I was so happy when this guy finally rooted. He’s an oldie, about 1in big conophytum calculus. He was fine, rooted, plumb up then was starting to turn white so I knew he was really for dormancy. So I stopped watering. After a few weeks of just turning whiter and whiter suddenly he turn all ugly and mushy. I squished him and he was hard inside so I was like… maybe it’s normal.
Then small black dots start appearing, one again I was just thinking the old leaf was drying off. But more and more dots keep appearing. I have not water for weeks at this point. So what is it? It’s dry and scally so not mold, not bumpy so not insect.
Should I just give up on cono that sheath in general at this point? My indoor humidity is constantly 55-65% in the summer. Outdoor is like 90%. When they go mushy I’m constantly worry they gonna mold ;(
by ChooChooBun
2 Comments
Everything you’ve described so far sounds pretty normal for Conophytum, though the spots are indeed unusual for c. calculus.
Several cono species are spotted to some degree and sometimes the spots intensify during dormancy. SH mentioned in his writing that in his experiments with breeding c. Wittebergense that the patterning was inconsistent would sometimes be really boring one year.
Other than being unusually spotty and dormant, as long as the cono is firm it looks reasonably healthy to me. Why not keep it around and see how it develops?
The dark spots are tanniniferous idioblasts. Basically cells containing tannins. Completely normal, they’re present in many conos and nothing to be concerned about. The ones you’re seeing are visible because the old leaves have dried out for dormancy, they won’t be visible on the new leaves underneath. It’s a touch early but I would probably remove the sheath now if you’re worried about them feeling mushy, just be sure to protect the leaves underneath with shade for a little while if you’re still experiencing blazing hot sunshine!