A possibility for you on that 2nd one in the last bunch: Aeonium sedifolium (which was my first thought, but I nixed it, as your plant's leaves are not so plump as I would think it to have...but it does have the tannic stripes/coloring). Still, I would not say this is IT. :P Would like to see its blooms, if/when it does. =) Adding a link to a pic of one, but not sure GW allows this site when linking (we shall see). Okay, it would not, because of spam or other. This site also has other pix of this plant that look more like how I believe it should look. Also, I don't find this site has correct labeling of their plants, so don't fully trust them. So, google image this name. Maybe I'll email you the name of site! This post was edited by rosemariero6 on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 15:55

It's Dracaena surculosa, which seems to be reported often as a temperamental plant. Once in a while someone has one doing great, but more often it's the reverse. It definitely won't like getting too dry or constantly soggy soil, but that's pretty much obvious for most plants. Hopefully someone with a great looking, happy one will pop by. I've had this plant for a few yrs & it seems barely alive most of the time.

Hey, Guy! I've used about all the methods you mentioned to propagate Kalanchoe cuttings. LOL I really didn't see a lot of difference. But I will say -- please don't use any sand. It tends to compress around the roots and hold too much water. Just not worth the risk. I assume you are in SF Bay area (and not Tampa Bay - yeah, I'm a little snot sometimes) so you won't have to worry about excess moisture blowing in during the summer months. So a potting mix of 50/50 perlite and soil will probably work well for you. I get a lot of rain, so I tend to use an inorganic gritty mix of perlite, turface and granite grit. I can't get pumice here, but you can in CA and it is great. Since these mixes are dry, when I put my cuttings into it I don't wait more than a few hours for the stem to callus. Sometimes I will dip the stem into powder rooting hormone right away and pot it up a little later. As long as I don't water right away I don't worry about rot. After a week I may water a little if the cutting is starting to look dry, but if there are no roots the plant can't take up the water. Some people mist when the plant is dry. When you see new growth, start watering as usual. Here's my original plant with a couple of (etiolated) cuttings started - And like yours, I ended up with woody stems - So I did the cuttings and saved what I could. And they still bloomed! And eventually they grow up - and will probably be woody again soon! LOL Don't ask me why my plants are droopy - like a hanging plant! They always do that and I can't figure out why. I have them outside in partial sun. They fried in full sun for me. But they keep growing and blooming, so I'm happy!

how long ago did you get them ... what does your seller say ... are As ok in z9 .. someone will chime in ... were they greenhouse or shade house grown.. and in what zone in regard to sun intensity ... did you properly harden them off to your sun intensity .... sun tolerance is not relevant.. for a newly shipped in plant.. unless it was locally grown .... even a damaged leaf can process sunshine into energy ... i would stop cutting them off ... others will also answer if this is some sort of endemic A problem ...and if there is a chemical solution ... ken