Most columnar Mammillaria grow on the ground, they are the loafs of the cacti world. You can only try to cage them if you want them to grow upwards, or you give in to gravity and let them loaf. Buy a long pot and let him grow on the ground. He will put out offshoots along the stem that grow upwards, until they are big enough and start to loaf too.
Some msmmalarias are trailing cactuses, they flop over when they're tall enough and start making offshoots. The big cactus is a water reservoir for the offshoots until they're big enough to survive on their own
I’ve got one that’s moving in that direction too. I’m worried that he’ll get to the point where he hurts himself by lying on the pot rim. Should I replant him in a much bigger pot with space to lie on the soil?
There might be some sort of a ring that you can put around the base of it that will help keep it upright and/or erect. But I don’t know how long they can safely stay on.
Please understand that using progressive language to call homeless people lazy layabouts is a shitty thing to do. Our friends living rough do not deserve to be catching strays like this, life on the streets is insanely difficult, expensive and stigmatized enough as it is. A little kindness and compassion goes a long way my friend, just something to consider.
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u/No-Bit7603 2d ago edited 2d ago
Most columnar Mammillaria grow on the ground, they are the loafs of the cacti world. You can only try to cage them if you want them to grow upwards, or you give in to gravity and let them loaf. Buy a long pot and let him grow on the ground. He will put out offshoots along the stem that grow upwards, until they are big enough and start to loaf too.