I recently rescued this little split rock from one of the big box stores, and it rewarded me with this purple bloom. Most of my other split rocks and other plants of this type tend to have yellow or orange flowers, so this was a nice change.
As you can see, this specimen has a split in its body, and I am not sure if I did that or if it was there when I bought it, but it seems to be doing fine. I think those splits come from growing too fast, perhaps due to fertilizing at the wrong time. I don’t think it comes from overwatering since overwatering simply causes them to rot.
If you check the Internet, you will find various suggestions for a watering schedule. I have also been told that when the body of the plant starts to wrinkle or shrivel a bit, that is when to water it. I have found that no water during the summer other than what they might get naturally from rain-and I actually try to protect them from getting too much water from a rain-light water in the early fall, little if any during the winter, and some in early spring works pretty well for me. Feeding might be best in the fall since they will bloom in fall and winter.
I have also read they can grow in full sun during the summer, but full sun in a West Texas summer is different to full sun in other places, so I give mine some filtered shade. And I don’t consider them cold hardy here and bring them in during the winter. You will just have to adjust to your climate.
I suspect every collector kills some of these little gems before finally getting the hang of keeping them alive, so don’t give up. They really are fun to watch grow and bloom.
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