Pleiospilos nelli and P. Royal Flush question

[Shihtzumama1]

I purchased these little guys at Lowe's during the winter. I have not watered at all yet and they look good. According to everything I have read, I should be watering now and then stop watering in June. But, I am concerned about watering because my plants have two and three sets of leaves, instead of having only 1 set of leaves. I'm not sure if I am supposed to withhold water until the one or two sets of older leaves shrivel and die or if I should water now. When I purchased them, the P. Nelli was blooming. Neither show any signs of developing a new leaf. The oldest set of leaves on the plants are softening a bit, but don't seem to be shrinking. One more thing, if someone could please direct me to the thread/link that discusses the growing and dormant seasons of both lithops and pleiospilos, I would appreciate it. Thank you!

[iann]

It is OK for them to still have two sets of leaves at this time, although the older ones should be getting a bit past their best. 'Royal Flush' is prone to hanging on to its old leaves, but you really need to try not to let it build up sets of old leaves.

From now on, you should make sure that the older leaves are consistently drying out. If they stay fat or get fatter then you need to water less or find a spot where they get more sun and lower humidity. Try to get them down to a single set of leaves by the end of the summer. It won't happen fast but it will happen. Getting from three to one in a season might be a bit much, but so long as you're going in the right direction it will be fine.

This is a good time for them to be active in temperature climates. Cool nights, strong sun during the day. If you like in a tropical climate then you may have difficulty. By late summer, or early autumn, a new pair of leaves will appear and develop over winter. One pair of leaves per year is all you get with this plant.

[Shihtzumama1]

Thank you iann. I updated my post a little to provide more information. Should I be watering now? Drenching or just a few drops? How often should I water? I live in Charlotte and it's hot and sunny. The nights fluctuate, sometimes they get down to the 50's in Spring; sometimes they stay in the 60's-70's. I think I will put them outside on the south side of the house where they will get full sun all day. Right now they are on an east window sill and get full sun from sunrise till about 1-2 pm. Thank you again!

[Saxicola]

I think I will put them outside on the south side of the house where they will get full sun all day.

They'll be dead in a week if you do that from sun scorch and overheating, especially if you mean they will be right next to the house where the light and heat reflects off the wall. Any plant that is grown in a very shady spot (like a windowsill) needs to be acclimated to sun over the course of a few weeks. Think of a person that's been inside all winter then goes to the beach. They will be fried by the end of the day. But if they build up a tan over time they can take the sun without a problem.

That is only half the sun issue though. Even when fully acclimated to the outdoors these plants cannot take hot afternoon sun. Put them somewhere that gets morning sun and afternoon shade, or filtered shade all day. Since your summer climate is effectively tropical they will be somewhat stressed out from the heat and humidity during that time. So don't do anything that stresses them even more like too much water or too much sun.

[iann]

They'll be able to take full sun in Charlotte once they are acclimated to the outdoors, but they will become dormant during the summer. Best not to water them deeply at that time or they could rot. You might get away with one thunderstorm if they dry out fairly fast, but somewhere under cover might be safer. The green one will bronze over a little as it gets used to strong sun, but strangely you might find the red one gets a bit less red. Noticeable bleaching or strong wrinkling at the end of a hot afternoon means you're pushing the limits. Nights staying above 60F will make the plants sluggish, consistently above 70F will make them pretty dormant. In extreme heat it is safer to give afternoon shade than to try and help them with water. Light spraying every few days, or even every evening, can help them hold their own without risking rot.

