Argyroderma testiculare

[Ali Baba]

Any tips on getting these to flower? I have a few raised from seed some years ago, but have only one flower a couple of years ago


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[Terry S.]

They certainly need good light, more so than Lithops for example. They are naturally winter-growing (many conos coexist with them in the wild), but I have problems in deciding what water to give in the summer. If I keep them completely dry, they tend not to flower. If I give them a bit of water, they will flower more reliably but there is a tendency for the epidermis to crack and the plants look horrible.

[iann]

All the light you can get. Quite hard to burn them, although it is possible if they are in a hot stuffy position. Water in summer but only very lightly or they will explode. I think the idea is to keep them growing while there is strong sun. If they are dormant until October you're not going to get flowers.

[Ali Baba]

Thanks Terry and Ian,
I have tended to treat them like Lithops, but with less water in the summer. They are currently showing new leaves between the old leaf pair, should I be watering now, or letting the new pair form without water as in Lithops..?

[BrianMc]

I have been growing argyroderma for years. Dead easy from seed and in my experience, one of the fastest mesembryanthemum to germinate. Often on the second and third day. My oldest plants were sown in 1984. Having said that, I have only flowered my plants once. That was the autumn /winter of 2013, when my plants received a wonderful amount of sunshine. Normally, this far north it is too dull to expect flowers.

[Terry S.]

Hello Ali Baba. Grow them more like conophytums than like lithops, so most water is from August through to March with just a bit during summer.

[Ali Baba]

Thanks for clarifying Terry. I am guessing I may have been too cautious in watering in summer as I have yet to split one with watering! Light is not a problem, they sit at the unshaded gable end of my greenhouse next to my Didymaotus where they get every available scrap of light all year round (such as it is in Derby!)

[Terry S.]

How do you get on with the Didymaotus? It is one of the more difficult mesembs to grow and flower. I suspect this is because it grows in the Tanqua Karoo which has exceedingly low rainfall due to the rain shadow effect of the Cederberg.

[Mafate79]

Hello all,

Terry, as my English is far from being perfect, could you please specify what you mean when you say "the rain shadow effect of the Cederberg"? Thank you for that.

Sincerely,

Sylvain

[Ali Baba]

Hi Terry
I have flowered my Didymaotus seedlings a couple of times but they have missed the last 2 years, possibly because of the poor late summer weather, or perhaps because I split my potful of seedlings into individual pots. The survivors are growing away now so I am hoping to see the appearance of those little side shoots
I find they like regular but well spaced watering this time of year or they go into a decline.
They are right next to the glass at the southern end of the glasshouse, so get scorching temperatures in the summer...