Seems like all of my cactus have hairy roots growing off of them. Do they need to come off or can I just leave them. Have started moving some outside and they seem much happier. Has been so hot here. Will be real busy if decides to freeze again. Thanks for the help in advance. Judy
Hairy
Judy, can you show a picture of this? Usually air roots indicate that they are not getting enough water to their regular roots.
Some genera (like Selenicereus) make copious amounts of aerial roots, just a normal part of them. they use them for adhering to the bark. Some Epiphyllums make small ones near the tips of the stem, again, very normal. It neither helps nor hurts the plants if you trim them, but sometimes they just regrow. A few species will make very short ones (like Schlumbergeras) until conditions are consistantly damp (like in my greenhouse in the winter) and then they can grow to over an inch/2.5cm long.
If you are calling some of the Crassulas cactus (some people do, although they are not even closely related to cacti), then they also make quite a few roots, usually just before or after bloom. This is a signal to root some of the stems before most of the plant blooms and dies.
These are on a ric rack cactus. It is in my north kitchen window above the sink. Will be moving out on the porch in the next few day. I water is once a week when adding water to the african violets. Thanks again for the help.