Lithops Stories

lithops can get confused sometimes

2012-02-02T19:46:00.000+01:00

I always thought if an adult lithops decides to change it's skin two times in one season it was getting way too much food and is now acting out. This mightn't be the only reason. Out of some kind of disbalance this fulviceps has now 3 sets of leaves, even though it grows in pure and poor pumice and didn't get fertilizer more than once over the year. I guess the glitch started when it decided to push a flower in early August last year.

difficulties with comptonii?

2012-02-01T08:55:00.000+01:00

The first sentence on comptonii in Lithops - Treasures of the Veld by S. Hammer reads as follows: "Small plant, usually 1-2 headed or dead." This isn't very encouraging, is it? I've bought two plants recently and am ready for the challenge. One of them is already showing the new head, the other isn't yet. I've read some tips but will probably just watch them closely and act on it.

The dark grey and rose combination looks very lovely even on the old leaves.

green gold

2012-01-31T21:07:00.002+01:00

I just couldn't resist taking a picture! The brand-new fulviceps 'Aurea' leaves are breathtaking. The plants are utterly beautiful with those fresh green dots and bright golden lines. :)

Heads-up: I've added a new option of subscribing to this blog via email. Also, there are new links in the "useful websites" list: Flowering Stones (lots of info on lithops and their cultivation in English), Mesa Garden (the seedlist 2012 is up!) and an article on growing lithops by Steven Hammer.

more seedlings

2012-01-31T20:22:00.000+01:00

It's freezing outside. But everything the plants notice is a sunny day after such a long time. Maybe it is the light but it really feels like they don't waste any moment of it and start growing right away. :)

Lesliei v. burchelii (June babies) start to regenerate all at once. What I sweet sight!

rainbow bromfieldii

2012-01-28T14:09:00.001+01:00

My bromfieldii seedlings from 2010 have made it through the regeneration safely and a little bit too soon. Looking at them now it is surprising how much the colors vary at this stage. I'd love to see them grow quicker and they would probably gladly do so if watered. Only during this dark time of the year they'd grow into cucumbers and we don't want that ;)

One-year-old lesliei 'Fred's Redhead' have grown a lot since the last time I uploaded a picture of them. A winter growth spurt isn't that welcome though. To avoid further growing in 'height' they still aren't getting any water. I really need them to go sleep now.

brushing the dust off of the lithops

2012-01-26T16:58:00.002+01:00

It's cloudy and cold outside but the lithops are doing their thing. Even though the regeneration advances very slowly I'm a bit worried it might be too quick. After the extra 'meat' is gone they will need water eventually, which I can't give them until there's enough sunlight for them to grow nicely.

(gracilidelineata seedlings from 2009)

(pseudotruncatella seedlings from 2008)

waiting for spring

2012-01-20T19:50:00.001+01:00

You have to be very patient dealing with lithops. Everything is in slow motion. It seems the regeneration takes ages! Still, something is going on in there.

tiny flowers

2012-01-10T19:34:00.002+01:00

Hope you all had a good start into the new year!

After 3 weeks away there's not much change among the plants. Only some seedlings had a sudden and unfortunate growth spurt but later about that.

The Titanopsis calcarea have actually waited for me. The tiny flowers are so lovely. I've expected yellow color but it seems to vary from plant to plant. One of the flowers is of a light rose, almost translucent.

You can see it's winter from the photos. The colors feel quite melancholic.

Happy Holidays!!

2011-12-24T13:59:00.001+01:00

All the best wishes to you, your families and loved ones and your plants :)

unexpected but surely most welcome

2011-12-18T13:54:00.001+01:00

Except for lithops I only own two other succulents: a couple of Sempervivum that are very dear to me and these two tiny Titanopsis plants (probably calcarea). I'm not even sure the latter get the care they need, I just handle them like lithops. Still, looks like they are doing quite well - there are flower buds coming up :)
Very slowly though.. I'm not at home for the holidays and probably won't see the flowers.

now there's no room for more

2011-12-14T10:33:00.003+01:00

Here is the report on the new purchases. Considering all those many lithops species being sold at Kakteen-Haage my choice wasn't that special. After all you have to stay in your budget and think about how little space you have for new plants. Having to buy at least two plants of one species (known as the collector's curse) is also a restricting factor. I'm really glad I could choose the plants myself though - a privilege you don't have very often having used to ordering online. This way you can go for plants you find most interesting or feel curious about. However, it is a bit difficult this time of the year when the plants are badly wrinkled, the patterns are blurred and the colors faded. You need to imagine the potential ;)

First a couple of C136 hallii v. hallii "brown". I have a weakness for cocoa-colored hallii and already have a couple of ochracea seedlings which are just starting to show their true colors.

As I mentioned before I just had to get the julii ssp. fulleri v. fulleri 'Kikushōgyoku'. The wrong spelling common in western nurseries is kikushogiyoku and it's 菊章玉 in japanese in case you'd like to google it. The dark color of the wide windows and the patterns are very beautiful. See here and here.

Next are two comptonii. I didn't have any before. They are of a lovely shade of dark blue and violet.

