TY for the comments! Yes, Kate, it was a pic like that which got me thinking of using the species at my disposal to experiment. (There's at least a dozen more in the "lawn.")
I'm just not sure if raising the roots is "cheating" as far as calling a plant a "fat plant" or if that's just one method to have one for a species that wouldn't do that naturally. Unless raised to expose the fat roots, the plant I'm playing with, T. paniculatum, doesn't make an above-ground fat caudex, at least in my zone. Winter knocks it down to the ground. I think I'll have to bring this inside or at least protect on the coldest nights now that the roots are exposed. Not sure on that, should probably get a 2nd one potted to experiment...
Other plants, like Adenium & Beaucarnea are definitely "real" fat plants.
Deborah, I'm anal about deadheading because my yard is pretty small and there's not much else to do, so I've never had a seedling, but have heard others lament they had to remove this plant from gardens because of too many seedlings. I'm not a fan, generally, of plants that drop a lot of seeds either. It's a valid warning!
