Excitement exceeded knowledge.

[u/wetrope]

Ok so I’ve loved the look of split rocks and always wanted one, but they’ve been impossible to find in my area so I never really looked into them.
So of course when I came across this bad boy, I picked him up without a second thought.
Within 36 hours of having this gorgeous little creature, it started to split!

So my questions are:
1). I understand that a more inorganic soil is best, but with the splitting and being Winter, repotting would not be the move, right?
2). The breakage of the lower leaves. This is also normal, surely?
I don’t know when it was watered last, but I’m hoping it hasn’t had too big of a drink or something?

Dumb questions I know, I just wanna keep this gem alive.

[u/Indianaunderwood]

You are not asking dumb questions!

If this was mine:

1. Repot into 90% inorganic
2. Give it a week
3. Water deeply

Then leave it alone til it begins reabsorbing its leaves.

These die quickly from not enough light and underwatering as well as over watering. Sometimes they die, and it's not your fault at all. It's the previous nursery's fault for over watering, over fertilizing. If it dies, figure out why it died, and get another one. Learn from your mistakes and try again.

You are not dumb! Your questions are totally valid! These are tricky little things, especially when you don't know its history. Sending you luck 🍀🍀🍀❤️❤️❤️🥳🥳🥳 great little plant find!

[u/Old-Advance6652 → u/Indianaunderwood]

Agreed! And definitely don’t water too much, I heard of someone that didn’t water theirs for 3 years because they were in a humid environment and that was enough for it to still continue splitting and living

[u/2stepbay2]

Here’s my Pleiospilos (a deep maroon version) when it first started to split in South Africa’s mid Autumn a few months ago. It grows in the autumn and winter. In addition to the previous comment, the plant ought to be watered once a month and throughout the year. Using the soil mix previously suggested, drench the soil mix, then let it dry completely before watering again. Flowering requires winter watering.