I think it will become crested soon. Look at this crested Opuntia macrecentra from near Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. Here is a link that might be useful: Crested wild O. macrocentra

Hi Zeck, GermanStar was closer than he thought, the kitchen knife is the tool for this tough job too & it cuts like butter. Just take a sharp knife and you'll be surprised at how clean it cuts the agave plants. And if your still concerned about the monster size agave, trim them down little by little, its that easy. I always used to use a saw to cut them before until one day some guy asked me if he could have some of the agave leaves, he was going to cook some meat in the ground. He started cutting them with a regular steak knife, at first I thought maybe I should let him use my Saw then he started cutting and I was in aww... the saw always left a ruff finish. The knife doesn't even have to be a mean looking knife either just a sharp one. Your gunna love the way it cuts, I guarantee it, Greg

Kind of double-checking what the label said. I was actually surprised at the quality of the live plants I found at Ikea. I thought they were fake at first. Thank you for all of your comments, rosemariero!!! I sort of bombarded the forum. Once I've got a handle on the identifications, I can go about dealing with my improper grouping. Some will likely stay by themselves, but I don't like keeping them in the pots & media from the stores. I also have a watch chain (c. muscosa?) that I just LOVE, but it was inside when I took all of the pictures.

Sorry, I can't see your pictures, but most problems of your nature start and end with (1) well-draining soil, or the lack of it and (2) not much water, or too much of it combined with craptastic soil. Opuntias as a rule are more forgiving than most succulents, but even they have a limit. Give it better-draining soil, and after you repot it, don't water for a week, then give it scheduled sips, keep warm in as much light as possible, and wait for Spring to see it really growing.