Dorotheae C300 isn't rare per se but I went for a couple of plants with unusually scarce markings.

last flowers for this season

2011-12-11T14:59:00.000+01:00

Came back just in time to see the helmutii bloom :)

about my plant list

2011-12-09T17:41:00.002+01:00

I've finally made a proper list of the lithops I own which now can be viewed here or via a link in the navigation bar to the right. I'll try to update it regularly. Most of the plants listed are provided with a link to an entry here in the blog where you can see pictures or other descriptions. I think it should help you get an overview of the blog and help me see what I'm actually growing :)

Kakteen Haage 2

2011-12-08T17:16:00.002+01:00

A couple of days ago I've been to the Kakteen-Haage nursery in Erfurt again. Less photos, more purchases this time. :)
As you can see on the photo below, the lithops section was full. It had all different kinds of them to choose from. I was intrigued by so many but had to restrain myself (lithops are an expensive hobby!). Saw a lot of cultivars, aucampiae 'Betty's Beryl'/'Storm's Snowcap', lesliei 'albiflora'/'albinica', bromfieldii 'Sulphurea', terricolor 'Aurea' etc. etc. as well as rarely available herrei, francisci, geyeri, werneri, verruculosa and comptonii. I was very surprised to find julii 'Kikushōgyoku' I've been looking for everywhere (photos later). If you're somewhere near I'd really recommend to stop by there now because they've clearly updated their assortment recently i.e. put younger plants out for sale.
Anyway, I haven't taken any lithops pictures (they were too many) but there are pictures of conophytum under the cut. Click "read more" ;) (also see more photos from Kakteen-Haage)

Here some very pricey melocacti!

seedlings update

2011-11-24T16:58:00.003+01:00

Since I've been documeting this kind of thing before here's a new report on the seedlings from 2010 and 2011. The conclusion so far is that it isn't a good idea to sow in summer. Depends on the summer, of course. I read about it but now I can tell from experience. The one year old seedlings are doing much better than those I sowed during the very hot April or in summer. That's why the next bunch will probably follow in January. But now to the report. :)

You can tell how C382 bromfieldii v. glaudinae (sown 29.10.2010) have grown since August. The largest are about to change their leaves for the 3rd time. The rest of them have just done it for the 2nd time, while the one on top of the photo is taking its time. Same pot, same conditions, different outcome. Lithops are funny like that.

Next to the C141 lesliei ssp. lesliei v. mariae (sown 23.10.2010), which are getting their 3rd pair of leaves.

Summer kids, C308 lesliei ssp. burchellii (sown 24.06.2011) are in some kind of a stasis right now but they've really grown since August.

C388 steineckeana (sown 28.01.2011) look very pretty. I don't think there will be much change in their appearance in the future except for the size. Curious plants they are.

Last but not least, lesliei 'Fred's Redhead' (sown 28.01.2011) again with a better picture. :)

PS: The seedlings from 2008 and 2009 are in the middle of changing their skin right now. I'll blog about them later.

new flower

2011-11-23T19:20:00.000+01:00

It didn't take long.

it's helmutii-time

2011-11-21T08:50:00.000+01:00

Just a little sunshine and the flowers open. This C271 helmutii is in bloom for the first time on my watch :)

more to come

2011-11-20T12:41:00.002+01:00

I'm going to repeat myself but these helmutii are my constant source of joy. :) They've been blooming like crazy last year. This year the situation seemed to be different. After all the bugs, aggressive root-washing, transplanting I didn't expect them to flower and stopped watering sometime in September. Now, two months later, they look like typical winter-lithops, wrinkly and slowly growing new leaves inside. Or so I thought. Instead they've decided to surprise me! At least three out of five heads are pushing flowers right now. And the flower on the four-headed one is about to open any day now.

Bought them 2010 in Japan because of the unusual beige coloring and spotted pattern for a helmutii.

wrinkly but flowery

2011-11-19T16:18:00.000+01:00

Otzeniana has flowers.... for the second time this year. :)

new tenants

2011-11-18T12:04:00.001+01:00

Well, relatively new tenants. Several weeks ago I bought some plants from Kakteen-Haage and Atomic Plant Nursery but didn't have a chance to take pictures.

Since I didn't have any schwantesii in my collection it was about time to get a couple of those. Unfortunately because of the bad light and their winterly-wrinkly condition it is hard to see the pattern but they are really quite interesting.

C249 schwantesii v. marthae (from KH) have a red core and a light green crown around the lobes. I got them with flower buds and pollinated them once the flowers opened.

C248 schwantesii v. urikosensis (syn. kunjasensis) (from AP) have very distinguished karasmontana-ish dark lines.

Two two-headed C55 olivacea (from AT). Didn't have those before either - such unusual windows.

C53 hookeri v. marginata (from AT). I've had some losses among my own hookeri and obviously needed more :) Fun fact: the famous 'Shimada's Apricot' cultivar originates from C53.

C224 karasmontana v. aiaisensis (from KH) also had flower buds which have meanwhile turned into nice seed capsules.

PS: I've found more helmutii with growing flower buds recently. This is really great but I'm afraid it is a bit to late and they won't open. The plants themselves are already very wrinkly.

violet heads

2011-11-10T14:40:00.000+01:00

Eleven months old Fred's Redhead lesliei present their first 'true' leaves. They are a little dusty but you can see how unusual the color is: more violet than red and very dark. Looking forward to see them all grown-up one day.

weak plants, no flowers

2011-11-10T09:18:00.000+01:00

I'm late with a new post again. It's winterly cold and dark outside, we've been having heavy fog since two days. No sunshine can break through it. I feel bad for my plants. As you remember I was fighting mealy-bugs a couple of months ago, leading to the fact that, even though many plants have developed flower buds, most of them didn't have the strength to develop them fully and they've dried out half-finished. Them being weak might be partly my fault, I just forget to fertilize (need to work on this next year). Still, several of those were flowering and some I considered too weak anyway are still pushing flowers! Unfortunately it is a bit to late now that there's no sunshine, but I see it as a good sign for the plants themselves.

