Beheading successful...now what?

by michelle
(maine)

Hi Jacki,

I cut the head off my echeveria (I think that's what it is, had very long stems with lovely yellow blooms) which had bloomed nicely but turned from its round shape to a less attractive v shape.

I planted the top and now the stalk is producing florets like crazy.

I'm not sure I want to propogate them all separately. What will happen if I let it keep growing this way? (FYI, I'm in Maine, so this is all happening inside.)

Thanks!
Michelle

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The Result...
by: Jacki

The way it works is that you remove the top bud, and it releases some special chemicals that incite a riot of growth.

These little rosettes can be each propagated separately or alternately, pinched out when really small leaving behind one main stem to become the biggest and best.

If this isn't done, the whack of tiny new rosettes will all struggle to survive, and in some cases they're so crowded that there is a risk of rotting or just plain sibling rivalry, with no-one being a winner.

My best advice? Choose a few of the larger ones that are spaced out around the stem, and pinch or cut the other ones off. In time you'll have a nice bushy specimen, with several healthy rosettes, rather than a crowded mess.

Best of luck with it!

Thank you!
by: Michelle

Thank you, so glad to now know this! Follow up, if you don't mind: are you suggesting I could remove all the florets and let the main stem do its thing? (In which case what would that be?) or should I always allow a few of the largest florets to remain?

I don't mind at all!
by: Jacki

I would either leave one floret, or a few (3-5?) and take the rest off to give the remaining ones more room to grow and thrive.

If you cut all the new florets off, there won't be anything left to grow, so you have to leave at least one.

Does that answer your question?