Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Desert Rose caudex shriveled ... help!, 2 by djohn1996

djohn1996 wrote:
This Desert Rose is a less common color and double bloom, so I especially want to save it. It\'s hard to tell in the pic (perhaps more visible on the left), but the caudex is shriveling up and I need help figuring out why. I lifted it to check for root rot, but the roots look ok to my non-expert eyes. For context, it\'s a fairly young/small plant (~10\" above soil), looked fine when I bought it 3 months ago, gets enough sun but not too much, is in appropriate soil (perlite, sand, etc.), is watered once a week with captured rainwater, and gets indirect spray from heavy rains which we\'ve had at least 1-2 times a week the last few months (it\'s just under the overhang of our screened porch). Since it didn\'t appear to be rot, I figured it might be insufficient water so I gave it a little more watering the last 2 weeks, but leaves started yellowing and dropping (wasn\'t happening before). I doubt there\'s much more time before it gets to the point that it\'s too far gone to save, so I greatly appreciate any expert advice.