Hello, friends. A dear teacher of mine sent me this picture. This grandfather is not doing so well in the winter weather. The pot has been kept inside and is getting minimal light, which I assume to be the cause of its ailment. It does not appear to have been over-watered. Spring is coming but I don't know if it will survive. Would a warm-spectrum LED light for 12 hours/day help?


Deepest gratitude,
Yerba

Yerba

I would highly recommend repotting your peyote, as from what I can see from the picture is your little guy isn't getting enough drainage or light. The potting technique I use for my peyote's; firstly each soil type was carefully sieved and then mixed together well, 20% consisted of potting soil the other 60% consisted of Umgeni river sand (qaurtz river sand) and 20% Laterite. An inch or so of large stones were placed at the bottom of each pot, then 3/4 of an inch of 3-5mm stones that were separated from the umgeni river sand on sieving was added to assist with their drainage of water.

Good drainage is critical to healthy growth and allows more frequent watering, if the drainage is not adequate root rot will occur. After watering the soil it should return to complete dryness in no more than 2 days. Also do everything you can to give him as much warmth and extra light as possible, replicating their natural environment is vital to growing happy and healthy peyote's. I truly wish you the best of luck and please keep us updated on his condition.


Much Peace and Compassion

I'll see if I can find out about the soil composition. I think my teacher was gifted it and may not have potted it, but the individual I suspect gave it to her is very knowledgeable and things may be better 'under the surface'.

Would it be advisable to repot in its weakened state, or should light and heat be increased for awhile to see if it perks up?

Thank you for the fast response; I am really hoping to help save this beautiful medicine.

Yerba

This is tricky to answer, though from my experience if your peyote is going soft and squishy its due to the lack of drainage and if the roots are still moist and wet for long periods of time root rot will surely occur.

This is my greatest concern if you just increase the warmth and light while the roots are still wet due to lack of drainage, I'm really skeptical that he will recover. You need to check if his roots are moist, in order to make the most accurate and logical decision so that you may save this little guy. I truly hope that he is able to make a full recovery...


Much Peace and Kindness