Just got this ant plant & was shocked to see there are actual ants in it. Couple of questions: will they drown if I water this plant? The seller told me to soak the entire base when watering. I mean I'm confused as to the relationship. Also, it looks like there are buds but is that just a discolored leaf coming up? This plant has some yellowing leaves. Might that mean underwatering? The caudex has what looks like roots coming off it. Is that normal? Thanks in advance.
by mk-nyc
1 Comment
Yes, the ants will suffer if you drown them for watering. The plant doesn’t need ants to survive so that wouldn’t be a problem (other than for the ants), however I do want to caution that ants living in the caudex upon purchase is an indicator of a poached plant, not good. New leaves will grow from between the last new set of leaves or from the caudex, the discolored thing you’re seeing is a berry! It’s ripe, has little seeds you can plant and I’ve found them very easy to germinate. Those are roots you’re seeing are called adventitious roots, in nature ant plants are epiphytic and so they’re looking for more tree to grab onto. If you want to deep dive check out the website forum for epiphytic myrmecophytes, sick resource with a lot of information and cool plants.