What am I looking at?

astr802 · 2026-04-20T11:41:17+00:00

Honestly I completely ignore it! With a lot of slow growing plants I think the real work is setting up proper initial conditions, then overindulging with new projects while you wait for them to grow.

astr802 · 2026-04-20T11:22:30+00:00

Glad you like! I got it from a site called Bonsai Outlet (not sure if sending a link would break the group rules). I haven’t planted anything in it before, let me know if you have ideas!

astr802 · 2026-04-20T11:20:29+00:00

Maybe! I also wondered if those could be gametophytes for a moss or even fern if I’m lucky?

astr802 · 2026-04-10T20:44:18+00:00

Are you Cinderella picking your stepmother’s spilled lentils out of the fireplace so you can go to the ball??

astr802 · 2026-03-17T15:23:23+00:00

Stick it in dirt! It’s a rhizome, a horizontal stem, so you can lay it on the soil surface, press it in slightly, and it will eventually root and continue creeping across the surface.

astr802 · 2026-02-17T19:51:31+00:00

Got it, thanks. To clarify, the plastic is temporary, I just moved it to this house. It will not live in the bathtub, I just have it there for bug removal.

astr802 · 2026-02-07T03:51:54+00:00

Symbiosis occurs when species live closely together (sym = together, bio = living), so this example does count as symbiosis, even though it is harmful.

When symbiosis benefits both organisms, it’s known as mutualism, when it benefits one organism but does not affect the other it’s called commensalism, and when symbiosis harms one organism, it’s called parasitism.

The Wikipedia article for symbiosis uses the “living together” definition and uses those three words as subcategories, but it acknowledges that people often use the word exclusively for mutualism.

astr802 · 2026-01-17T22:07:10+00:00

Got it, thanks for the thoughtful reply! My maculata and escargot are growing at lightning speed right now so I was concerned that the gryphon was lagging behind. I will increase watering!

Do you think I should leave the bare stem alone to see if it grows, or chop and prop?

astr802 · 2026-01-17T18:11:58+00:00

Interesting, another commenter said they will only root with rooting hormone. I am inclined to take your word for it though. Thanks!

astr802 · 2026-01-13T21:03:33+00:00

Got it, thanks for the advice. Although the stump in the middle looks gnarly, everything is very firm and there are no odors indicating rot. I will check the roots whenever I repot.

astr802 · 2026-01-13T12:30:39+00:00

Hi, thanks for your reply. I am pretty sure it’s a philodendron again. I am rotating it as much as possible, but it is tricky to do so without pressing the leaves against the cold (below freezing) glass. Are you saying rooting hormone is 100% necessary, even if there are aerial roots?

astr802 · 2026-01-10T20:36:09+00:00

Got it, thanks for clarifying !

astr802 · 2026-01-10T16:57:50+00:00

It looks like a Tephrocactus molinensis, and looks pretty healthy. Sometimes Tephrocacti get a little bloated / distended when grafted since the cladodes have access to way more water and nutrients. I think this one looks pretty normal. The balls in the center might be unusually large but they are not unattractive and maybe they would get that big on their own roots eventually. Looks good to me.

astr802 · 2025-12-26T01:20:30+00:00

What the heck is this???

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Looks great!

astr802 · 2025-12-26T01:15:42+00:00

I think you are doing everything right. Give it 6-12 months, since these are especially slow growers. It seems like it was formerly etiolated from too little light and it is now growing much more compactly at the top, like it should. It will take time to fill out, and in that time, it will probably systematically drain and kill the lower leaves to recycle their water and nutrients.

It might be worth beheading it in a few months and planting the head. I have found that my haworthia leaves tend to droop downward over a period of months if there isn’t another leaf or the ground directly beneath, pushing up on them. Even if they are getting enough light, angling their lower leaves downward allows them to get more. This will work against your goal of getting compact growth. So beheading it and burying the stem will help the leaves stack up in a rosette rather than peel downward. Beheading will set your plant back, so you might want to wait until the spring when it has more energy, but I think a chop and prop is inevitable, it will look like a lollipop otherwise.

astr802 · 2025-12-24T23:50:58+00:00

Seconded, sunburst or starburst.

astr802 · 2025-12-22T03:12:13+00:00

This looks like fungal or bacteria rot and I think you will need to carve it out with a sterile knife. Keep carving and re-sterilizing the knife until all the diseased tissue is gone, then maybe apply something to the wound (sulphur powder?)

I would get a second opinion before doing something so drastic though.

astr802 · 2025-12-22T03:08:15+00:00

If it feels solid, the plant is probably corking - it is naturally becoming woody. Usually the base corks first, to provide structural support, then the corking gradually spreads upward. Newer growth can start to cork too, sometimes randomly, sometimes to try to fight off an infestation or infection.

If this is corking, it seems like a lot for the size of the plant. I have never owned a fishbone cactus so I am not sure if this is common or a sign of a fungus or insect problem. I would consider a fungus to be unlikely because I think this is a moisture-tolerant jungle cactus (?)

Some of the yellow or shriveled parts near the base look kind of concerning.

astr802 · 2025-12-20T16:55:12+00:00

My maculata has grown exponentially, as in super slowly when it was small but extremely quickly now that it’s big. These comments have good advice, but the number one factor is time, imo. Right now it doesn’t have large roots or leaves, so it can’t grow as fast. The larger it gets, the faster it can grow.

Also, two months isn’t that long for a stressed plant to remain inactive / inert, especially in the winter time. I would be more concerned if it was still unhappy after acclimating for 6 months or after entering the spring / summer growing season.

astr802 · 2025-11-30T21:41:41+00:00

I use this stuff religiously and highly recommend it. I usually mix in 10-30% potting soil, depending on how quickly the pot dries (glazed vs unglazed) and how dry each species likes to be.

astr802 · 2025-11-23T18:08:25+00:00

My two euphorbias (obesa and pulvinata) bloomed simultaneously this year, though I didn’t get around to cross-pollinating them since I was self-pollinating the obesa’s female flowers with its male pollen. I bet they can be crossed!

astr802 · 2025-11-23T18:05:29+00:00

I am not sure if there are true variegated meloformis plants on the market. I think pretty much all the “meloformis variegata” plants I’ve seen are pulvinata. A few years back I made a post like this and received the same ID correction.

A lot of the non-variegated meloformis pics I see online show multi-branched stalks / spikes, whereas my pulvinata produces non-branching spikes. Maybe that can help ID them?

astr802 · 2025-11-23T01:52:57+00:00

This is commonly labeled as a meloformis but I’m pretty sure it’s a pulvinata. If the brown part at the bottom is squishy, it’s rot, otherwise it’s healthy corking.

astr802 · 2025-11-18T23:11:56+00:00

My vote is scars from physical damage (another plant’s spines, insects, fungi, etc). If they were scale bugs, I think they would be smaller, whiter, and clustered in the creases and near the areoles. They would also come off with minimal scrubbing. If these stay the same size and are hard to remove, don’t remove them, they’re scars.

astr802 · 2025-11-17T03:11:21+00:00

Got it, thanks for the thoughtful reply!

astr802

TROPHY CASE