Please forgive me if I am posting in the wrong place? I am looking for help to "fix" my Echeveria Chroma. As you can see in the pictures, the stems have grown quite long and I would like to shorten them so that the rosettes are back in the planter. Can this be done? How? Thank you so much. Terri

Hi Terri,

This is the right place to ask questions.

You have the chance to not only shorten that stem but end up with more plants in the bargain. Cut the rosettes off with a sharp knife - leave about 1/2 inch of stem attached to the rosettes. Let the cut stem dry out for a couple days then plant in new cactus and succulent soil. Water sparingly until it roots.

If you cut the now headless stems to an inch or so above the potting soil, they will grow new little rosettes along the stem.

The center of the stem can also be rooted. You can cut it into sections or lie the entire piece on a pot of soil.

Are your cactus and succulents in sphagnum moss?? ACK!

Wowee.....jackpot! Thank you Daisy! I put the sphagnum in the top of the pot to keep my dogs from sticking theit noses into it. They are planted in a cactus mix.

You see the other guy in the background with the yellow top? It only had a few little balls when I bought it and now there are bunches. Is there a way to propagate those?

Hi terri! The little yellow one I believe is called echinopsis chamaecereus and is grafted to a hylocereus i think but not sure! It cannot be propagated! The cactus is yellow and lacks pigment because it cant produce chlorophyll and would not survive on its own so its grafted to a cactus which does produce chlorophyll.

The little yellow cactus on top is Gymnocalycium mihanovichii. They are naturally occurring variants but, as Sy pointed out, do not produce their own chlorophyll so must be grafted to another cactus, in this case, a Hylocereus. As the Gymnocalycium grows, it will demand more and more from its host plant. Eventually, the host plant will fail and both plants will die.

It's a parasitic relationship and nothing you can do will save them.

That E. Chroma can be a dozen or more plants in short order. It can take 4-6 weeks for the bare stems to sprout new growth, the heads root in 10-14 days for me.

Thank you from wayyy across the pond @syzone8aUK! And thank you @Daisyl and @madcratebuilder for the information. I actually had one of those Gymnocalycium before, same setup but it was red. It shriveled and died and I could not figure out what I had done wrong. Now I get it. I am having trouble (and will Google) understanding how the Gymnocalycium existed and survived on its own before man came along and decided to graft it to something. Cactus plants are pretty amazing and I always scoop them up when they are on clearance just so I can try to get better at growing them.

I have cut up my Chroma and yes, I have 10 new plants to baby along! I used to think gardening was fun, but seriously I am getting mad-scientist-like over propagation and seed collecting.

Sorry for the wrong id terri, looked like the one I have but I can see its not! You don't have to lose both of them terri, if the yellow part is removed the green part will survive. My echeveria tends to stay solitary so I had to buy another one! Looks like its in moss but its not, id love more echeveria but agavoides is the only one I ever see in shops! You shouldnt need to, but rooting powder might increase your chances for success! Good luck with the babies terri