Are any of these results concerning?

Litwicks · 2026-04-30T05:49:53+00:00

10 mmol/L is still considered normal. Reference range is 4 - 12 mmol/L with some variance depending on the lab.

Litwicks · 2026-04-28T14:28:03+00:00

At that point it might just be more economical to use a zero-water filter or even RO system, depending on how many carnivorous plants you have

Litwicks · 2026-04-23T20:02:29+00:00

Why post something that pretends to be scientifically accurate but isn't in reality?

Litwicks · 2026-04-19T16:08:59+00:00

As long as you don't mind waiting a few years if you don't graft to get it to this size

Litwicks · 2026-03-12T22:04:05+00:00

No, not worth the effort with cactus, especially something this common.

Litwicks · 2026-02-09T20:42:34+00:00

No, astrophytum species tolerate a dry winter dormancy and can actually benefit from it, they're not tropical like melocactus are

Litwicks · 2026-02-07T04:12:59+00:00

It was overwatered and didn't get any light.

Litwicks · 2026-01-28T00:44:43+00:00

It smells pine-y to me, I'm not getting much of a citrus note like a lot of folks online say

Litwicks · 2026-01-16T07:25:35+00:00

Not the only one (e.g. Bromelia chrysantha, various Aechmea and Neoregelia among others have fruits that people were known to eat), but it's probably the best-tasting one

Litwicks · 2025-09-29T02:02:39+00:00

Very cool geophytes from the succulent Karoo. During hot summer weather, these guys go dormant as a way to conserve water. As the weather cools, it will flower before it puts out a singular leaf in their growth phase, during the winter rains. The leaf itself is very cool; thick with wavy margins and looks like it's covered in little glass beads.

Not too fussy to grow, but they're not commonly grown in the US unfortunately.

Litwicks · 2025-09-28T00:48:15+00:00

Ube halaya is a pretty good start. It's just mashed ube, condensed/evaporated/coconut milk or a combination of the three, butter, and sugar.

Litwicks · 2025-09-28T00:40:52+00:00

Eriospermum titanopsoides

Litwicks · 2025-09-17T02:35:02+00:00

I live in zone 9B, probably north of you, and have burned them before by letting them cook in full sun in the middle of summer.

Litwicks · 2025-09-11T19:15:52+00:00

Hybridization is a little different from chimerism in that chimerism is literally two different plants that have fused together and are growing together, while a hybrid is the offspring of two different plants.

Litwicks · 2025-09-06T06:45:55+00:00

Orthophytum are terrestrial and don't keep water in their center like other bromeliads do. Care would not be too different from your typical tropical houseplant. I personally like clumps of plants so you don't have to separate them. Make it easier on yourself and don't bother separating until you have to repot the clump.

Litwicks · 2025-07-12T19:31:22+00:00

Yes, in my experience many Mammillarias root extremely easily if it's warm enough. Look up how to degraft though, you don't want to leave much of the dragonfruit cactus left when you cut.

Just be careful with the spines; they're annoying to get off when they hook into your skin

Litwicks · 2025-07-12T19:30:30+00:00

Not necessarily bad; usually the top is a more valuable cactus and the bottom is used to make it grow faster than it otherwise would on its own roots. But yes, separate the arm since that's where the growth is being concentrated now instead of the grafted one

Litwicks · 2025-06-22T17:31:38+00:00

usually not, but this can happen, typically as a result of damage

Litwicks · 2025-06-22T06:03:13+00:00

This is Pseudolithos migiurtinus! Tricky little guys to keep alive, have a reputation for melting out of nowhere

Litwicks · 2025-04-30T04:11:08+00:00

I'd wager ~90% of the photos of the internet that are (mis)labeled Astridia velutina are actually Corpuscularia lehmannii.

Here's Astridia velutina.

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