Help! Cactus is tipping

I have had this tall cactus for about 8 years, grew it from when it was a little nub the size of my thumb. Recently I noticed it was wanting to tip over, not taking the pot with it but rotating like its rootball was failing to grasp the sides of the pot. I figured it had outgrown that pot so I re-potted it in the larger pot you see in the photo, but it's still doing the tippy thing. What do I do? Stake it? I don't want to re-pot it a second time in as many weeks...Right now it's just sort of leaning up against that wall...

I used an old wash-stand to make a support for my dragon plants...

Lovely plant Ned!
I suspect it is a question of leverage - tall plant, small pot/rootball, exacerbated by not wanting to over water the cactus meaning the soil is relatively light. It may be as the roots get established in the new pot, the plant will be OK again. Do you think putting some weight on the rootball would be an option, I'm thinking ornamental pebbles perhaps? That would add to the reaction of the rootball and might help stabilise it.

I took a look at the picture. I would first add enough soil, that all of the brown part of the plant are covered. Maybe add a little sand to it also, so it’s heavier. Then I would add rocks around it, like Nancy suggested. This should keep the root ball from tipping out. If it’s still a problem, you can stake it, but unless you use a three stick stuck down in three places and tied at the top, the stake will just tip with the plant.

I agree with the getting it where you want it and weighing it down after more soil/sand if you think it can use it. Even the new soil will firm up after a bit of time assuming it's "alive".

Looks like you're running out of time(space) fairly soon too.

Someone gave me a dracaena about 30 years ago and when it got too big and unweildy I just had to take cuttings, start new plants and give the larger one to someone with more space. I'm in the process of doing that for the second time but this time I am cutting back and giving away or selling the cutting plants and keeping the mother.

You've got some time left but it looks like it will be at the ceiling before too long.

https://www.google.com/search?q=can+you+trim+a+cactus+plant&oq

I'm no expert when it comes to cactus, but if you copy and paste the link above you can get a lot of information from people who do know how to grow and care for cactus.

Having said that, would you consider pruning the top portion of the cactus - maybe down to the the top edge of the window. I think that pruning off a substantial portion of the plant will help to stabilize it and also encourage the side shoots to develop, which might also help to stabilize the tippiness of the plant. The folks in the link have posted YT videos that give you step by step instructions.

Really,  my only contribution is to suggest that if you decide to prune then prune aggressively.  I've had much better success when I pruned aggressively than when I tried to baby the plant along. Good luck!

Update: I created a kind of strut out of drop-ceiling wire, which wraps around the base of the cactus and then hugs the sides of the pot, keeping the plant upright. I'm hoping I can keep the cactus braced like this until it develops stronger roots in its new pot. I'm also taking care to water it from the bottom by pouring the water into the saucer rather than down through the dirt. That way, I'm hoping, the cactus will be encouraged to send its roots downward, which I hope will add stability.

Barbara, I hadn't thought of pruning it to encourage more side shoots, but I'll look into that. Maybe if there's a good time of year (winter, when it's dormant?) I'll wait until then and do it.

Ned Harr wrote: Barbara, I hadn't thought of pruning it to encourage more side shoots, but I'll look into that. Maybe if there's a good time of year (winter, when it's dormant?) I'll wait until then and do it.

Thanks, I'm glad I could help. I scanned a few of the articles and the Cacti People say spring or summer -- as close to the growth spurt as you can get. That makes sense to me too.  The plant is already making plans to grow, you're pruning is encouraging it to grow in the way you want it to.