For all save the hottest zones, growing live stones in pots is preferred. Cactus mix or potting soil with added sand are required for lithops.
Before adding moisture, the potting medium must dry, and the pot must be placed in as much light as possible. For optimal light entry, place the plant in a southern-facing window.
Division or seed can be used for propagation, while seed-grown plants take a long time to take root and several years to resemble their parent plants. Both seeds and seedlings are available from succulent nurseries and online. Even large-scale nurseries frequently stock mature plants.
Similar to cactus, lithops demand well-drained soil. Use specialized cactus potting soil or add sharp sand, perlite, decomposed granite, or other grit to standard houseplant potting soil to help with drainage. These plants require a larger container than their apparent size would suggest because of their enormous root systems. To provide the roots enough room to expand, pots with drain holes and a depth of 3 to 5 inches are advised. Instead of having the plant’s top directly on the soil’s surface as it would in nature, place it just a little bit above it. For a more natural appearance, several growers topdress the plant with gravel or surround it with stones. Lithops go through a yearly cycle of growth, and it’s important to water them just when necessary and let the soil dry up at other times. The main factor contributing to early death is overwatering. They decay or grow new bodies at the incorrect time of year when there is too much water present. They become stunted if there is insufficient water. Depending on how quickly the potting medium dries out, you need to water more frequently. Generally speaking, water the plant and let it air dry completely (probably 1-2 weeks). After that, wait a few more days before watering once more. If unsure, don’t! The best time to water is in the morning because this allows the excess water to evaporate and the top soil layers to dry out fairly quickly. Here are some general watering recommendations (though species may affect these slightly):
- from late spring to summer, water.
- Stop watering the plant in the summer when it turns dormant. Only water until the top half inch of the soil is moist if the plant truly starts to shrivel. This will restore the plant’s firm appearance.
- Watering should be resumed in late summer or early fall when plants begin to develop and bloom again. When the slit between the leaves starts to open up in anticipation of flowering, that is the first indication of growth.
- Lithops need to be completely dry during the winter and spring. Stop watering the plant so that the old leaf pair can dry out and make way for the new pair. The new body should be discernible by early April. Once the remains of the previous body have totally dried out and shriveled, watering can be resumed. The plant won’t grow properly if water is given too soon since the old “leaves” will want to continue to grow. Keep in mind that when the new leaves are developing, the old ones should completely dry out.
Fertilize Use a low nitrogen, high potassium kind of lithops. Lithops can withstand extremely high temperatures provided there is sufficient abundance of fresh air. Don’t ever let the plants freeze.
Today, specialty succulent nurseries sell seeds, plants, and a wide variety of cultivars. They sprout from seeds swiftly, and under ideal circumstances, they can be anticipated to flower in 3 to 4 years. The seeds should be sown on sandy soil during the summer and covered with a very thin layer of fine sand. Water the small seeds sparingly to avoid moving them. Keep the contents damp but not soggy and place the container in a warm, sunny location. In a few weeks, the first seeds should begin to sprout (but germination may be spread out over a long period of time, with stragglers taking as long as a year). Once the seedlings are growing quickly, watering should be reduced such that the upper 1/4 of the medium dries out and the lower 1/4 remains moist. Water sparingly during this time because too much watering could dampen off the seedlings. Start allowing the plants totally dry out for a few days between waterings when they are 2 to 3 months old, and then gradually extend the drying period. When the baby plants are around a year old, they can be transplanted. Another way to multiply lithops is to divide a multiheaded plant. Lift the plant, make a clean incision through the roots, and then quickly replant it. University of Wisconsin-Madison student Susan Mahr
Can I grow Lithops in succulent soil?
