Hello,
I have a Echevaria Nodulosa
That has become a Jack-in-the-Beanstalk!
I was really hoping for a nice one like this page shows (http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/996/#b).
Is there anyway I can prune mine to not grow so tall? I'm afraid by cutting it I will kill it. (I am total beginner).
Thanks for your help!!
First of all, yours is a different species than the really low growing ones pictured in that article, so it will never look like them. Even a well-grown specimen will be taller--see picture here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/314648/ Yours is still leggier than the one in the picture though, most likely due to lack of light. When plants don't get enough light, they tend to get leggy as they stretch for the light. So you could prune it, but unless you can get it more light it'll just end up growing back the same way.
The plant is stretching up for all it's worth desperate for day light, all plants that require a certain amount of light grow this way, as the get taller searching for the light, the spaces between the leaves on the stalk / stems get further apart too and your poor plant is crying out for help.
As Ecrane has told you, unless you can give this plant and any other plants in the same area more daylight, then your plant will eventually give up trying to grow as they use a lot of energy trying to produce new growth, yours is doing this plus, either open or lift the blinds at the window for several hours per day or, move the plant to another area where the daylight is allowed to get into the room. hope this all helps you and your plant. good luck. WeeNel.
this is what baffles me because the plant, i think, gets quite a bit of light each day. the blinds are up, it's a south window with few obstructions. any hints? should i prune it?
Indoor light is way less intense than outdoor light. You won't hurt it by pruning it, but unless you can increase the amount of light it'll grow back like that again. Also note my earlier comment that you have a different species that is naturally going to be a bit taller--if you want one that hugs the ground like the pictures in the article you will have to go look for one of the low growing species.