This helmutii had 11 heads last year, but after heaving been nibbled on and transplanted two times last year, there were only seven left. The plant looks much better now and develops flower buds very quickly at the moment.

Kakteen Haage

2011-11-01T17:12:00.001+01:00

Sorry for not writing for so long. I'm still around, as well as the plants. They haven't been watered since some time preparing for winter and are wrinkly and weird now, even though some are still pushing flowers.

Meanwhile I've visited the oldest cactus nursery in Europe - "Kakteen Haage" in Erfurt which made me wish I had more room in my appartment and less room in my wallet. I've only bought four lithops there and will show them later along with other new tenants.

There are several greenhouses in the nursery with lots and lots of cacti. My knowledge of those is quite limited so please check out the pictures.

Click "read more" to see all of them:

The entrance doesn't look like much but the greenhouses are huge.

The succulent section.

The lithops table.

Some amazingly big and expensive caudex plants.

How old might this dioscorea be?

The cacti greenhouses.

Didn't know what to make photos of so here are some cute tiny plants (mostly Ariocarpus) which I find pretty pricy for the size. They must be something special, I thought.

lithops problems

2011-08-29T19:31:00.004+02:00

As a lithops owner you know how difficult it is to find the best care in the conditions you can provide. It takes time and attention and works only by trial and error. Too hot, too cold, too wet - the plants life and wellbeing depends on the right balance. And still, even if you think you've figured it out, lithops can surprise you, in a positive as well as in a negative way. Sometimes they wither without any warning and sometimes a plant you've almost given up survives and gets better. Here's an example of the latter:

The fulviceps v. lactinea (C222) from this bunch refused to regenerate for almost two years and now you can say it looks "very interesting" at best. I didn't have much hope for it and yet it's still alive and is pushing up two heads of new leaves!

Its neighbor had the same problem but is a bit further along. Never give up on these guys :)

Transplanting a lithops (video)

2011-08-24T10:55:00.001+02:00

I'm fighting mealy-bugs again. Is there a way to get rid of them for good? It is an epic battle, really. The only good thing about mealy-bugs is that they kill slowly and you can rescue the plant in time if you notice them (which means you notice that the plant isn't doing so well). The bad thing is they just crawl back from other pots. Re-potting the whole collection and growing them in vacuum after that may help, I guess. Is there something you can add to the soil mix or something that can be dissolved in water to keep them away? Spraying is obviously pointless.

On this occasion I've made a video on how to transplant a lithops plant into pumice/bims. Some people seem to have troubles with it. It works best if the stones aren't dry as dust (but also not wet, of course). The pumice you see in the video is just like it comes from cono's paradise.

bromfieldii seedlings

2011-08-19T09:13:00.000+02:00

It's been way too hot these couple of days. My youngest seedlings burn without a shade and get cooked with it. If it doesn't get cooler today they'll have to move under my table lamp or something (I really need a bigger apartment).

These bromfieldii v. glaudinae are just a little younger than lesliei v. mariae, but a couple of them have already changed for the second time.

little gracili

2011-08-13T12:23:00.002+02:00

Continuing the posts about seedlings, here come the gracilidelineata which are one year younger than the plants from the previous post (more here).

There are three more of them but weaker and therefore in the "magic pot" (It IS magical! I put all the weak plants in it and they just start to thrive!)

first seedlings

2011-08-12T09:36:00.000+02:00

My very first seedlings are already 3 years old. They might be to small for their age but since they're my first attempt I very proud of them. You can see more of these guys here. ;)

flower XXL

2011-08-10T19:12:00.002+02:00

Amazing how huge a lithops flower can get after only a couple of days!

Update on the other helmutii

2011-08-09T08:42:00.000+02:00

Here is the guy that got me worried in winter. Old leaves have grown too big so I've cut them open to prevent the new ones from doing so as well. It all went well but I see now that this helmutii family tends to get fat and needs a diat from time to time.

And here is the one with a weird head I've shown you before.

yesterday

2011-08-08T09:45:00.001+02:00

Otzeniana flower

venteri x3

2011-08-07T13:48:00.002+02:00

I've bought these lithops a while ago (back when I still had a little space for them). Have I mentioned I liked lesliei? Well, the reason for this purchase was to obtain some sort of a venteri set :)

They do look similar, only differ from each other in the window size, I guess. Can you say, without reading the captions, which ones are C001, C047 or C153? ;)

To complete the set there's also a venteri C001A, 'Ventergreen', featured here before.

helmotzeniana

2011-08-06T09:38:00.004+02:00

The five-headed helmutii has gotten huge compared to April.

L. otzeniana wasn't that lucky this year: it had to deal with mealy bugs, was weakened and lost a couple of heads. It is about to bloom at the moment but I'm not sure if it's a good sign or a swan song.

seedlings report

2011-08-03T09:07:00.001+02:00

Just a quick update on this year's seedlings :)

I've sown these two species on the 28th of January. They should be around five months old now and are in the middle of changing into their first 'real' leaves.

Lesliei 'Fred's Redhead' are really very dark, as you can see from the one kid that has already changed. I'm very excited to see them all renewed, can't be long now. (There are 14 seedlings out of 16 sown seeds)

Steineckeana are further along and almost look like grown-ups with their very specific shape. (23 seedlings out of 24 seeds)

The next two were sown in April and don't look like much yet.

