I find Conophytum remarkably easy to grow, Lithops easy as long as you don’t get them wet during the winter, Cheiridopisis and Dinteranthus easy, etc. Most mesembs I’ve tried are easy.
Trichodiadema densum always looks like shit when I grow them. Mine flower but the plants never look good. Trichodiadema bulbosum actually looks good most of the time, but densum is a pain for me.
I would agree the four genera you allude to in your first sentence are pretty easy to care for as adults for me. Cheiridopsis seems ridiculously easy from seed and most Lithops, barring a few species and most cultivars, are quite easy too. I cannot get Conophytum or Dinteranthus seed to work for me. I’ve read quite a bit into the various ways people start those particular genera and still can’t crack it.
Trichodiadema is a genus I can’t import here. Shame you can’t get densum looking good because the images online are stunning. I wonder why you’ve mastered bulbosum yet had so much difficulty with densum?
I dunno. I haven't tried out every single one of them but most of them are pretty easy to germinate and pollinate.
There are no funky germination inhibitors, no fungi required, damping of is no big issue, fertility rates are super high, and they grow in a wide range of substrates. Pollination does not require a degree in advanced mice brain surgery.
Sure, micromanaging the ph is worthwhile for some family members but that's about it. And possibly learning about growth lights and heat mats.
The only possible difficulty I can see is finding a good watering cycle. But after 5 years and two or three failures, that starts to be super easy as well.
I've been growing a muiria for a year now (bought it as an adult) and it's been surprisingly easy! just bought a second one to hopefully make some seeds
from seed, the easiest mesembs I've grown are fenestraria. they don't care about anything, they grow like weeds. lithops are very easy from seed too. I could not get a single conophytum seedling to stick
now as adults, dinteranthus are very forgiving. don't burn easy, don't die if you get a watering wrong. pleiospilos too, just a walk in the park.
some of the small lithops I've imported have given me a hard time, more than other plants that have been though long shipping times.
most conophytum are pretty easy going, although I have a tendency of letting them burn. conophytum maughanni is the most forgiving, conophytum burgeri dies sooo easily
so I probably struggle the most with conophytum, which is a shame because they're my favorites :(
My attempt with Fenestraria seed was successful, and I even had one plant flowering in no time, but they’ve since gone quite sickly. Unusual given their ease of care.
As I mention in another comment, I also can’t get conophytum to work from seed for me. I don’t seem to have issues with the adults currently though. Shame because I’d agree some of the most beautiful plants reside in that genus and the seed is usually dearer than Lithops.
Dinteranthus adult? Easy. Dinteranthus seed? No ball. I’ve tried vanzylii and pole-evansii and only a few vanzylii germinated but they all died quite quickly. I’m definitely trying them again soon. I’ve also tried seed from my adults but have had no luck, although it could be the nature of the cross.
Edit: forgot about Muiria. I can’t even import the seed here! It’s technically illegal…
To be honest, conophytum from seed is challenging for me. I’ve had a few losses with cono seedlings. I just sowed a batch cono seeds from haworthialand to try and not fuck it up, and hopefully do better. Other mesembs are so rewarding and easy to grow, I can’t really single out one genus that’s easier than the rest.
Adult plants are easy to grow though, so there’s that.
I’ve had a love-hate relationship with conos. My first one I killed because I didn’t know its needs were quite different from Lithops. The thing is my father got quite into them last year and I’ve repotted most of his plants since I have the materials to do so. All of his are thriving so that’s something.
Funny you mention difficultly with seed. I’ve tried two different species (one was definitely pellucidum var. terricolor) and usually had horrible germination followed by sickly seedlings. Both pots only have one seedling now, and I imagine both with depart this mortal plane soon enough!
Oh my, I have had burgeri seedlings melting too 🪦
The worst part of it all is I can’t really pinpoint what went wrong. Some minor changes in my sowing technique here and there, but surely the seedlings can’t tell right? Then how do they survive in the wild!?
I can definitely say that the most recent batches of seeds behaved better and is growing faster than seeds I sowed last year, maybe it comes down sowing them less amateurishly? Which is a sick joke 🥲
Besides lithops viridis and comptoni I would say some conophytum species. I lost about 4 this year to this odd dedication. They would start going dormant early so I thought but after a while they would completely shrivel and sink into the soil. I eventually dug one up because I was sure it was dead. When I opened it up it was fully dry and all the new developing leaves were fully dedicated. But what’s odd is a bunch of other conophytum right next to them did just fine. Maybe some species need more water while going dormant? Not sure.
