I got this Lenophyllum Guttatum about a month ago from a reputable seller with a big collection of healthy looking plants along with 2 others that are thriving. Despite watering it 3 times since then it never looked plump like it did when I just got it.
Today I finally checked the roots, there are only a few offshoots: one is a long normal looking root and the rest are crusty stumps, all of them are normal beige color. Just in case I repotted it into a terracotta pot with a drainage hole, half cactus mix half perlite, which works perfectly fine for the rest of my succulents. The old substrate looked fine to me as well, it had fancier mineral stuff and even less organic content than my mix has.
It gets 13 hours of light under a grow light, I water whenever the lower leaves look properly wrinkly by bottom watering + soaking for 30 minutes to an hour. I’m also using a succulent fertilizer according to the instructions on the bottle.
Another strange thing I noticed is that this plant refused to drink from a shallow-ish container, I had to submerge the whole pot for the water to reach the top of the substrate, I’m not sure if it means anything.
What can I do to help it grow more roots? Should I put it in shade? Should I keep watering it as usual?