r/mesembs

Hey everybody,

I posted about 2 weeks ago about this mesemb I found. I am attaching photos of how I found it, how it's potted, the dome it's in now (explanation below) and the plant I believe this came from.

Backstory: I found this little beauty underneath a gorgeous collector's collection of mesembs. Amazing lithops and conophytums, some baby toes. Really spectacular. My prop obsessive mind found a bunch of choice props from different cacti, Euphorbia and this alien looking thing. Of course before removing I asked if I could keep them and was given the go ahead (score!). Out of all my finds this guy intruiges me the most and is the one I'm most hesitant about.

I grow outdoors on a southwest facing 5th floor balcony on top of a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. This is to say I get insane weather exposure. No roof really, just a cloth tarp and open sides. Weather here is very windy, great airflow, but anything unrooted or that can't handle fast winds doesn't do well here at first. Also insane scorch in the summer. Hence the protective dome (yep, it's a baby bottle) to keep the winds from moving and drying it too fast. I'm keeping him in the most protected least direct light (but still very bright) side. Potted in a tiny plastic nursery pot with 80% perlite and pumice, 20% gritty soil and fine pumice top dressing.

I gave it literally a few drops of wafer a few days ago (nothing to soak the pot, it's already dry as we've had heatwave conditions that have turned into chilly overcast spring days before the intense heat of summer).

I believe it came from the worst photo ever plant only because it's the only one in my reel that have the husks and similar coloration.

So really any tips or advice appreciated. From light to watering care (especially now as it is rootless and seems to either be splitting or entering dormancy?) I don't have any succulents like this and want it to succeed.

Thank you for reading!

I want to get into collecting rare species, im posting here to focus on mesembs (mostly conophytum), even though im also going to be collecting other types of plants (rare small geophytes)

Before i start i want to get a few substrates to make mixes for every plants needs, my current cart (on amazon) is akadama, kiryu, maifanitum, silica sand, and a "calcined nutrient soil" i found on amazon, it doesnt seem to have an specific name, but seems similar to akadama but with nutrients (the one in the image)

These ingredients seem to have everything covered (weight, drainage, nutrients and aeration) but i want a second opinion from someone with experience on these types of 100 percent mineral substrates or anyone who can help me, i want to know if it will work in general, if it will hold enough water (considering that most of the pots will be very small and in full sun/semi full sun) and if i need to add anything or remove something, take into consideration that i wont add anything that floats, because with these kind of very low water plants id like to water by fully submerging the pot underwater to make sure they are fully watered, it will give me peace of mind, what do you think?

Hi! I found this little plant at the local hardware store today and am struggling to identify it. From what I’ve gathered, it’s in the Argyroderma family. Can anyone tell me more about this plant? Or point me in a better direction for the care of it? I would love to research more into it and learn about it but don’t want to research the wrong thing! The well of knowledge online is overwhelming at times, lol.

I’m a beginner in plant care, and have managed to keep other kinds of succulents alive. Currently, I have kept a bunny eared cactus, aloe, and Kathmandu senecio for 2 years. Beyond basic plant care, I’m clueless! Any information or guidance for this guy would be appreciated. Thank you so much! :)

Info for plant:
Climate: Indoors
Light: Have yet to place it, but have direct sunlight and indirect available.
Watering: I haven’t watered it yet! I just got it today.
Soil: All purpose potting mix (fingers crossed here - couldn’t find succulent mix at the store! Should I get some?) I repotted it today into a 4 inch ceramic planter with drainage if needed.

I've been wanting to display all of my extreme drought tolerant plants together for a while, but with how sensitive they are to over watering, a traditional community bed probably wouldn't be a great idea. So I came up with this modular, Gridfinity-based approach that lets me plant them in individual pots, while using a thin layer of gravel to make it look like they're all in one bed. This way I can thoroughly water each one exactly when it needs it and not worry about over watering its neighbors.

