Oh No Very Cherry isn't a good pupper for me. As a general rule I take pups at 40% of the moms size in the spring because theyy root quickly that time of year. If I take pups after Oct I make sure the pup has some roots first.

I usually take the first pup off a bit early and that seems to stimulate more pupping. I also like to feed them heavily at that time. Still, mothers can start to look ratty even if you can get them to pup and there isn't much you can do about that. I suspect that leaving the pups on will keep them looking better longer, but I'm not so sure. Once they flower it's all down hill.

I don't have problems with rooting but my conditions are different than HDD.

Hi emery73 - I once read an article called "Look after your mothers". This related to bromeliads which had flowered and were producing or had produced pups. The writer of the article advocated heavily feeding the mother plant to help make up for the nourishment she lost while producing the pup/s and prompt her to have more "kids".

I tried this theory out and found that I got a better production of pups which were bigger and stronger than I had previously obtained when I didn't feed the mother. Prior to that time I didn't feed the mothers at all as I had been told once they had flowered they were at the end of their life and it was all down hill from there.

I am probably a bit too cautious but I wait until the pups are about three quarters the height of the mother which is much bigger than my friends do, but I find this works well for me and by waiting a little bit longer, I can safely take them off at any time of the year (where I live, we don't get very cold winters). By doing it this way, on average I only get about four pups from a plant, but they are good strong pups and grow well for me without any set-backs.

I dont take pups after Oct because it takes up to much room in the greenhouses and if the winter is a wet one the pups have to be in dry area to prevent rot due to lower light conditions.
Bromadams I'm not sure what area you live in but my winters are very mild here and short.

I live in South East Florida right on the coast. We don't have wet or very cold winters. I've never seen it below 45. It does rain a bit around New Years, but never for long. I've gone to a few Orange Bowls and gotten drenched. '96 was probably the wettest Orange Bowl I've been to.

You are so right about space being an issue! If we had a really bad cold front I'd have to get real creative. Right now I'm on a crusade to get rid of all those old mothers and so-so broms that I shouldn't be keeping. I also have a bunch of small palms that need to go.

Thank you for the replies!! I've been taking the pups off the mother plant at 40%-50% growth stage around summer time, and if the mother plant doesn't look her best, I usually plant her into the garden beds.

Regards
Linda

I take the pups off at 40%/50% anytime of the year and then plant mum in the ground. Normally she will produce a few more pups.