Lesliei 'Greenhorn' (44 seedlings out of 50 seeds harvested in February)

Lesliei 'Ventergreen' (11 seedlings out of 12 seeds). These are from a seed capsule I believed to be empty. The parent plant didn't have a partner so I assumed any possible seeds wouldn't be viable. They've germinated just fine, can't wait to see what they look like after the change.

The most recent lesliei ssp. burchellii C308 were sown in late June (50 out of 50). Pumice really works great. After the germination there are no losses at all even though I don't care for them other than watering and providing a shade when it's too sunny.

I've sown optica 'Rubra' C287 and julii ssp. fulleri 'kousougyoku' on Saturday. Will report as soon as there's something to report :)

fulviflower

2011-08-02T09:12:00.001+02:00

Absolutely forgot to post a picture of the fulviceps. It was taken on the 1st of July. There's a seed capsule now but probably empty.

finally a sunny day

2011-08-01T18:26:00.001+02:00

Here we go
(click for bigger pic)

growing

2011-07-31T13:55:00.004+02:00

The lesliei v. mariae C141 I sowed back in October are getting bigger and bigger, even though they haven't changed leaves for the second time yet. I've just transplanted them into new square pots, six plants in each. Four pots all in all (will need more space soon).

I'm especially curious about the one greenie among them. It could grow into something interesting :)

de Boer flower

2011-07-31T13:26:00.001+02:00

I've been away for a week, and seven days ago there weren't even flower buds visible. Now they are fully developed and ready to flower (surprise!). If only the sun would come out for a little while.

One of them flowered last year, if you remember. I'm glad they're both at it this time - very early but synchronously :)

strange formations

2011-07-30T10:30:00.003+02:00

It's been a while. The lithops are as fine as they can be, a couple are flowering. This post isn't about them though.

There is a succulent family in my parents' garden that is going crazy this summer. Compared to the plant itself the whole flower-formation is enormous! Anybody knows how they're called?

first flower this year

2011-06-26T23:04:00.000+02:00

It didn't take long :)

early bird 2

2011-06-24T13:38:00.001+02:00

Funny thing, I've discovered two more lithops with flower buds. Quite unusual for this time of the year. Recently we've been having very fall-like weather so maybe, after pretty hot and sunny May and April, the plants think it is already time to flower.

early bird

2011-06-21T11:13:00.000+02:00

This gesinae is going to flower now for the second time under my watch, and even earlier than the last time (which was in August). Lithops can surprise like that :)

YS de Boer

2011-05-24T10:22:00.000+02:00

Mr. Shimada's de Boer are again slightly different.

different dorotheae

2011-05-23T21:30:00.000+02:00

Chocolaty de Boer and nobly pale C300.

Dorotheae de Boer are from the Succulent Expo in Tokyo 2010.

white nymph

2011-05-20T13:10:00.000+02:00

Yasuhiko Shimada's bromfieldii 'White Nymph'

The plants look just like C279 but have white flowers. I very much hope to see them in the fall.

greenies not so green

2011-05-18T13:26:00.000+02:00

Remember the sulphureas? They've turned out to be quite moody. As briefly mentioned before, we've had summer temperatures and lots and lots of sunlight for several weeks. The sulphureas decided they don't need to deal with this and just went into mid-summer stasis. They're still healthy and firm, no worries there, but I'd like them to grow, not sleep. Funny thing, I had a couple of weaker sulphureas standing in the corner of the window so that they get less sun and they've grown a lot since then. Now I've moved the rest there as well. Hopefully they will like the new location more.
I find the color difference very curious (check out the same plants from the older post).

three and a half heads

2011-05-17T07:23:00.000+02:00

No, these are not the remains of an old leaf, this is the 4th head. Its other half is way down by the roots for some reason. :)

Note to self:

2011-05-16T13:20:00.001+02:00

... don't sow if it's too hot and sunny, lithops don't like it very much.

I was already getting worried as the Green Horn and Ventergreen seeds took their time germinating. But after a couple of rainy days there they came. I'm sure they would germinate even better in the fall: these were harvested in February and might still be a bit too fresh.

L. lesliei v. hornii 'Green Horn'

L. lesliei v. venteri 'Ventergreen'

These were a product of selfing and I actually didn't expect anything to germinate. We'll see how they'll develop.

separated

2011-05-15T20:02:00.001+02:00

I could no longer watch the young lesliei v. mariae squash each other so I've put 6 of them in a separate container. The others should have more space now. And also, I'm curious to see the difference in their development, having read that transplanting young seedlings stimulates them to grow faster i.e. get new leaves sooner.

They are now almost 7 months old, going up to 1cm in length. Please note that the roots are at least 6cm long by now. In case you are planning to sow you should keep this in mind. The pots should indeed be 7-8 cm deep even for such tiny seedlings, or you'll need to repot them very soon.

The pic below is of the "main" container before they got more space :)

top red 2

2011-05-15T17:06:00.000+02:00

Last year in Japan I bought two karasmontana 'Top Red' plants. Back then I was wondering why they differ so much in their looks but now I think the reason lies in the different sources I bought them from. After a year of growing in the same conditions and receiving the same care they look pretty much the same to me.

aurea

2011-05-01T12:16:00.000+02:00

Can you believe it? Another great find in the local garden center. In a very good condition, too ;)

not there yet

2011-04-29T08:41:00.000+02:00

Wondering how much this helmutii has changed in one month? The answer is not much... and a lot. :)

problem case: salicola

2011-04-27T11:24:00.002+02:00

I'm still in the middle of figuring out how to handle salicolas. Here is a recent example. Two plants (C351 and C086), one container, same amount of water and light. One of them went through the annual change just perfectly, the other is freaking out for some reason.

