Compare to : Pilosocereus azureus.

I would strongly consider repotting in a less peaty mix (suggestions for soil mixes can be found here easily i.e. Gritty mix) and be careful about overwatering until then. Gorgeous blooms will blow you away (the strawflowers they glue on don't hold a candle). They like lots of sun but a little cover from hot direct afternoon sun until they're acclimated.

Remove all that peaty soil with a good hose spraying (wear gloves to protect from spines) and let the roots dry out for a day or two. Theyre already quite showy and tall, so you may need to employ some support ( I use chopsticks) to provide support until they root firmly in the new soil.

So sweet and early for Valentine's Day! Congrats on a great sweetheart- both the beau and the plant.

Thank you so much! Yeah I figured I had to repot and change the mix. about the strawflower it's glued on do you have any suggestions on how to remove it without damaging the flesh of the plant??

If you can't work it off without damage now, I would wait until new growth works it off some more. Sometimes, they're glued pretty lazily and it's easy to work off by wiggling/ jiggling. Sometimes not, and then you risk ripping off some spines or even worse, tearing the skin and causing a wound.

You can clip some of the spines to free the glue if you're feeling impatient. Since the spines on this pilosocereus are pretty straight, you can wiggle to see which spines are holding most fast and clip those.

OR: The flower itself is pretty easy to remove. Once the flower is pulled free, you can see better and cut the gob of glue into sections with respect to the spines and try to wiggle free smaller sections.

The glue itself isn't going to damage the plant, but will alter the direction of spine development temporarily.

I'm personally usually too annoyed by the glue and the ersatz flower and feel eager to remove the glue, so I do the latter. Ideally, I test wiggle at the store to see which I can easily remove.

Yoh don't have to remove all the glue chunks at once after you cut into the gob. Usually, a couple days or a week or two of leaving it alone will loosen them as the cactus grows and the temperatures are high enough to soften the glue.

I think it's so strange that large commercial growers do the straw flower glue trick. Especially since the cactus looks so impressive without. It must work for sales, though because they keep doing it. I completely shudder at it- though not as much as towards the recent 'spray painting' that I've seen. I never buy the spray painted stuff but the glue can be worked with and I 'rescue' these victims at least a couple times a year.

I have a large Parodia herzogii that I bought about 4 years ago with a straw flower glued on. Because of its curved spines, almost like fish hooks, I had a terrible time freeing the glue. I ended up ripping quite a few spines off and creating a wound. I winced so hard. Today, it's a foot tall and 6" wide (vs 1.5" tall and wide- a tiny thing). It bloomed for me the following early spring and you wouldn't be able to tell today where the damage occurred.

If you do create a wound, give it a good two weeks for a callous to form over the wound before watering.

Since it's a Valentine's Day gift, and I do respect individual circumstances, I would, personally, allow it a good deal of time for it to begin to remedy itself in homage to my beau and his affection, dealing with the flower and glue in a month or two once he's noticing changes less... Plus, by then it may be blooming on its own! And you'll foster that type of love and consideration- someone who will buy you plants is a rare breed. And the care you provide and the progress of and attachment to the plant will encourage more of such sweet thought= more plants:: yay!

Maybe I should get a boyfriend ;)

Haha yes he definitely is a special one :) and thank you so much for your help I can't wait to get it it's very own place in my home iv wanted a cactus for a very long time :)