Question
Hello,
I am very proud of the growth of my 13+ yr old barrel cactus, it was a 4" baby in 1994, but has started falling over in the last few years since it got so tall.  I now have it in a 10" wide by 9" deep clay pot and have tried re-potting it twice(leaning in the opposite direction) in an effort to get to stay upright. Instead, the problem just gets worse.  Since the pot narrows to the bottom it is hard to push a stake in far enough to do any good.  

Should I try a pot with straight edges so that I can stake it? This would not be my favorite "look", it seems strange to stake a cactus.  
I  had thought of using a much larger pot, planting to one side and putting a large stone on the other, to push down on the root ball.  I think the root ball is only 3 or 4" deep and that may the problem; the cactus is now top heavy.  It lives in a very sunny south bow-window and I rotate the pot when I water. I water rarely and fertilize with weak Miracle Grow. This has worked well now for many years, until the leaning started.  Any advice will be much appreciated.  Thank you, Joanne.

Answer
Dear Joanne,

This is a typical problem for barrel cactus, as their root systems are very shallow. You can try planting it deeper in the soil or use dirt rather than potting soil with rocks mixed in the dirt. Dirt is much "thicker" than potting soil and will pack down around the roots and hopefully hold the plant upright better. Otherwise, staking it will be your only option.


Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Greg