I'm having the same troubles with the 'daikangyoku'.

helmutii update

2011-04-26T14:27:00.000+02:00

Almost two months ago I've promised you an update on a helmutii that has grown way too much in height last year (picture with huge old lobes). I doubt it would have corrected itself. So I've cut it open from the top down to the new tiny leaves inside hoping they would stay low while the old ones dry out. That is exactly what happened. Method approved. Now it only has to stay this way. :)

This is actually a problem I normally have with salicola: they grow in height and nothing can stop them, it seems. (photos soon)

five months later

2011-04-25T13:08:00.002+02:00

Do you remember this post? Last year in October I've tried sowing lithops directly on the pumice stones, which was a big success. Now those tiny seedlings look like this:

They will probably grow on each other's "heads" soon but I'm not sure whether to repot them just now. What do you think?

There's one little monster among them. It will probably outgrow this shape with the next leaves. :)

more two-headed lesliei

2011-04-17T17:17:00.000+02:00

(Pinky and the Brain)

slow but steady

2011-04-05T12:28:00.003+02:00

I'm going back home on Saturday. So for now, since I don't have any new pictures, here comes a set showing the changes in a lesliei this winter.

You don't always notice these changes, but going through so many pictures you sometimes can't help thinking "Wait, this one has actually grown!"

The photos are from November, January, February and March.

two more pictures

2011-04-02T12:29:00.000+02:00

I'll be back home in a week. There should be some changes by then.

more heads

2011-03-30T09:45:00.002+02:00

I've counted 17 plants getting more heads this year. They're mostly lesliei from the bunch I bought as young seedlings back in 2008, but there is also a couple of salicolas, julii and helmutii.

Both julii v. fulleri 'Kōsōgyoku' I bought from Mr. Shimada a year ago are getting two-headed. It looks like this plant had some timing troubles and tried to flower out of the new leaves. I guess, it means no flowers this year. What do you think?

The renewed Ventergreens have just the most wonderful green tee color. I could stare at them for hours haha. Will try to sow more in about two weeks.

The helmutii aren't far along yet but if you look closely you'll see the fifth head!

A couple of the lesliei seedlings I mentioned before. Maybe this year I can finally persuade them to flower.

spring updates

2011-03-29T18:48:00.001+02:00

I'm not at home right now but could snap a couple of pics last week. Some plants are showcasing their brand-new clothes.

This lesliei is a beauty.

Hookeri in need of water.

The weird twisted lesliei still looks a bit off but much better all in all :)

new housemates

2011-03-20T13:58:00.000+01:00

Last week I stopped by a local garden center and couldn't walk past these guys. Quite surprising to see bromfieldii 'Sulphurea' in a simple flower shop. :)

sun, finally

2011-03-12T12:28:00.000+01:00

It is still cold outside, but the sun is shining and the seedlings are growing.

The 'Fred's Redhead' kids are already very red, even though, I think, it's mostly sunburn, not the real color.

shape vs. growing conditions

2011-03-01T13:39:00.002+01:00

Looking through pictures of those beautiful lithops plants grown in greenhouses by professionals, with their perfect sizes, colors and shapes, always makes me wonder if it is possible to achieve that at home on a windowsill. Surely the conditions are different which would affect the process of growth as well as the looks of the plants. But there must be a way to adjust the care to the particular growing conditions and keep the plants not only healthy but also authentically looking. Compact, flat, growing near to the ground, richly colored - that's how we all like them. Reading online about other grower's conditions and looking for tips in books helps a lot, but there's still a lot to figure out on your own, with the conditions and care you are able to provide in mind.

The problem hobby-growers like myself encounter first are plants growing too high, as if looking for the light. It's okay if it is just a little bit, and there are species for those it is absolutely normal, but it can get out of hand and end up badly for the plant (they burst and rot). Basically, the reason they do that is too much water and "food" with too little light. And knowing what 'too much' and 'too little' actually means isn't that easy - trying things out and watching the plants helps to determine what would be the best. Usually it means no water at all for grown-up plants from ca. October until the old leaves have completely dried out sometime in the spring. This way the new leaves can grow and emerge safely, without any unwelcome growth spurts. By the time the change is complete there should be enough natural light for the plant to not grow in the upward direction when watered. The long dry period may seem harsh but lithops have large reserves in the old leaves to bring them through winter. In fact, if watered regularly while the old leaves are still there, they will never dry out and will probably start to rot soon enough. They say that low temperatures in winter are important but I've never tried that (it is also impossible to do on a windowsill) and the plants don't seem to complain.

To keep the new leaves "in shape" it is important to not feed them too much. Normally the lithops soil is very poor (if bought in a store they should be transplanted immediately), which makes it easy to control how much fertilizer to use. When in doubt it's always better to leave it. Same goes for watering. In the hot months you always see if they need more: they are getting wrinkles (small ones don't count: they'll go away the next morning without any moisture) and try to dive under the stones to escape the sun. This is how it should be. If they do that watering once a week shouldn't be a problem. During a cold rainy summer watering once a month or even less would be enough. Also, small pots can be watered more often than large ones. :)

Still, even if you watch them closely, adjusting your 'moves' according to every change in the plant's looks, some may grow too big over the summer. The 'correction method' you find online is quite invasive and risky, but I've tried it this year on a plant. Sometimes the plant corrects itself pushing the new leaves through the side. I guess, this method comes from this observation. Basically you cut the old overgrown leaves open to prevent the new ones from having to grow to the same height as the old body to emerge. I had an overgrown helmutii (even for a helmutii), which I've cut open a couple of months ago. The old body is now much smaller, really soft and wrinkly, while the new leaves are getting bigger without growing upwards. So far, so good. The plant won't get any water until the old leaves are completely gone (I will keep you updated on this one).

