Tylecodon bucholzianus aerial roots?

[MikeDom]

I have some plants I don't see very often (they are at the very back of the staging). Among them are 3 plants of Tylecodon bucholzianus which I water from above and so the stems get wet. I pulled them out to clean them up and take them to a show and noticed that they seem to have aerial roots. You can see the 'roots' on the photos at the base of the leaves and sometimes just randomly on a stem, they are the white clusters. Ignore the cobwebs, they seem to be magnets for little spiders.

You can't touch the plant without leaves falling off and here are some that have, so can I plant these or am I wasting my time? Presumably I need to let the cut part callus over? Looks like I could create quite a few new plants if that is the case, they've never done this before and they are about 20 years old. I wonder if the overhead watering helped? It's all quite exciting.

One of the plants all cleaned up. This plant lost it's roots completely but has re-rooted without any help.

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[Tina]

The last one is a Good size plant, in photo 3 you can see the stem is damaged and looks to be drying out.
I would agree they don't like the overhead watering but sometimes you have to do your best, at least with the aerial roots its easy to get some new propagation's growing.

[Diane]

Yes, you can pot those rooting stems up. Maybe a smidgen of water to get them going. It's such a brittle plant, that it's inevitable that stems break off. I have a 30 year old clump that often gives me volunteer propagations, but they are exceedingly slow!

[MikeDom]

The last one is a Good size plant, in photo 3 you can see the stem is damaged and looks to be drying out.
I would agree they don't like the overhead watering but sometimes you have to do your best, at least with the aerial roots its easy to get some new propagation's growing.

Hi Tina,

All three photos are different angles from the same plant. It did very well at the show.

This plant below (2 different angles) I thought was practically dead but roots are coming from some of the 'dead' branches. So I shall take the knife to him tomorrow. I know they're very slow but I shall take more interest in them now.

[Tina]

the aerial roots look a bit creepy, I haven't seen any on my plant.
I'll dig it out tomorrow and peek, also at the back as it's not a favourite.

Certainly deserving of the first prize and maybe I should pamper my plant a bit, its fragility is annoying as I'm often breaking bits off.

[ralphrmartin]

This can happen when the roots have rotted off, but the stems are sound. The plant is essentially treating itself as a cutting.

[MikeDom]

That's an interesting survival technique Ralph, one I haven't come across before. In this case the roots are fine on all 3 plants (I tipped them out of their pots), and the plants have been on the dry side if anything. I just can't fathom out why all 3 plants have decided to produce aerial roots at the same time.

[ralphrmartin]

I've also had cacti whose roots rotted off, and the above ground part through new roots into the hoolowed out stump...

[MikeDom]

I think you're right that something untoward is happening Ralph. Some of the cut branches have a brown outward ring in the cut instead of being completely green. It's possible the plants are dying or that parts of them are dying, I shall keep a watch to see if they start to deteriorate, although with these plants not much happens that is easily visible.

[MikeT]

A number of different Aeoniums send out aerial roots when the lower part of a stem has died/dried up. It's a sign that the stem needs removing and potting up, though sometimes the roots can reach the soil and do that themselves.

I've also had cacti whose roots rotted off, and the above ground part through new roots into the hoolowed out stump...

I've seen this with Aloes as well as cacti, Ralph

I must mistreat a lot of my plants to have caused all this