what am I doing wrong?

[Martha15]

I've had a couple of these but they never looked like they are thriving. The first one I had finally died. Bought another one but it doesn't look much better.

Drains good, full sun.

Any suggestions?

[iann]

Too much sun? Has it got roots? Is that long stem still healthy?

[Martha15]

it gets full sun. not sure about the roots, trimmed it because it was leaning over so much so I thought I would shorten the stem. Any suggestions?

thanks,

Martha

[iann]

To shorten the stem, chop the head off and re-root. Probably the base will then sprout offsets although some species don't. You still need to work out what is wrong with your growing though. I can't tell if it is overwatered or underwatered. If it is rotting or the roots are gone then probably overwatered. If it has a good set of roots and still dries up then too much sun and possibly too little water. I think it will just fry in full sun in Arizona (in summer), and trying to water enough to compensate would eventually rot it.

[Martha15]

Great suggestions, thanks again Ian.

[Martha15]

Ok I check it today, it had good roots but a section of the stem was shrinking so I cut the stem & put in a new pot with fresh cactus potting mix that I made today. Gave it a little bit of water & moved it to a shady area. Hopefully it will do better.

[andy_e]

Full sun in Arizona is way too much, that's why the rosette was all closed up. Once it re-roots and is well-established I wouldn't go over a few hours of morning sun.