It looks a little too big unless the cactus grows fast.

I agree with Aloebot looks a little big. Cool idea tho;)!

What is it? Half to one inch bigger than the present pot, that the plant has clearly outgrown? Go for it, make sure you use a well draining gritty mix - it will be fine. IMHO, no point in repotting unless you are giving the roots some decent fresh mix to grow into - I always repot into a fair size larger with no problems.

Spanishfly , ill have to disagree, the new pot needs to be only a finger or two bigger than the current one. This is a crestate plant, and will not grow fast,nor very big. In case you didnt notice, the current plant pot is very thick clay one, so in some areas the bigger pot is too wide by a large margin. Another issue is that the new pot isnt deep enough, and its rim is too uneven for a cactus.

Great looking pot you’ve made there. You were thinking the crested cactus looks brain like, I can see that clearly!

Have to agree it looks to be too big, the cactus does look lost in there, but need to ask....is the cactus sitting on the new pots base which from the looks of it appears to be at its eye level, or have you raised it up? Assume it’s got excellent drainage holes?

Gill

A trihcoereus pachanoi is considered the among fasted growing columnar cacti, the cactus in question seems to labeled as mammilaria pilcayensis. Being crestate, for a columnar means growing about 70% of the speed of a regular plant. But the same cannot apply for other, globular, smaller species. Ive got a non crested mammilaria spinssisima, and its growth speed is unremarkable.

Well, I did think the pot looked a bit too big, although I was wondering if I could get away with it with a really gritty mix. The cactus in question is Mammillaria pilcayensis cristata.

The inside bottom of the pot is somewhat uneven, higher in the front and lower in the back, so there is a rock in the back to make the plant sit level. I think there's enough depth over all. It does have plenty of drainage holes.

I guess I think I should put something else in it, but a little voice in the back of my head say, meh, go for it! I probably should listen to reason. I could put something else in it temporarily and hope that cactus grows larger somewhat quickly. Well, quicker than Aztekium, say!

Most of my other plants are either too small or too large or wouldn't look right in it. Guess I'll just have to buy another plant, oh no :-)

Any ideas for what to look for?

Another cristate would be great, give the brainy look. How about Opuntia cylindrica cristata - they are widely available and grow rapidly.

My Mammillaria elongata cristata aka the brain cactus grows so slow. I don’t even think it grows tbh;)! I notice faster growth on my Ariocarpus, and that my friend is no joke:).

Thanks everyone for your input!

I'll be on the lookout for the right plant, something crested. I think either a Euphorbia or cactus. The one I have needs repotting, so when I take it out of its pot I can see how the roots look. I may still decide to try it anyway. I figure there would be about 1.25" between the plant and the sides of the pot, less toward the front of the skull, because it tapers some.

Found a brain for my skull!

Mammillaria spinosissima un pico cristata

Decided my other Mammillaria brain needed a skull, too, so here we go...

Hopefully this one will be the right size!

SLD, brilliant - Yorick will love that one !!!!!

Ah, so not skulduggery, but skull digitally.

tj

3D printer or what??

Yep, my son's 3d printer