Onc. Lemon Heart 'Baby Face'

[jwpotter]

I got this plant at our Society's Meeting and it promptly started to spike, which is great. However, the spikes are now over 30" tall. Any idea how tall they will get? They don't seem to show signs of stopping. I haven't staked them as they seem to be fairly strong, but should I stake them just the same? (Needless to say, I am a novice!!)

[estación seca]

Yes, stake them. There be cats, other humans, yourself, wind, fans.....

[terracotta7]

Yes! Stake them if you can! It just makes caring for them easier and you are more likely to see the blooms instead of breaking them off prematurely!

[WhiteRabbit]

Also, unstaked, those long spikes will not remain upright when the flowers open, and the plant may be prone to toppling over. That said - when I have had extremely long Onc spikes (over 3 feet long), I only stake up the lower foot (or less), and have gotten a beautiful cascading effect. Of course, that was on a plant in a quite large pot, in a smaller pot it might still want to topple over, but you could perhaps use a heavy cache pot, if that's something you want to try.