I am growing A. trifurcata for the first time, and in a trough. It also protested wildly when I planted it. I was wondering if I was going to lose it. But it is absolutely thriving now. Maybe it is just the nature of the beast. I did nothing different to try to save it. Hope someone with real experience will answer.

Rick

Was yours yellow? Should I move it to a trough?

Silly that I didn't say that in my first post. Yes, I'd say about 3/4 of it turned yellow. Strange now that I think of it, all or most of the yellow ones turned back to green (later). There were hardly any browning as a result. That's pretty unusual for stressed out yellow leaves of any species to turn back to green. Usually they die and new ones grow.

Of course yellowing would not be an indication of lack of light. The plant would get leggy (and whimpy). My trough gets about a half day of sun. If you do have excellently draining soil, which is best for alpines, my guess is that it hasn't established yet and it needs more water. But only you can tell if it needs more or less water. But no fertilizing!