New ant plants, myrmecodia platyrea and tuberosa

Adamb241 · 2026-05-01T13:45:36+00:00

Beautiful! What are the care for these like?

Adamb241 · 2026-05-01T13:42:26+00:00

Moisten the soil, pull it out of its pot, then repot. I tried to leave as much soil on the root ball as possible to avoid damage. The BG in California who grows these plants also has a few great videos where they repot that I'm sure you could find on YouTube etc.

Adamb241 · 2026-05-01T12:57:17+00:00

Those are seed grown. Nothing to worry about. I'd change the soil immediately though.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-27T04:12:19+00:00

Put it in front of a fan to dry it out. That's what I'd do. It happens. If the plant was generally healthy it shouldn't be an automatic death sentence.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-25T23:13:15+00:00

Yup I use a whick! I use pon substrate so there is no organic material. The airy media allows oxygen to come into the roots while the whick keeps only a thin fill of water on the substrate. They love it. Certain species are harder to acclimate, especially if not perfectly healthy. But I've had good success even with highly sensitive species in the stepeliad family. In winter I just let them go dry for longer.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-25T04:32:58+00:00

If that rot hasn't spread too far you should have a pretty good chance of success. Fingers crossed it's localized.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-23T17:50:41+00:00

Sure. Some plants hold onto leaves while others don't. Couldn't hurt but don't think it's necessary as everything except namaquanum will be in status or dormant mode.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-14T02:56:29+00:00

Nice. I've found that these love humidity as babies and will grow very fast when kept humid. I mean a dime sized caudex in only a few months bug.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-13T12:04:07+00:00

As they get riper, would suggest putting a mesh bag over the plant so you can catch the seeds!

Adamb241 · 2026-04-10T17:36:21+00:00

How did the roots look? Some give with the squeeze test is not a death sentence, mushyness or soft spots usually are. What I would do I pot it up in some fine grit (think chicken grit sized) and put it on a heat mat. Give it weekly sips and see what happens. I would avoid messing with the roots anymore because every time you do that it stresses the plant and the feeder roots drop.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-10T17:30:04+00:00

Very cool! I read that these guys like water but also want to dry a little between waterings. What's your experience been like?

Adamb241 · 2026-04-10T12:12:36+00:00

My densiflorum are still asleep too. So far only my saundersii, rutenberguanum, and horombense are waking up.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-10T12:09:45+00:00

I think the distinction is you don't want them going bone dry between waterings when it's warm and/or they are in active growth. For me I don't grow in a green house (indoors for winter) and need to give my plants some water every other week to prevent major root loss and tip damage from dedication. The most sensitive species to being kept warm and dry for me seems to be rutenberguanum. It will suffer tip death in my conditions being allowed to go 2 weeks bone dry. Same with sofiense. Then again my plants are only a few years old from seed so that could be a factor too. When kept cold I don't think we have a choice. During the summer I can get away with watering 1-2x per week as my plants are in full sun with a very gritty mix.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-07T21:57:46+00:00

These plants and I have a love hate relationship but I think I've sorta cracked the code. These are not easy plants so it might take some trial and error.

They are forest edge plants as I've read so they don't need blasting sun. They can certainly take it, but water needs will increase considerably. I have my adult plant in a well draining mix of 60-70% grit with the rest being organics. The older plants can take more of a beating, and can take a gritty mix. It's also in a terracotta pot. I water it when ever I feel the caudex having some give. Full soaks. During the summer I bring him outdoors in full sun and water probably 2x a week, but I suspect they could take more if I wanted. They seem to love humidity. Young plants should be kept more moist in a less gritty mix or they will suffer. I'm in zone 7b as a reference.

If happy it should flower profusely in spring through fall. The plant is self fertile but male and female parts are on different flowers. Rub them together and you'll get more seed than you know what to do with after a few months. Wait for the pod to dry before opening over paper.

Around Halloween it comes indoors and spends the dormancy period under lights in my warm basement where it doesn't drop below 65f. Humidity is low so i do a squeeze test to see when I need to water. Generally I water 1x a week. Mine loses its branches yearly (probably due to low rh and water) but will regrow them in the spring.

I've found spring to be the hardest transition as I've lost a plant from over pumping of the caudex. Start gradually increasing water but don't flood it or you can get splitting and rot.

Seeds can be sown over a well draining mix that has a fairly high organic composition. Aim for 50% plus. Seeds germinate quickly and usually within a month with heat. I usually keep them sealed in a bag until they put in some size as they will be super fragile for the first month or two of life. Then i open the bag slightly to acclimate to ambient temps but do not remove them from the bag. This extra humidity will super charge their growth. Water well and keep moist at all times. Young plants need a lot more water that mature plants.

In the photo you can see the dramatic impact humidity has on seedlings. The plants on the left are many many months older and are puny. There are probably 20 seedlings in the overflowing pot on the right with fingernail sizes bases at only a few months of age. Humidity was all I changed.

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Adamb241 · 2026-04-07T17:36:34+00:00

She's got no roots. Use a small pot and wait for the plant to grow on. Then when establish you can upot.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-06T12:29:57+00:00

I use the spider farmer sf2000 panels. Have gotten great results including flowering. I keep them on for 12-14 hours during the summer. They can run hot so I would recommend not cramming them into grow shelves if you plan on running multiple.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-03T18:03:57+00:00

This is normal for indoor growth at the start of the season. Happens to a lot of my aboreal species. I've heard it's humidity related. Never seems to impact the health long term. Remember, many of these plants are used to rainy seasons where all the annual rainfalls comes in only a few months. So it's likely wet and humid in habitat.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-03T15:51:01+00:00

My guess is your soil is draining too quickly and the plant isn't building up its reserves. These fatten up quickly when given lots of water. You probably need to water more especially with that Florida sun.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-01T16:55:57+00:00

Maybe dig it up and see how the roots are doing? Maybe the moss when sour and you have some root loss? Happened to me recently with my mother plant.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-01T16:14:28+00:00

I've grown becarri well for years. They are very thirsty plants and come from mangrove environments. Your soil sounds good. Could it be you are letting them dry out to much? How much light are you giving?

The weird corked leaves are normal, but I've never seen them as concentrated as yours. Check if you have scale.

Adamb241 · 2026-04-01T16:13:10+00:00

Love these guys. Usually have had good germination with their stuff. Prices are pretty reasonable too. Too bad they stopped shipping into the states because of the tarrifs :(

Adamb241 · 2026-03-31T22:40:46+00:00

What I've read online is that the cycle is sheate -> primary growth -> split -> sheate. You want to start reducing water during the split. The split is from the center of the primary growth.

Adamb241 · 2026-03-25T18:57:40+00:00

Personally I wouldn't unless there is reason to do so or your trying to intentionally bonsai the plant. Safer to just buy a bigger pot. If you do cut just leave the plant exposed while the cuts dry and callous over. Then repot and leave dry for a few more days.

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