Hurricane Cactus Drama.

It was Spring of 2019. I was on a weekend trip to Indiana when I caught news of some massive Hurricane Cacti for sale at a favorite nursery. After scouring the racks within the houseplant room, my shopping companion and I came up empty handed. We decided to check the greenhouses just to be thorough, and that’s when we spotted them. Huge, hurricane jackpot. I went through the 5-7 plants hanging high on a rack in the nursery and chose, naturally, the largest most gnarly plant in the bunch. I can still remember the panic and heart palpitations when I loaded it into the back of my car, plant hanging from the laundry hook in the ceiling of the car.

It was a big mature plant when I got it, with some stems reaching 2-3 feet long. Over the last 15-ish months, it’s gotten even bigger. I didn’t think that was possible at the time that I purchased it. I now know just how possible a massive hurricane cactus can be. As an epiphytic grower, I don’t usually worry too much about up-potting after my initial post-purchase repot. I let it go until the plant tells me it’s time for a change. With this guy, however, I never repotted it upon bringing it into my home. Very unusual move for me. Part of it was intimidation, part of it was fear of snapping a precious hurricane arm, and part of it was just wishfully thinking that this plant would be just fine in the puny nursery pot and hardened-off soil.

I suspect it has been in the same pot for a very long time, probably years. Though I wasn’t ready yet, I have always wanted to repot it for two reasons. First, I like to choose the potting mix for my plants to ensure compatibility with my watering style and safeguard the needs of the plant in my unique environment. All of our environments are unique, so it’s best to customize our care approaches as much as possible. The second reason that I wanted to repot this plant is that crusty old soil I previously mentioned. Based on the look and feel of the potting mix inside the nursery pot, the nutrients have long been depleted. I’ve fertilized and spritzed and bathed the plant to the point where there’s just no more avoiding the truth. The plant needed to be repotted pronto. Here’s the “before” photo.

It isn’t the size of the nursery pot that bothers me, as I have seen some epiphytic cacti grow in remarkably tiny pots and be very happy. My concern is that in the wild, this plant would receive nutrients in a variety of ways that are impossible to recreate in the indoor environment. You can read more about those conditions in the “About” section of the Rhipsalis page here. Though this plant is not a Rhipsalis, the plants have similar needs and adaptations and that information will be helpful to anyone who wants to know more about the functions of jungle cacti.

Here’s the subject directly before the procedure. He has no idea what’s coming. 🤭

And this will be his new home. I’ve spoken many times about my love and preference for terra-cotta. It was the perfect choice for this plant, and the large saucer will be helpful for preventing any water from spilling over behind my computer where this plant lives. The pot is from IKEA.

Here’s a look at the nasty, crunchy soil we were dealing with for way too long. Sorry about that, hurricane cactus!

Although I did intentionally wait for the plant to dry out for this repotting, it had already gotten to the point of drying out nearly immediately after a watering. The water passed right through the bound roots and expired soil. After removing the plant from the nursery pot and gently pulling away any loose chunks or potting mix, I’m using my epiphytic potting mix, for which you can find the recipe in my E-books tab.

I filled the bottom of the pot with fresh potting mix and placed the plant inside, then filled the remaining holes and gaps with more potting mix. Just basic repotting stuff.

Next, I watered the hurricane cactus and allowed the water to sit in the saucer while I rinsed all the stems to clean and refresh them. It was impossible to get the entire plant in the photo.

I really wish I could’ve gotten a photo of the major drama that was getting this massive plant into a hanger, but it wasn’t possible without several more arms. It was like being attacked by a plant octopus. I can, however, show you how it all ended up. Here’s the old pot…

And the finished plant!

I ended up snapping two small stems off in the process of getting the plant into the hanger, but it’s nothing too bad. Much better than that ragged old nursery pot, I presume.

I should have done this when I brought the plant home, but I can breathe a bit easier now that it’s finished. Hopefully this hurricane cactus will get a few happy years out of this pot before I replace the soil again.

I love a repotting story. If you want to tell yours, I’m all ears. Comment below, email me here, or find me on Instagram to share.