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P. 'Titan' hibernaculum?



So I received this P. 'Titan' in the mail a few months back, and it immediately shrank down to that size and turned that gorgeous red color. Is that some form of hibernaculum (it shipped through 40-50 degree temps) or are my growing conditions just so off that it's going nuts?

Currently it's in a 1:1:1 mix of peat/perlite/vermiculite, being watered under the tray method -- about a 1" bit of water in a "deep dish" saucer at all times, usually hitting 1-2mm before I fill it up again. It's in a 5.5" glazed pot. It's under T8 -- now T5HO -- lamps on a 16 hour photoperiod, although for the month of december I had dropped it down to 14 hour days. With the mylar lining, the rack is staying in the 80-90 degree range during the day.

It's my first time trying vermiculite, so I'm a bit worried. In the same pot is a P. Gigantea that is staying rather small (under 2 inches) so I had originally thought it had gone into winter mode due to the trip through the post office in cold temps, but I showed that picture to the friend who shipped it to me and he didn't even recognize it.
 
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Some of the other pings I grow are doing ok:

P. 'Yucca Do 1713'


Another angle of P. 'Titan'


Picture of the container shortly after I got them:

 
Your plant went dormant, most Mexican Pings do that. It's not a hibernaculum, just the winter rosette. Keep the pot a lot drier than normal or you'll probably lose it, too.
 
Your plant went dormant, most Mexican Pings do that. It's not a hibernaculum, just the winter rosette. Keep the pot a lot drier than normal or you'll probably lose it, too.

Gotcha, thnaks!

I've been keeping 1" in the saucer after letting it dry out, I'll probably let it be dry a day or two before refilling it until it comes out of this. I'm actually not sure at the capillary ability of this particular soil mix, so I've been rather terrified that I'm killing the little guys.

I have seen a winter rosette before, with my P. 'Yucca Do 1713's, it took quite a long time for them to come out of it and they're not currently doing it -- but then again, they're currently growing in a mini bog pot with a bunch of sundews.

What might have triggered this in my 'Titan' and Gigantea (Gigantea, I'm reading, doesn't do a rosette, instead it merely shrinks down quite a bit)? Was it the colder temperatures when shipping, or did I keep them too dry and warm when they arrived? Could the soil mix have triggered it -- i.e., is it too dry?

Supposedly it's an ideal time to take leaf pulls but given it's size, I think I'll wait and try that next year. When it came loose from the soil recently I noticed it doesn't really have much in the way of roots right now.
 
If there's that much peat in the soil mix compared to the other components (I only use like a 4:1 perlite/peat mix), it may be very good for the species that don't go dormant, like your gigantea (which does just shrink, like mine, and often flowers at this time of year, like mine :) ) but any plants that are hybrids, like 'Titan' still have the capacity to go dormant, and like airy mixes, so even during growing season water trays can dry between waterings. When they do, keeping the soil barely moist, or in some cases bone dry (I think barely moist is best here) is needed for anywhere from 3-6 months depending on species.
Also, dormancy can be triggered by shorter light periods, cooler temperatures, or a decrease in water, or a combination of factors. Best thing to do is let them go dormant when they want to, and wake them up when they want to, and they will let you know when they want to. Your 'Titan' is producing hairy instead of sticky leaves, that's often a great sign of the winter rosette.
 




Looks like he might be waking up!
 
One last photo (at least until he's so big I have to repot):



Had a 33% success rate with the leaf pulls of him, so presuming the leaf pull survives I might have one to trade someday. ;)
 
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