Huernia Zebrina

Repotted this stupid thing last night. It's been potted in almost pure grit, but it still managed to start rotting in the fall. Lost several stems. I uprooted whatever wasn't rotten, and the pieces have been sitting on a shelf for a few months. I sifted out every last trace of organic matter from the soil and replaced it with just a whisper of my homebrew mineral soil mix, just enough to hold things together. 🤞 (Toothpicks to hold things in place until everything settles in.)

Looks good! I have one for several years but it hardly grows, 1 good stem only. Never seen a flower yet. I have to keep it in partial shade which is part of the problem.

@sunlovin thanks! I've had this one for about 5 years, and it's grown a ton, especially considering how much has rotted and died every couple years. It started as 3 stems 2" tall. It only bloomed in the first couple months after I got it, tho, so clearly it isn't ENTIRELY happy. I also keep mine in mostly shade. I looked it up after repotting yesterday, and apparently it grows in super arid scrubland, in calcrete between rocks, so it makes sense that it wouldn't do well in organic matter.

A couple drops of water once or twice a year huh? 🙃

Smelly but I still want one

@docthrill these aren't smelly. That's Stapelias, and really only a very small number of varieties smell. @lesliecole49 iirc I've actually watered this quite a bit in past springs, with a very small dose of fertilizer in each watering. Made it grow tons! But in nature idk how much water it really gets.🤷🏻‍♀️

Even better !

This is what I found at Gardening Know How... "but it does need supplemental water during its growing season. In winter, the plant hardly needs water at all, just once per month on average, as it is mostly dormant and not actively producing growth. In spring through summer, water the plant when the soil is dry to the touch. Make sure any saucer you have is emptied of water to prevent root rot."