I have many houseplants and succulents, but wanted to branch out & have been thinking about a desert rose for some time. I picked up a small one yesterday, and have a few questions just to make sure I'm on the right page. There's so much conflicting info out there!

1: is gritty mix the best option? I usually mix a bit more turface into mine to make up for the fact that I can't always water every two days. It usually ends up happening twice a week. Should I repot and prune off yellow leaves now, or keep it in peat (eww!) Until a better time of year?

2: in zone 6a, when should I expect a dormancy period?

3: I like the irregular shape of the caudex compared to most of the others it was with, that all had nice little round ones. I don't know if this is considered undesirable, but I usually prefer asymmetry, so this one was calling my name. Is there anything I needed to do to keep it from rounding out, or once they are shaped, will they hold that relative form as they grow?

4:how can I tell if this is a grafted plant? Are most of the commercially available plants grafted? It definitely has been chopped.