However, these individuals in particular typically need even more specialised soil types. They are just rocks, as you can see. rocks that gradually enlarge. Rocks gravitate toward other rocks. For this reason, we advise using a growing medium that has very little organic matter when you plant your Lithops. It’s acceptable to use half succulent soil and half perlite, but the less soil you use, the better. For Lithopsis, a growing media rich in perlite, coarse sand, gravel, pumice, and/or lava rocks is ideal. Soil should make up around 1/5 of the medium, with the remainder being mineral. In actuality, Lithops thrive in a soilless environment. It turns that they don’t really need dirt.
How are live stones planted?
If pollinators are present or you’re willing to manually pollinate the plants using a little paintbrush, Lithops blossoms mature into a seed capsule. For effective cross-pollination, make sure to transfer pollen from one plant to another. It takes the lithops seed 8 to 9 months to mature completely inside the capsule. Pick the capsule up and crack it apart with a hard instrument to release the seed when it is dry but before it cracks open (don’t worry, you won’t harm the seeds inside). Although living stone plants grown from seeds are very easy to germinate, they take several years to reach a flowering maturity.
Make use of a cactus-specific potting mix while planting lithops seeds. Sand should be used to very lightly cover the seeds, and frequent misting with a pump-style mister should be used to maintain moisture. It’s important to prevent the soil’s surface from drying out. Keep a transparent plastic wrap over the pot until the lithops seeds start to sprout, which could take several months.
When growing lithops from seed, you’ll occasionally find fascinating natural hybrids with unusual color patterns that are often distinct from their parents. When the tiny plants are a few months old, divide and pot them.
How to Repot Lithops “Living Stones”
Known as “alive stones,” “living rocks,” and “blooming stones,” lithops are mimicry plants. In order to avoid being eaten by animals during periods of drought in their native habitat of southern Africa, these strange succulent plants have evolved to resemble stones and rocks. In part motivated by the book Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars, I recently presented one to my nephew in the hope that the plant would inspire something in him. I was phoned and told the plant had fallen out of the pot before he could receive it. I was given the job of repotting the Lithops plant because I’m the family’s resident expert on indoor plants.
Yes, what you see here are the plant’s leaves, and this is actually a plant. Lithops must carry out photosynthesis on a small piece of the plant’s top that is exposed above earth as they grow mostly submerged.
They are from a dry region, so For such tiny plants, lithops have taproots that are relatively lengthy. In addition to helping plants get more firmly rooted in the ground, taproots also aid in allowing moisture to reach lower in the surrounding soil. When selecting a pot for your Lithops plants, use one that is deeper; 3-5 inches should be adequate depth. Keep in mind that Lithops are native to regions with little rainfall, where they store moisture in their leaves.
You should choose a quick-draining, grittier soil mixture. I’m using a bonsai mixture because I think succulent plants go well with it. For a succulent like Lithops, I believe commercial cactus and succulent potting mixtures include too much organic material. To make room for the taproot and tapered body of the plant, poke a hole in the dirt with your finger after nearly filling the pot to the brim.
You’re done when you insert the Lithops into the hole made by your finger and compact the earth around the plant. Lithops are quite simple to pot, or in this case, repot. At this time, save watering your Lithops for when they really need it. When you try to simulate how Lithops would develop in the natural by scattering stones and pebbles of all sizes among your plant, you can really understand the mimicry of the species.
Living stone plants are the perfect succulents for growing on windowsills where they may be admired because of their little size, peculiar forms, and clumping behavior as they age. Lithops require full sunlight, which means they need at least six hours every day of direct sunlight. In the summer, I would keep one in an east-facing window where it receives some daily direct sunlight. Moving them to the south-facing window in the winter reduces the risk of them burning and provides additional light. When new leaves are forming on your Lithops from winter to spring, avoid watering them. The live rock plant is currently utilizing the moisture that is stored in the aging leaves that will be replaced. When the plant is extremely dry in the summer and fall, watering is done. As in the instance of my Argyroderma delaetii, living stone plants that receive too much water split. A word of warning: if you become hooked on cultivating live stones, you can also get hooked on rock hunting.