klein aber fein

2011-02-27T11:32:00.001+01:00

These plants belong to my very first sowing attempt back in 2008 and, although they look healthy and adult-like, I keep wondering why they are still so small. Maybe it's because they haven't received any fertilizer for the whole year I was in Japan. After all, there's no food to find in pumice. I hope they'll finally get a growth spurt this year.

new babies

2011-02-21T10:55:00.002+01:00

We've had several sunny days lately, and, as impatient as I am, I decided to sow some lithops. Well, it's snowing now, so it was probably too early for that. Anyway, it was the second time I tried sowing on the same pumice stones I use for grown-up plants and the result is very good again: L. steineckeana (C388) 23 out of 24 seeds, L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. lesliei 'Fred's Redhead' 12 out of 16 seeds. I guess I'll stick to this method for the future.

changing clothes 2

2011-02-20T14:58:00.000+01:00

... Others are slowly getting there :)

The fulviceps from before are already showing their true colors!

changing clothes

2011-02-20T14:51:00.000+01:00

The lesliei seem to be ahead of all the others. Most of them are almost done with their annual change.

harvest 2

2011-02-17T16:04:00.000+01:00

Here are some pictures to illustrate the Green Horn success. :)

I didn't want to cut off the seed capsules, so I used a needle stuck on a pencil to dig out the seeds. It was easier than I thought because the lesliei seeds are quite big.

Anyway, don't forget to click on pics to enlarge~

harvest

2011-02-17T15:30:00.000+01:00

It's February and you already can see what's in the seed capsules. There were a whole lot of seeds from lesliei 'Green Horn', but I was especially surprised to find seeds in the 'Ventergreen' seed capsule. The only flower didn't have a partner (but stood apart from all the others), so that I'm very curious to see how the 'kids' will look like. As a big Ventergreen fan I sure hope they look like their parent. :)

Make sure to click on the pic to see the seeds in XXL!

winter

2011-01-29T14:42:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the lack of updates but as you all know not much happens this time of the year. It takes the plants so long to work through the old leaves, it is as if they'll never finish. Still, at the moment I've counted fourteen lithops, mostly lesliei, getting two-headed this year, the October-seedlings are doing well, especially the lesliei v. mariae, and a couple of seed capsules have already dried out and react to water (seeds inside!). Also, today I've sown lesliei 'Fred's Redhead' and steineckeana. I guess, this is all I can report at the moment. Can't wait to see my plants renewed and pretty again. :)

These fulviceps look the same but it's C221 on the left and C170 on the right.

happy holidays!

2010-12-25T11:44:00.001+01:00

Merry Christmas everybody! :)

progress

2010-12-19T11:55:00.003+01:00

I will go home to spend the holidays with my parents but what about the plants? They sure don't need any water but without heating it might get too cold for them. Still there's nothing left to do but risk it. I will have to somehow take the youngest seedlings along though. The other option would be to come and check in on them during the holidays but it would be difficult. I'll need to figure this out soon.

Anywaaay, the older plants are showing nice progress. One of the venteris is getting two-headed. Gesinae and dorotheae have also changed compared to one month ago.

newcomers

2010-12-19T11:18:00.000+01:00

More plants are letting me catch a glimpse of their new clothes. It's almost as if they were teasing me!

snow

2010-12-18T11:59:00.011+01:00

I haven't seen so much snow in ages. As soon as it starts melting it snows again. I'm not used to it at all but it is surely a beautiful sight.

Meanwhile the plants are quietly digesting their old leaves and growing new ones :)

not much happens this time of the year

2010-12-12T18:12:00.009+01:00

This formally very pink gesinae also belongs to the plants with no sign of new leaves yet. It's really cute and petite, the 'windows' shining in the rare winter sun.

the "indifferent" aucampiae

2010-12-09T09:07:00.004+01:00

These two aucampiae haven't seen water for ages but still no visible change, not yet. I've transplanted them recently from two separate into one 7x7 cm container. Not sure if it went well, not with these poker faces :)

twisted lesliei update

2010-12-05T12:18:00.008+01:00

Long ago I was writing about a lesliei that grew its new leaves strangely twisted and sort of 'unfinished' on the sides. I didn't think it would but it made it through the year and now appears to push new normal leaves.

Sometimes I think weak and strange plants survive, although you never expect them to, while really healthy looking plants just wither one day without a warning.

PS: Bought this plant at the Succulent Expo as a 'Fred's Redhead' x C006A hybrid. An attempt to get reddish plants with white flowers?

top red

2010-12-01T12:33:00.005+01:00

I am amazed to see how far along the lesliei are at changing their leaves. Almost all of them are at it, and even though they still have lots of old "meet" they are working through it quickly. There are some other taxa which are clearly busy growing the new leaves at the moment - poor wrinkly things :) - but there are as well a lot of plants showing no change whatsoever (not that they have to - it's still very early for that).

Like these karasmontana 'top red'. I've bought both in Japan but from different sources (the blueish one is from the Succulent Expo).

first snow

2010-11-30T12:54:00.004+01:00

We have an early winter this year. The city wasn't prepared at all: complete chaos on the streets. The cold weather came while I was away and the plants were without heating for several days but it hasn't done any harm to them. Even the 33-day-old lesliei v. mariae didn't seem to mind. They already look quite succulent!

