Question
Darlene, I have a burro's tail that I purchased about six months ago.  It stayed outside on my patio all spring/summer and has done fair.  It grew a bit; was in a 6-inch, now in an 8-inch pot. There are some dead branches which I cut off this morning in attempt to tidy it up.  It looks OK, it just isn't as full and "heavy" as I was hoping, nor does it appear to be forming the look of a "burro's tail", though I realize they are slow growers.  I did very little for it, no pruning, and maybe that is where I went wrong.  I did water it every 14 days in early spring, then during heat of summer I watered it weekly using a fertilizer for cacti/succulents.  I used our tap city water with the fertilizer according to directions.  I've kept it in full sun always.  When I bought it it was a textbook example of a young burro's tail.  Now it is just a little "scraggly", though I've not really had any large pieces to die.  What did I do wrong?  What can I do now to nurture this sweet thing?  Thanks in advance.

Answer
Patricia,

Leave it in the 8" pot now forever. Repotting it set it back a bit. Just give it time. They are slow growing. It may have hurt it to hang outside for the summer. They are very brittle and if the wind blows very hard they loose leaves or if a critter messes with it they loose leaves.

I prune mine a bit every once in awhile to keep all the "tails" the same length. What I prune off I put all the leaves up in the pot. Those that touch the soil will root and grow more tails. Eventually you will have a very full pot of tails. Mine hangs in my sunroom that faces south right next to the window that has no drapes or covering of any kind. It is there year around. If you start a new one the more pieces you put in the pot the quicker it will fill up. Hang it in the sunniest spot you have and leave it alone. I water mine every 7 to 10 days and rarely fertilize it, maybe just once or twice a year. They are beautiful when they are full, just give it time. Just put any petal that falls off back up in the pot.
Good luck.

Darlene