[iann]

Here are P. nelii and P. 'Royal Flush' in my greenhouse today. I'm comfortable that they're both at the right stage of losing their leaves. They will be gone well before summer is over.

nelii-0515.jpg (83.64 KiB) Viewed 4469 times

flush-0515.jpg (63.62 KiB) Viewed 4469 times

[Shihtzumama1]

Thank you Saxicola and Iann. I appreciate your replies. Iann, your plants are wonderful. I love the colors of your Royal Flush. So, I am not going to put the plants in full-day sun on the south side of the house. I actually meant the south-west side of the house which has a covered porch. Still, in some areas of the porch farthest from the house, they would receive sun all day. Closer to the house, they would get late afternoon sun-- until sunset. Instead of the porch, I can acclimate them (over a few weeks) to the deck on the east side of the house where they would get morning and early-afternoon sun. Should I do that - or just leave them inside on the east facing window sill? They seem pretty happy there. I'm still confused about watering them now and through the summer. Is my goal to have the plants get down to one set of leaves by summer? If so, do I do that by not watering at all or do I water occasionally in order to keep the roots alive? Getting the plant that has 3 sets of leaves down to one by the end of the summer seems aggressive. Is it? What should I do about watering: water deeply or just a light spray? How often? I'm determined to keep these little guys alive and I appreciate your help.

[iann]

Don't withhold water completely until they get down to one leaf pair. It is counter-productive and they may just go dormant to protect themselves. It is fine to keep an old leaf pair into summer, provided that it disappears before you get to autumn. At that time you want to be able to give a good deep watering or two to support possible flowers and new growth in the cool season. See how my plant is halfway there already; I'd be happy to water that and probably will in the next few days.

Going from 3 sets of leaves to one in one season is pretty aggressive. See how it goes but don't punish the plant. Just keep heading in the right direction. Building up more and more leaves is ultimately dangerous, but a young plant with extra leaves will be fine. You might be surprised how fast the old leaves go when you get the plant acclimatised and it sits in the sun for hours every day.

You should aim to water Pleisopilis fairly regularly. That can be as a spray or light watering a lot of the time, because you don't want the roots to stay wet for long in summer. I use clay pots for these so I can water them more than once a year and not have them inflate to the point of exploding. Really sharp drainage in the soil helps. Never rush to water though, they can always wait an extra week if you're not sure, an extra month if they really have to.

[Shihtzumama1]

Thank you for the added info. I will do my best and keep my eye on these little guys.

[Astro]

After two years of sitting in (mostly) shade my P. nelii was up to a stack of 4 (!) pairs of leaves. It got by with just two or three water offerings per year and still never got to burn off its old leaves. It took about a year of NoCal sun to reduce it back down to one leaf pair.

I can confirm that a straight no-water regimen may not be the best way to burn off leaf pairs - the plant just sat there basically unchanging for all of 9 months while I stubbornly kept it dry (may have watered it maybe twice), and only when I started watering it more regularly a few months ago did it finally get rid of the excess leaves.

[david90531]

I literally haven't watered mine at all since November since it's changing leaves still since last winter, and it is doing perfectly fine from what I can see. Still trying to get rid of those fat old leaves

[iann]

I literally haven't watered mine at all since November since it's changing leaves still since last winter, and it is doing perfectly fine from what I can see. Still trying to get rid of those fat old leaves

Keeping them completely dry won't harm them, at least not for a very long time, but it may be counter-productive if it just makes them dormant. At the end of the day, if you're getting through the annual growth cycle and the plants continue to flower and grow then that's fine.

[C And D]

I water my Pleiospilos nelli and Royal Flush heavily all year long
If I don't, they shrink down in size and don't flower or live long

I lost some Royal Flush from not enough water.
But it depends on your soil, heat and light intensity

I wish all posters on Cactiforum would include their location, since it's hard to give advice w/out knowing their climate.

[Aiko]

For some reason I keep on losing Pleiospilos nelii. Now I have another rotting mature plants. I have not watered it for a few weeks, but still it suddenly rots on me. I have very good success with most mesemb species, but this one remains one of those mystery plants for me...

[iann]

For some reason I keep on losing Pleiospilos nelii. Now I have another rotting mature plants. I have not watered it for a few weeks, but still it suddenly rots on me. I have very good success with most mesemb species, but this one remains one of those mystery plants for me...

Soil. And maybe over-potting. Are you buying those pre-killed ones from garden centres?