Hi Klyde,

It's good to see you around again. So, I gather you've removed all of the Hylo from the supposed Rebutia. Yes, both cacti will have a core. I haven't done what you're attempting to do but if I did, I would attempt to remove the Hylo without cutting the body of the Rebutia. I would dip my cut in rooting powder and set into dry soil in the shade, kept dry for weeks until signs of rooting. For cacti, Summertime would generally be the best time for this so, nature is on your side!

And a picture would add greatly to the solid advice Ryan gave you, as we can custom-build an answer with it.

Hi hanzrobo :) hi cmc :)

Thanks for the replies!

I initially severed on the hylo side, but you could see a lot of hylo in the sperical top cacti. I had to slice into the 'rebutia' to remove the triangular hylo. Not too happy about that part, but as you say, the season is on my side. Seems like you can stick just about anything in a bit of soil at this time and voila! New plant.

I should dip in rooting powder right away? I'm not too sure about the order of things. Previously I've dried out my piece/cutting and then dipped in the hormone, but perhaps I've been doing things wrong...mind you with the fungicide that makes sense...

The top is the healthiest most solid little green being inside . I've not sliced a cacti open before and used a very sharp Henckels knife - it went like a hot knife through butter it was that easy. The inside was just so...clean, green, and solid.

I'll try to get some pics up...hubbie's in the market for a camera.

I cut, dip in hormone, then set aside for several days - that's my order of how things usually work, but yours may be different, hence my request for the pic(s). You can also, at this time of year, sometimes completely dispense with the rooting hormone and cut with a clean knife and set aside to callous, planting it to root in a few days.

As an FYI, while it could be true that a Rebutia is on top (the scion), I'd be surprised if it actually was a Rebutia (there are some rare ones, however, so I'd like to be surorised). It's much more likely that it's a Gymnocalycium, with the Hylocereus as the stock.