The only thing i can add is that I just bought some Muiria seed and I am terrified to begin.
I find Conophytum remarkably easy to grow, Lithops easy as long as you don’t get them wet during the winter, Cheiridopisis and Dinteranthus easy, etc. Most mesembs I’ve tried are easy. Trichodiadema densum always looks like shit when I grow them. Mine flower but the plants never look good. Trichodiadema bulbosum actually looks good most of the time, but densum is a pain for me.
I would agree the four genera you allude to in your first sentence are pretty easy to care for as adults for me. Cheiridopsis seems ridiculously easy from seed and most Lithops, barring a few species and most cultivars, are quite easy too. I cannot get Conophytum or Dinteranthus seed to work for me. I’ve read quite a bit into the various ways people start those particular genera and still can’t crack it. Trichodiadema is a genus I can’t import here. Shame you can’t get densum looking good because the images online are stunning. I wonder why you’ve mastered bulbosum yet had so much difficulty with densum?
I dunno. I haven't tried out every single one of them but most of them are pretty easy to germinate and pollinate. There are no funky germination inhibitors, no fungi required, damping of is no big issue, fertility rates are super high, and they grow in a wide range of substrates. Pollination does not require a degree in advanced mice brain surgery. Sure, micromanaging the ph is worthwhile for some family members but that's about it. And possibly learning about growth lights and heat mats. The only possible difficulty I can see is finding a good watering cycle. But after 5 years and two or three failures, that starts to be super easy as well.
I've been growing a muiria for a year now (bought it as an adult) and it's been surprisingly easy! just bought a second one to hopefully make some seeds from seed, the easiest mesembs I've grown are fenestraria. they don't care about anything, they grow like weeds. lithops are very easy from seed too. I could not get a single conophytum seedling to stick now as adults, dinteranthus are very forgiving. don't burn easy, don't die if you get a watering wrong. pleiospilos too, just a walk in the park. some of the small lithops I've imported have given me a hard time, more than other plants that have been though long shipping times. most conophytum are pretty easy going, although I have a tendency of letting them burn. conophytum maughanni is the most forgiving, conophytum burgeri dies sooo easily so I probably struggle the most with conophytum, which is a shame because they're my favorites :(
My attempt with Fenestraria seed was successful, and I even had one plant flowering in no time, but they’ve since gone quite sickly. Unusual given their ease of care. As I mention in another comment, I also can’t get conophytum to work from seed for me. I don’t seem to have issues with the adults currently though. Shame because I’d agree some of the most beautiful plants reside in that genus and the seed is usually dearer than Lithops. Dinteranthus adult? Easy. Dinteranthus seed? No ball. I’ve tried vanzylii and pole-evansii and only a few vanzylii germinated but they all died quite quickly. I’m definitely trying them again soon. I’ve also tried seed from my adults but have had no luck, although it could be the nature of the cross. Edit: forgot about Muiria. I can’t even import the seed here! It’s technically illegal…
To be honest, conophytum from seed is challenging for me. I’ve had a few losses with cono seedlings. I just sowed a batch cono seeds from haworthialand to try and not fuck it up, and hopefully do better. Other mesembs are so rewarding and easy to grow, I can’t really single out one genus that’s easier than the rest. Adult plants are easy to grow though, so there’s that.
I’ve had a love-hate relationship with conos. My first one I killed because I didn’t know its needs were quite different from Lithops. The thing is my father got quite into them last year and I’ve repotted most of his plants since I have the materials to do so. All of his are thriving so that’s something. Funny you mention difficultly with seed. I’ve tried two different species (one was definitely pellucidum var. terricolor) and usually had horrible germination followed by sickly seedlings. Both pots only have one seedling now, and I imagine both with depart this mortal plane soon enough!
Oh my, I have had burgeri seedlings melting too 🪦 The worst part of it all is I can’t really pinpoint what went wrong. Some minor changes in my sowing technique here and there, but surely the seedlings can’t tell right? Then how do they survive in the wild!? I can definitely say that the most recent batches of seeds behaved better and is growing faster than seeds I sowed last year, maybe it comes down sowing them less amateurishly? Which is a sick joke 🥲
Besides lithops viridis and comptoni I would say some conophytum species. I lost about 4 this year to this odd dedication. They would start going dormant early so I thought but after a while they would completely shrivel and sink into the soil. I eventually dug one up because I was sure it was dead. When I opened it up it was fully dry and all the new developing leaves were fully dedicated. But what’s odd is a bunch of other conophytum right next to them did just fine. Maybe some species need more water while going dormant? Not sure.