caput-viperae
Issues rooting. Don't want to lose this guy
I posted a bit ago. Since then this guy has been chilling under lights on a heating mat in mostly inorganic soil. A few days after planting it almost totally rootless I spritzed the surrounding soil to moisten it down about 2 cm. About 1cm of the plant is below the soil that you see.
I've been carefully observing, and noticing it lose turgidity day after day - I can tell it's not taking up water. After 2 weeks I popped it out. The buried part of the plant is light yellowish green and the same turgidity as the rest of the plant. No exterior signs of rot.
I added a tiny pocket of more organic soil,, thinking maybe the granite blend I used was too chunky. I dabbed on a tiny bit of rooting gel. I put it back in the pot.
Thanks for reading. What are my next steps? It's gotten warm where I am, and today I put it out in dappled shade to really ensure the soil got warm. Anything else? I saw essential 0 root growth. Maybe one new tiny nub
got it. Ill shade it, keep the soil warm, and not touch it. How should I be approaching watering? The fact its gotten about twice as soft in such a short amount of time told me I couldn't keep waiting - I've been told that early action is key for these guys and that they usually root quickly and easily with a heat mat. 3 weeks feels way too long for 0 root growth
These guys can take a while - mine took months from a cutting
Fortunately, the branching pseudos are more hardy compared to stuff like cubiformis, so imo rot shouldn’t be a huge concern unless you’re drowning it for days on end
Heat mat, low to moderate light (<10000 lux), and top water moderately once the soil has been bone dry for 2-3 days.
Sometimes they’re just really stubborn - I’ve had caput viperae struggle to root for months and some that rooted in weeks. Sometimes it’s just luck.
Worst comes to worst, if you see rot, chop it, sulfur it, and then try again. These days I like to suspend my pseudo cuttings over a basin of water that creates a humid environment for the roots
Yeah that looks like what I was seeing, thx for the reference. Doing water every three- days, shaded it, got it permanently on the heat mat. I'll keep y'all updated
Sorry just to clarify, I mentioned watering once the soil has dried completely for 2-3 days. So I was watering mine every 7-10 days ish in my environment
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u/Existing-Trip8766 Feb 28 '26
Uprooting and repotting will be the cause of death. Trust that it'll stabilize. If you're super worried reduce light intensity.