100th post

2010-11-23T08:57:00.004+01:00

I really want to thank you all for your interest in my blog! It means a lot to know there are other people sharing this fascination for lithops. Thank you for reading, commenting, helping and encouraging! I very much appreciate it. :)

This picture is from September. Dorotheae in a romantic light of the evening sun :)

bugs won't bring us down

2010-11-20T11:57:00.005+01:00

Here is a quick update on the 'damaged' lesliei v. minor. One of them is completely renewed: it is small for its age (considering it is a 'minor' this might be normal) but finally shaped like an adult plant. The others seem to be doing well, too. In spite of their sad looks. Maybe in a couple of months they will also show their true faces :)

something's happening underneath 2

2010-11-19T09:55:00.003+01:00

During the last two or three weeks I don't remember seeing any sunlight. Even the pictures all turn out grey and cold. But maybe it isn't a bad thing, because that's how it is this time of the year, it's almost winter after all.

The plants are keeping busy though!

This is my first ever flowering lithops. It's very dear to me.

All three of the ventergreens are already changing their clothes. And this one has actually developed a nice seed capsule, even though it was away from all other flowering plants and didn't have a partner. I'm very curious if it will have seeds inside. Also, there are probably two heads growing underneath.

Hm, I don't remember showing you this plant before. I got it together with the lesliei from todays pic 1. To make up for it, to the right is a picture from summer 2009. Not that it changed much :)

PS: You might have noticed that I've added lava (or clay) granulate into the substrate. It is just in the upper layer and doesn't have any purpose. I simply think it looks good, more natural, which is of course just my subjective opinion. :)

something's happening underneath

2010-11-18T09:45:00.001+01:00

It has been at least a month since the adult plants got water for the last time and some of them already let me catch a glimpse of the new leaves. You might think it's early but it may take several months until they are fully developed and the old leaves have become dry shells.

The other dorotheae de Boer is at the same stage but the remains of the flower cover the view.

This gesinae finally has a container all to itself :)

And this one (featured here) is getting twins next season! :)

regeneration

2010-11-16T12:45:00.006+01:00

The gracilidelineata seedlings should be around 21 months now. I don't know how often they changed their skin during the time I wasn't around but they've decided to do so now and the newest leaf-pairs almost have the features the adult plants would have. While the most of them are still small and their markings blurry (see the plant on the right on the group photo), four seedlings are larger and more adult-like. The one on the first pic just has the most beautiful face!

Back then I've sown C189, C261, C309 and C373 but they got mixed up so that I don't know which is which. It'll probably take a while before I can tell. But, don't the kids on pic 1 and 2 look like siblings? :)

PS: I finally have internet connection at home!

new homes for lesliei 2

2010-11-11T00:22:00.000+01:00

Here is the rest of them: C342, C028, C364 and C029. I only have one hornii C364 left so it shares its container with C029 for now. C028 is a bit wrinkly but firm so I'm not worried. C342 has developed a cute girly color, haha.

new homes for lesliei

2010-11-08T11:33:00.001+01:00

I've transplanted the colorful lesliei each pair in one container in September. It's not like they have much more space now but it should be fine for another year. I really need to figure out something if I want more plants. It's okay for now though.

Here are C036A, C047 and C341.

little suns on rainy days

2010-11-07T12:09:00.000+01:00

These helmutii are a constant source of joy. They sure deserve another post. The yellow-edged ones have been flowering for weeks now, and the last remaining flower is still at it. My guess is, if they weren't pollinated the plants would flower even longer. And you must admit, the flowers themselves are really beautiful, large and deap yellow with a lovely contrast to the white flower center and to the plant color itself.

Also, I need to record the fact that helmutii really don't seem to like much sun. The flower buds, for instance, only wanted to grow on rainy days and just stopped and waited when it was sunny. I have another (greener) helmutii that had big troubles standing in the sun: all soft and wrinkly and no water would help. Now it is in a corner where mostly only the morning sun can reach (not that we get much of it now in November) and within two weeks the plant looks as healthy and firm as it should. This is something I'll need to keep in mind.

the pumice experiment

2010-11-05T12:16:00.005+01:00

While being away from the internet (all the recent entries are written from the university library) I was keeping busy lithops-wise. I read on different blogs and boards by lithops lovers that they successfully sow them on pure pumice. I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea but really wanted to try it anyway. If it happens to work out it will make the whole process easier. So, on the 23rd of October I've spread 50 seeds of lesliei ssp. lesliei v. mariae (C141) over the wet pumice stones. You can see the seeds lying upon the stones on the first picture. The seeds are large and won't fall through, I thought, and, out of 50, several should germinate even if they don't like the substrate. I understand that late October is not the best time either but I definitely wanted to try this. I put a see-through cover on the container and placed it on my south-eastern window ledge. Being covered up, pumice can stay wet for a long time so I didn't have to add much water during the next days. The result was definitely a success. They started to sprout on day 5 and on day 7 it looked like the picture below. I was especially amazed to find how nicely they took a grip between the stones (it was always a problem with soil substrate - heads down, roots up). I've removed the cover on day 9 and am watching them closely. So far they seem to develop well. What a relief! :)

PS: The seeds are from Francois Hoes. HQ stuff ;) The result after 12 days is 44 out of 50. Inspired by this I've recently sown more and will report about it later.

aucampiae pancakes

2010-11-03T10:30:00.000+01:00

Here is another "pancake". Like the plants from the previous post this aucampiae had it really sunny this summer. From the looks of it you might think it is soft but it is firm and hard as a stone! This plant has grown very well this year getting larger but not higher: the container is 7x7cm.

