If it were mine, I would soak it in a bucket of water for a while, and then gently try to separate the plants, being careful to damage the roots as little as possible.

Good luck, a nice bunch of plants, well worth the effort.

Christopher

Thanks Christopher. I'll start soaking the roots tonight, but I don't think 'gently' can describe the effort it's going to take to get them apart ... LOL. Maybe after the roots soften a bit it won't seem to be such a daunting task. Right now they are like set in concrete.

It is a beautiful plant. I bought a single one early in the year and just love it. Plus it's supposed to be quite hardy in my zone.

Nice Brom too, not easily but yes. You can hard cut them from each other and get some of the root to re-establish a newer for each one as a separate.

Best time though could be later but already out of pot they can build new roots as well if you are unable to get any of what is already there it's a certainty of when they would build them making a question of best time.
Almost like defusing a bomb on a very short timer make rehearsed and calculated moves to avoid any personal harm
Fish hook removal tool and other griping hand tools of this nature takes a-lot off of you while you have to hold it, or them.

Practice the fastest way in your mind before you actually do it to the point where your not at all worried about being cautious. As you see it can rip and shred some skin and body parts just as quickly.

Thanks Pots Alot. I don't have a fish hook removing tool, but I plan to use my near elbow length rose pruning gloves inside my husbands welding gloves when I work on it. Maybe something on my hubby's tool rack like a pipe wrench with a rag on the nose would help hold the plants as I try to work them apart. Maybe I can even get him to help me -- and he thought roses were thorny. I can't wait until he sees this ... hahaha!

Thanks to both of you for the encouragement and advice.

best of to you even if you need use a hatchet but please dont soak an air plant to long.

Pots Alot, thanks. It's been soaking for a few hours. I think I'll go out now and pour the water out of the bucket.

Check out my video I did on repotting Dyckia's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW7T6rhiDeU

Here is a link that might be useful: repotting Dyckia'shttp

Turtlewalker, thanks so much for the video! I just tried separating my clump. The pups are very tightly fused to the core and didn't have a central area I could aim for. They can't be pulled apart like the pups on agaves and aloes.

{{gwi:622782}}

{{gwi:622785}}

Here is one piece and a couple of very small pups that I managed to saw off the core. It wasn't easy because there was a lot of decomposed granite gravel in the mix. Do you think they will root? You said it will take a long time. I know some yuccas will root with no more than this at the bottom.

{{gwi:622788}}

I'll let them callus for a week and give them a chance to root. Although I'd like them separated right now I'm inclined to just let the others stay together rather than risk destroying them and plant as is after the wounds callus. Any suggestions?

This place says to use rooting compound. I have not done this. I do have an abused pot that needs me to attack so this thread might shame me into it.

Note what a laugh. I just had to edit "rooting". I had written "RIOTING compound". That should bring the NSA into this discussion.

Here is a link that might be useful: Houston bromiliad society advice

This post was edited by wantonamara on Mon, Aug 5, 13 at 15:36

Rioting compound - that's where we go to discuss soil mixes while consuming combustibles.

And when I see 'air plant' I think 'Tillandsia', but there are a few terrestrial Tillandsias. Dyckias, AFAIK, are not 'air plants', but I'm standing to be corrected.

This post was edited by cactusmcharris on Mon, Aug 5, 13 at 16:18

Mara, thanks for that link! I'll use rooting hormone.

However Cactusmcharris, I sure don't want to get caught in a rioting compound with a bunch of sticky compadres ... :-)

AFAIK isn't a word in the dictionary either try sitting down and look it up

As far as I know..... I am getting better at this acronym bit. We can be a bit testy around here. Maybe we do need a compound for those special occasions..

pots,

That's because it's not a word, nor is it an acronym - it's an initialized abbreviation (initializer).

Mara,

Yes, even for those without them, but particularly those with.