Split Rock (Pleiospilos Nelii)
I got this little guy about a week ago from HD. I didn't even notice the surprise in the middle. I repotted it in a gritty mix and it gets plenty of sunlight everyday from a south facing window. The middle part seems like it's growing sooo fast. Is it new leaves,a flower...?
Comments (20)
12 years ago
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Split rock flower (of pleiospilos nelii)
Comments (2)Pleiospilos' blooms generally only open fully in the afternoon, with some warmth and direct sun. And if the soil is too dry, blooming may also be aborted. The window of opportunity is only a few days, after that if the conditions have not been met, the flower dries up and you have to wait again until next year. Since you have had it for one month, I can't tell if the bloom was about to open at the time you got it, or if it merely had a flower bud still forming. Regular watering is also crucial to sustain flower bud development. If watering is inadequate, the plant will use its available resources to stay alive and bypass flowering. "20 drops of water" is not really the right way to take care of these plants. If you use an appropriate soil mix in a pot, you can drench the soil during active growth and blooming. More reading here x...See MorePleiospilos nelii 'Split Rock'
Comments (2)It is absorbing the old leaves. They usually get a new set every year....See MoreOpuntia pads falling off - what am I doing wrong?
Comments (3)You're not losing a plant; you've just added two more. I suspect too much wafer and/or poor drainage. Cacti and succulents often drop leaves in response to too much water, and those pads look very turgid. I would follow David's soil advice. Get them into something that drains really well and has no peat in it at all. Pumice, Al's gritty mix, even gravel, lava rock, or river stones will be better than normal potting soil. In order to keep cacti longterm in peat mix, they must be in tiny pots with well-established root systems, then you only water when the plant shrivels. Bone dry is what cacti NEED. They suck up as much water as they can store it in their stems/leaves, and that's what they live on, not wafer at the roofs. When you water a turgid cactus, the water has nowhere to go and the roots just stand in it and rot. Fat cactus means do not water no matter how dry the soil is. In a home, most cacti can go many, many months without water....See MorePleiospilos nelii/Split Rock is shriveling?
Comments (3)Hello Rikki O. I believe I have sad new for you. From the picture it looks dead, if it's mushy and feels like sort of seep will come out if you press a bit more, then it's absolutely dead. That soil you used is not the best choice for a pleiospilos either. Soil for any kind of split rock should contain very little organic material. Pumice would be the best choice. It's hard to come by in my county so I use a mix of coarse sand, fine fish tank gravel, little bit of any cactus soil and some specific cat litter (the one that does not clump and is made of baked clay). In such soil water drains quickly, does not stay wet as a sponge and roots have enough aeration. If your plant really died, don't be discouraged, Pleiospilod nelii is a wonderful and interesting plan. And really it's not that hard to take care of, just a bit of practice and you'll figure out what it likes best. This is mine some years back :)...See More- 12 years ago
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They open in afternoon and close in the evening but they do that repetitively for about a week . I didn't really keep count. Many mesembs do that. So don't dispare if you miss it the first time. The flowers of mesembs don't like rain on them . I did not get very good pictures of the one that did not flower. I was so intent on the one thaat was delivering the goods. But I will show what I have.
First picture is the bud just showing,. Second is it blooming, but if you look in the other plant you can see the tightly pressed together leaves with their characteristic dividing line straight across. The third is of the plants today. The bloom I think is bloomed out and the other plant has grown quickly. The sections around the flower stem are not as large as yours. They seem very shrimpy. We just had three days of fog and rain and now cold. I moved them into a wood shop that got down to 36 last night. It was 23 outside.
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Noki - How serendipitous, I just bought one of each of those exact ones the other day. :) Have a look:
Erin is right, the purple one is called a "Royal Flush."
Right now mine are still in the soil they came in; I'm still working on figuring out proper potting mediums. But I think if you just keep tapping the roots lightly with your fingertips - almost feathering, in a way - that should help free up more soil.
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noki