Is this plant doing okay / what’s the typical lifecycle for these? Recently received this conophytum calculus in the mail. It took a longer to arrive than expected and the roots looked pretty much like this. I wet the soil around it initially with a little water to see if it would perk up (I saw another thread suggesting to do this for mailed plants because sellers might “dry” them out before shipping?). Also might have put a couple drops of water on the plant itself. It’s currently sitting in a very dry cactus mix with chunks of perlite.
It looks like it has gotten more shriveled in the past few days and there is a reddish color expanding in the side. The plant itself feels a little soft with nothing hard inside when I squeeze lightly. Sitting ~8 inches under a grow light, indoors.
Thanks in advance!
by Potatamos
3 Comments
If it’s soft with nothing hard inside, that means it hasn’t formed a new leaf. I would recommend water therapy as it’s really thirsty. Once new roots are visible, very carefully plant it in wet soil, making sure the new roots aren’t broken in the process. Then keep soil moist for the first couple days, then let it dry out in-between watering. You want to let the new roots establish itself and allow the plant to plump back up
When I got my first Conos last fall I was worried, too. I potted them up in a 80%-90% inorganic mix. One stem took a lot longer to plump up but over a few months all the plants and stems have fattened up.
You should have a couple months left until summer dormancy – assuming you’re in the northern hemisphere. That should be enough time for them to settle in.
Patience is the key. They have the reserves to tolerate a transition period.
I agree with cookies4crackers. I’d give it water therapy. I like potting mine up (small grit, 60-90% depending on individual conditions), and then I submerge the whole pot in a tub of water, and have the waterline right where it would be touching the base of the plant/where the roots start. Then allow that to completely dry out. VERY gently touch the plant in the pot, if it moves AT ALL, it is not fully rooted. keep giving it moisture until it roots. Letting that dry. Rinse repeat. Until rooted.
It’s important for you to get it rooted before it goes dormant because I find they struggle to get OUT of dormancy when theyre not rooted since they don’t seem to be able to uptake water as easily and they eventually give up and die.