conditions like that.
But follow along and we will together learn more about the fantastic houseplant that is the cactus. We will share some of our best tips and tricks to make sure you have a thriving one at home at all times.
Do Cactus Needles Grow Back
Just like we said at the beginning of the article here, the cactus plant will not be growing any spines or needles back once it has been cut off. These are technically dead parts of the plant.
No plant can start to resurrect a dead part that might be growing. But that doesn’t mean that the needles on a cactus plant do not serve a purpose. They play a very important role and are one of the reasons it is able to even survive in harsh conditions like a desert when water is scarce.
You see, the needles on the plant are what will be collecting the small amount of water that might start to condense from the ground. It catches on the needles and afterward transfers further into the whole plant.
In the stem, the excess water gets stored and after some time will get dispersed throughout the entire plant. The cactus is very good at storing and being conservative with the usage of water.
But these factors only really matter when the plant is growing outdoors in the wild, in a desert for example. Indoors at home, it will probably have much greater access to water. Therefore it doesn’t need the spines anymore to be able to survive.
So growing a cactus plant indoors will let you cut the needles off actually. But we don’t recommend doing so since we believe it’s part of the plant and its beauty of it as well.
Have you ever wondered what a cactus plant tastes like? Here we share exactly what it might be like, How Does Cactus Taste?
Can I Cut The Needles Off My Cactus
We briefly talked about cutting off the needles on a cactus plant here above. They will unfortunately not be growing back as they are technically a dead part of the plant. People refer to them as modified leaves.
They serve an important part of the cactus survival when it’s growing in the wild. So growing the kit indoors will have very little harm if you decide to cut off the needles.
In the wild, the needles will be collecting water that is condensing from the ground. This is the reason why it has been able to row so well in rough conditions. It will store this excess water and then use it very conservatively throughout the year. It’s a great way the plant can really maximize the surrounding area it’s in.
But indoors the plant should hopefully have a pretty great supply of water at all times. Because of this, the needles don’t serve the same important role anymore.
Is your cactus plant starting to develop some black spots on it? In this article, we will be talking about the solution to this problem, Black Spots On Cactus Plants.
What Happens If You Cut The Spines Off A Cactus
Cutting off the spines on a cactus plant that is growing indoors will have little to no impact actually. Since the plant doesn’t need them here to get water from the soil as you will probably be the one supplying that.
But in the wild, it could kill the plant if you cut off the needles. Without them, it can get that small amount of water which might be the difference between survival and not.
