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succulentzz

Conophytum Help!

succulentzz
9 years ago

Hi Everyone!

I'm pretty new to mesemb type plants and have managed to nurture a couple to the brink of death. After some research I've learned about not overwatering them and allowing the old skin to be absorbed by the growing leaves.

I recently purchased what I believe to be a Conophytum from a garden center, it was sitting in very moist potting mix and the outer leaf seemed a bit mushy but I could see that there was a new set of leaves growing inside, so i figured it could be brought back to health.

After a couple days, I started to smell a bad rotting vegetable/garbage smell coming from the plant and noticed that it had some damaged skin on the side, hidden by the soil originally. I repotted it in a gritty mix and decided to dab some rooting powder on it for some anti-fungal measure (though I have no idea if that would help a leaf wound at all). I made sure not to water it at all since bringing the plant home. After a couple days, it started to collapse on that side and get more shriveled and smelly.

At that point, I just wanted to find out what was going on under the outer skin and hopefully salvage what I could of the plant so i cut off the outer skin and peeled it off mostly. To my surprise, the new leaves were unharmed and dried flower had been hiding between the layers as well.

My question is - have I killed my plant by prematurely removing the outer leave that it absorbs its water from? or does that just mean I have to begin watering it a bit earlier?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Below is a picture of my plant after I removed most of the rotting outer skin.

Thanks!

Comments (2)

  • hanzrobo
    9 years ago

    Hello!

    It does look like a Cono, some sort of bilobe. The bilobe group is more forgiving in general so your plant should be fine. Conophytums do their thing a bit differently, beginning to shut down around Springtime and completely sheathing over, not breaking out of the papery skin until they begin to grow again, (around Fall in general). They look dead for a long time and you have to get used to that. They'll still appreciate some light moisture while "dormant" and can easily be coaxed into action with an early watering. That can be a problem if the old leaves haven't fully absorbed before growth resumes - a general rule with many mesembs but especially with Conos.

    Your plant should be fine if you let it be for a while. The gritty mix should be fine until after summer, when Conos start waking up. There won't be much activity until then. When the plant starts showing activity , you can repot it into a mix more suited for mesembs. I've thoroughly propounded my thoughts on soil and you may find that pretty easily by searching the site. The best time to repot any plant is in the beginning of its growing season.

    Good luck!

  • xerophyte NYC
    9 years ago

    Correctly grown Conophytum can enter a dormant state very quickly once warmer weather sets in. It looks like what you did was prematurely remove the protective sheath. I would leave the plant alone and assume it is in its normal dormant state this time of year. Keep it somewhere in a protected shady spot, away from rain, but with fresh air and cooler evenings. Indoors at room temperature is not a good place if you have hopes of keeping it healthy long term.

    It should stay on the dry side through the entire summer. Weekly very light watering is OK. Late summer/ early fall begin to introduce more sun. When you notice signs of growth, it is a good time to repot into an appropriate container with a good potting mix. When growth resumes Conophytum need water much more frequently - even daily light waterings are good for some species in the right conditions (warm sunny days, cold nights). Most Conophytum are almost alpine plants, growing along the rims of mountains in shady crevices which collect nightly dews and mists.

    If all goes well it will resume its typical life cycle and if you are doing it correctly you will be rewarded with what are likely puny but possibly fragrant short-lived flowers.

    Read more here: Mesembs

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