The bottom of the pots is a mesh so I can heavily water and it'll drain right through into the collection area at the bottom of the main tank. I can then drain the main tank with a siphon through the column in the upper right hand corner.

Some other benefits are that the pots can be very tall and narrow, which lithops especially tend to appreciate, and I can swap pots around very easily without disturbing any root systems, making it easy to add new plants or remove ones that didn't make it.

The last piece is the massive grow light above, a 100W mars hydro that, at full power, can deliver up to 1000 umol/m^2 in the center, meaning these guys will never be light starved (although I have it turned way down to acclimate them and will likely never need to go that high).

Oh and there's also a pair of fans above blowing constantly across the tank to help dry the substrate faster after watering. The substrate is about 90% inorganic (pumice, lava rock, and turface) and 10% organic topsoil though, so it should drain and dry quite fast already.

I do have a few empty pots in there, so I'm planning on getting a couple more types of plants, maybe a faucaria, euphorbia obesa, or even something like a Dinteranthus pole-evansi. Most of these lithops came from the clearance section at my local Lowe's, so I'm not sure how they'll do long term, but I'm hoping I've given them a good enough home to thrive in.

I’ve been obsessed with mesembs for a year and a half and I just got my first of these little cuties! I’m currently keeping her indoors by a south facing window. i keep all my other mesembs outdoors but this one im gonna baby for a little bit because she’s so small. I’m in Southern California so she’ll get plenty of light by that window.

i potted her in a soil mix I got off Etsy - it’s mostly decomposed granite, pumice and some potting mix.

does anyone have a watering schedule for muirias? from what I’ve gathered they’re a bit different from conophytum and lithops schedules so just wanted to see if someone out here has a handy schedule they use :)thanks!!

Florecieron en febrero y algunas están echando botones de nuevo

Once in a blue moon my Home Depot has something interesting enough to bring home. I barely glance these days but this guy caught my eye. I swear I wasn’t actively looking I was there for a pot and some bird seed, I had to walk past the stand they were in 🙄I swear. It caught my eye somehow. Funny because it was buried in the back of the full flat. It was as if the succulent fairy put it there just for me. It kinda made my day. So I guess that’s why I’m sharing.

It’s a aloinopsis luckhoffii. I love those tubercles. I’m excited to watch the changes as it grows.

I’d love to see any pics of yours if you have one. I’d never come across them before.

These Argyroderma are my first non-lithops mesembs. One half of the twins are looking a bit wrinkly, and I wasn’t sure if they need water or are maybe starting to split? Or is one evil twin absorbing the other? Thanks for the help!

i swear i’ve scrolled through all 57 species and could not find one that matches 💀 the flowers and leaves say glottiphyllum without a doubt but i’m convinced an ID is impossible. drives me nuts, it’s one of the only ones i haven’t figured out

the flowers have a nice scent. kinda like vanilla and honey

Every time I go over to his place I see something new and exciting! I’m like a kid in a candy store 😆

Pot #7 is a mix of Aucampiae and divergens. The aucampiae are obviously way bigger than the divergens 😂

Pot #9 is L. verruculosa ‘rose of Texas’

Pot #4 is L. Olivacea

Pot #12 is a lithops seed mix.

I bought this at a random local small nursery with no id at all, it was the only conophytum they had. Also are those seed pods or just dry flowers? I want to start growing plants from seed and could use some random conophytum seeds as trial before trying to grow rarer species.

omg. it surprised me with two at once, and i see 3 more buds on the way.

This is my only argyroderma. I’ve had it about 2 weeks. It’s been repotted into a gritty mix, lava rocks, minerals a tiny bit of succulent soil but not watered. It’s a few inches under t5’s and t8’s both for 12+ hours.

My question is. It’s starting to wrinkle. Is this the typical mesembe wrinkling up when it needs water? I can’t tell if it’s actively splitting or not. Inside there are two really tiny bumps. Are they the new leaves? IDK. Any insights would be appreciated. Thank you.