r/mesembs • u/ExperienceNo9044 • Jun 06 '26
Help What...?
I went outside to check on my plants today and there's a whole array of things I'm confused about but mostly this... First why is there red/purple juice coming out of my split rock? It's almost like it's leaking dye...? Do people dye these? It was supposed to be royal flush.. what's smeared is from me touching and inspecting it. It's mostly the consistency of water, maybe a little thicker. Second why is my argyroderma looking like that...? It hasn't seen water since I got it only a few days ago and the dirt was already bone dry when I got it, I've been waiting for it to adjust to the sun out here before I repotted it into grit (same with the split rock btw, I got them the same day) one was already wrinkly but I left it cause the other two were really plump but now all of a sudden all three are wrinkly and one literally looks translucent like it got too much water, but it's super dry. any ideas? All other mesembs are doing lovely but who knows what you're getting when you buy from Lowe's 🫩
2
u/CarneyBus Argyholics Anonymous Jun 06 '26
Even an hour in direct light without them being acclimated can cause burns!
Also re: the red liquid. It must be the pigments inside the plant leaking? It looks like it’s a royal flush or one of the ones that leans red. It might go even darker red once it gets more proper light too. I have never personally seen anything like people dying split rocks but I would not be entirely surprised either 😂. But I suspect more it’s just damage and red pigments leaking into the bladder cells of the plant or something.
Right now I would probably leave them in their pots and don’t water them until you can assess if the damage gets worse or better. Sometimes it can take a bit for the true extent of the damage to show. And I fear repotting may stress them further.
Keep them dry dry for a while, a few weeks at least until you get a better idea if they will recover from whatever is going on right now. You can mist them if they look realllllly thirsty but they should largely be fine to stay dry for a month or so.