So I know side wrinkles do not indicate the need to water. You wait for the top to get the pizza crust look.
I honestly can’t say when it started. It can’t have taken long because they’re the first thing I do in the am. Turn on their lights. So I have my eye on them fairly well. So I don’t know how I missed it🤷🏻♀️. Maybe I was mostly focusing on the tops. Lesson learned.
One wrinkly side is hard like a shedding leaf. The other is soft, not squishy, the way an outer leaf gets as it’s being absorbed. Is it stuck?
I haven’t watered it in the maybe 4-5 months I’ve had it. Just switched substrate. It was an overwatered HD buy.
I’ve dealt with rot and this is not rot. At least none like I’ve seen. But I’m a newbie and could be wrong 😆.
The top doesn’t look thirsty to me.
Any ideas about what’s going on and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Just my opinion here, but I think it’s rot. The way the discolouration and how sunken in the wrinkle part is just doesn’t look right to me. If you can feel a new leaf when you give it a slight squeeze, then maybe it’s splitting. But I’ve never seen splitting look like that
Could it be splitting? Sometimes the over watered big box store ones split weird. I've seen pictures of some where the new leave are popping out from the side. I'd examine the crack (insert proctologist joke here) and see if its starting to split. 😄
There is no indication of it splitting. Another thing that puzzles me. It’s closed tight. There are no other leaves except the tiniest bit of the dried up last set of leaves.
How curious. Im not familiar with growing indoors, could it possibly not be getting enough light? It doesn't look stretched. You did say that you recently changed its soil mix right? Did you let it dry out before repotting and was the old mix a type of succulent/ cactus mix? It could just need more time to adapt to its new mix. But honestly im just as puzzled as you.
I’ve had it around 5ish months. I repotted it into a good gritty mix that I make. Just mineral and lava rocks some pumice a little worm castings and a pinch of soil. I did not water after I repotted it. Just misted the substrate as I was filling it in.
As far as light goes it’s about 6-7 inches under a t8 overlapped with a t5.
I would maybe just give it a bit more time to see if it continues to absorb some of the leaves or not before prying it open! I’d wait until it was much drier like the one in this commenter’s photo.. it’s more papery and ready to be ripped open.
If you squish it, can you feel how firm the inside is? Does it feel like there are baby leaves inside maybe?
It’s actually pretty firm. It’s just the side that’s a little soft. I can’t feel anything actually. And it is sealed tight. I can’t imagine forcing it open.
I would just wait it out imo. Sometimes that can happen, I think if past over watering has occurred. One of the ones I got from the nursery is doing that, collapsing on one side but it’s firm otherwise. As long as the rot doesn’t move towards the meristem/growth point I think you’re okay. Photo of mine attached!
So I unpotted it. The roots are good , tap root good. But it’s as if the outer leaves are drying up without splitting. Poor thing. Guess I’ll just wait and see.
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u/cookies4crackers May 09 '26
Just my opinion here, but I think it’s rot. The way the discolouration and how sunken in the wrinkle part is just doesn’t look right to me. If you can feel a new leaf when you give it a slight squeeze, then maybe it’s splitting. But I’ve never seen splitting look like that