hookeri pancakes

2010-10-31T11:44:00.000+01:00

A month ago, when I came back from Japan, I was posting about some lithops that have grown too much becoming 'cucumber'-shaped, but there were also 'pancakes': plants growing flat and near to the ground showing the shape I value the most. This case is a bit extreme - the hookeri was trying to hide from the sun in the pumice. Now that the heat is long gone it is round and fat but still shaped perfectly.

gracili kids are growing

2010-10-27T10:11:00.001+02:00

As previously mentioned, the cute young gracilidelineata from before are synchronously changing their clothes now. You can already see the new leaves through the small cleft if you look closely!

not quite done yet

2010-10-20T00:38:00.000+02:00

It is gloomy-rainy with temperatures from 8 °C to -2 °C outside. While one of the salicolas has given up on its last flower, the yellow-edge-helmutii's flower buds are growing quickly. These plants are strange!

something to look forward to

2010-10-19T12:40:00.000+02:00

No doubts about this one :)

getting ready for winter

2010-10-17T11:48:00.006+02:00

It's cold and dark outside. Sunlight has become a rarity and the plants have had their last watering. They will move to my place in several days which is a 3hour drive from here, so that they'll need to be carefully packed and put in boxes. I'm a bit nervous, not only about the move but also because of the start of the new semester. I wonder if it's going to be different now, one year later. Probably not. Also, I do look forward to all the classes I chose.

I think you can see from the pictures how gloomy it is now. The salicolas that have been flowering so beautifully last month are bearing fruits (they are, aren't they? :) ). One of them decided to push another flower recently but it looks now like it has changed its mind after all. I felt bad about it being so late anyway because it has obviously missed all the action.

seed capsules or not

2010-10-16T16:33:00.006+02:00

The reason why I'm not sure whether my pollination attempts worked or not is that some of the flowers I haven't touched at all seem to have developed fruits anyway. I didn't pay attention before only noticing that the remains of the fruits are empty and dried out several months later. This time I'm watching them closely, and they all do seem to get bigger without withering, even though there shouldn't be any seeds inside. Here are two examples: both dorotheae and 'ventergreen' didn't have any flowering partners of their kind this year. Allthough it looks like future seed capsules, they'll probably just dry out in time, won't they?

PS: thanks to Aiko :) who shared the link to British Cactus & Succulent Society sales page, I've purchased the 2nd edition of Lithops - Treasures of the Veld by Steven Hammer. I'm so happy to finally be able to have this book on my book shelf! It's perfect to look things up if you have questions. Also, in this edition there is a new chapter about some new taxa and cultivars with pictures, so don't wait until this one is out of print as well. ;)

yellow-edge-helmutii

2010-10-10T11:59:00.001+02:00

I think these might be the last flowers this year. There are three more flower buds I can see, but they somehow stopped growing and with this weather I don't know if they'll develop all right.

Both yellow-edge-helmutii made it though, so that I can hope for seeds. :)

ventergreen

2010-10-09T09:53:00.006+02:00

I've been meaning to show these plants for a while now. They are L. lesliei v. venteri 'Ventergreen' C001A, a cultivar variety developed by Y. Shimada, and were actually the reason I wanted to place an order. After seeing some pictures I really wanted to have the Ventergreens but they were nowhere to find. Having finally found them in Shimada's catalogue I could only afford three fairly young plants so here they are. The color is a dream - I don't think the pictures do justice to them - light creamy green, so different from other lesliei greenies, it reminds me of green tea soft ice cream. :) As you can see, one had a flower but not having a partner there won't be any seeds yet (maybe next year?).

fruits

2010-10-08T12:09:00.004+02:00

I'm back and proud to present the 'Green Horn' future seed capsules. I'm not sure about the other plants I was trying to pollinate yet, but these two lesliei v. hornii have developed unmistakably big round and full fruits. It is my first success (third try) in this field so I'm very excited to see how it goes from now on. :)

(click on pictures for XXL)

some updates

2010-10-01T10:09:00.007+02:00

I'm going to be away for a week. Tomorrow is Step 1 of moving back to my place. The plants will follow in Step 2 a couple of weeks later. It's going to be stressful but I'm looking forward to the new semester at the university. After all the moving around I long for routine in my life, some kind of stability, consistency. Striking roots would be really nice. :)

As for the plants, there are minor news like discovering that some of the young gracili are about to cast their skin. Or that this daikangyoku decided to flower out of it's smaller head a month after the bigger did (I really should take pictures of this). The flower might not open though, because it's gloomy all the time. This also means the pictures I take look just as gloomy. But no-sun worked wonders for all the badly wrinkled plants i.e. "pancakes", even one that I almost gave up on since it didn't show any response to water at all for a month and kept getting more and more wrinkles. Oh, and the misshapen hookeri had it's new leaves break through half way as expected. I think it's for the best.

To end this chaotic post here is the 8-headed otzeniana with a flower bud. See you in a week. :)

blushing lesliei

2010-10-01T10:06:00.000+02:00

There are some color developments on the watermelon-lesliei. You see, two months ago the islands on its surface were green-yellow-ish - now they are yellow-orange, even partly red-ish. For me it is interesting because watching the plants throughout a year it looks like lithops tend to lose warm yellow-red pigments first when they grow becoming pale and more green in the fall, don't you think? Seems to be the other way around for this plant. Maybe something's wrong with it (checked the roots recently, they were ok). I'll keep you updated.