Greenies on a windowsill (7 pics)

You know how we all try to grow lithops in a short flat shape with dense colors that are less watery-green and more defined and brownish-dark (depending on the species of course)? But what about the actual greenies, you'd say. Shouldn't those be of a real intense green color? 

Well, not if you grow them on a windowsill somewhere in Germany. There you have to decide between the healthy shape and the vivid green of the cultivars you've seen online and in books. In my experience, under such conditions, we can't have both.

The idea for this post belongs to Mila, by the way. My kitty shows great interest in gardening and sometimes waters my plants when I'm not at home (by overturning the water can on them). Thanks to her some of my Sulphureas were recently flooded. Luckily we have had several sunny (yet cold) weeks and the result is not quite that dramatic. It is enough to give you an idea of what happens though.

Lithops bromfieldii are not the flattest species to start with so the goal is to keep them as close to the ground as possible. This way they regenerate by the book every year. I haven't had problems with them yet and I believe it is mostly because I keep them small by very strict watering. And so, here is a typical specimen of Lithops bromfieldii v. insularis 'Sulphurea' (C362) in windowsill captivity.

The shape is nearly perfect, the head size is spot on. The color is yellow though, not vivid green. Strong sun and very little water will do that. I find it very attractive but it's not how this cultivar is described or how it appears in greenhouse environment.

Now check out this flooded plant. I got way too much water in the beginning of the growing season. And here's the typical green!

Unfortunately with the shiny green comes stretching. The plants shoot up in search of light that is just not sufficient for this kind of watering practice. Don't kid yourself, even several weeks of sunlight are not enough if it's only for half a day (that's the reality of a windowsill growing). And the affected plants would have completely turned into cucumbers if we had rainy weather all this time.

So those are the choices: yellow and compact or green and stretched. I know what I choose. The above plants will soon correct themselves, with a little diet. And the color will return to yellow.

Same thing applies to other greenies. Here is a yellow Lithops lesliei ssp. lesliei v. lesliei 'Albinica' (C036A) and I love it.

Lithops steineckeana and some others starting to grow (11 pics)

It is very cold outside but the sun in shining and you can see positive changes in lithops every day. All past hardships are forgotten and they are ready for this new season. 

Lithops steineckeana are probably the least lithops-looking of the genus. Supposedly, they are a cross between L. pseudotruncatella and some conophytum, and their looks do seem to support that, but who knows?

I grew below plants from seed. They are now 6 years old but they have never flowered for me. This year they have regenerated beautifully as always but have been nibbled on by mites a little bit. (The question is what has not been nibbled on by mites on my windowsill this winter?) Good thing lithops are not bothered by that much and get over it by the next regeneration.

The elongated form is the normal shape they grow in and the patterns lithops have only on top of their leaves actually go all the way down L. steineckeana's sides.

I do have one that is shorter. It is currently sharing its container with some L. gracilidelineata.

Same as their shape, the pattern is also not very stable. The below plant originated from the same batch of seeds, maybe even the same seed pod, but it almost looks like L. pseudotruncatella. If you have many seedlings you will see some completely white, others with little windows of L. pseudotruncatella patterns, and yet others that are fully patterned as L. pseudotruncatella. I only have 5 plants and they are all different.

Lithops lesliei 'Fred's Redhead' (more like Blackhead) I grew from seed back in 2011 have not escaped mites either. They're doing fine though. The color is so crazy dark when they are freshly changed! Too bad they also never flower. Only when the sunlight falls on them in a specific angle the red comes out. Otherwise they are all dark purple.

While lithops are plumping up like this L. bromfieldii v. glaudinae 'Rubroroseus' (5 years old)...

... most of the Conophytums are already deeply asleep. Make sure you don't bother yours until late August! 

Spring is here! (28 pics)

It has been some time since I last updated and I must say it was mostly due to my disappointment with my inability to get rid of mites. No one likes to admit defeat. I am even losing my beautiful Anacampseros seedlings. Although I have so many it is not quite that dramatic. Lithops are unaffected which leads me to the conclusion that I might wanna go back to the roots and grow more lithops again, while reducing the amount of other, mite-friendlier plants. Speaking of "reducing", I am down 7 kilos and have reached my goal. Now I can fill myself up with chocolate again! :D

In other news, Mila has developed some food intolerances and gets super healthy hypoallergenic food these days. Unfortunately that's the food she finds rather yucky. She does not understand meat and meaty smells (where are those predator instincts?) so that I have to trick her into eating it with "fastfood" smells on top. Luckily there are grain-free treats and tasty liver cremes around to help me.

Back to the plants. Now that spring is here and the sun is shining almost all lithops have regenerated. Hopefully we will have a warmer and sunnier year. The plants are a bit too small and I think I need to fertilize. I normally don't do that. The conditions do not allow the plants to get bigger without losing their shape. I need to time it right or I'll have cucumbers instead of lithops in no time. Also, I really need to continue transplanting and putting things in order on the windowsill. Lots to do. But not today.

Let me first focus on positive things. I really need some motivation. Rather then whining about mites all the time here are the pretty pretty lithops plants that are doing great and show their fresh new faces. No claw marks yet this year! Forgive me the dust and cat hair on the plants. Pretend it is the "natural" look ;)

And by the way, if you click on a picture you will not only see it xxl size but also see the name of the plant in the file title.

And here are my own seedlings. Some of the youngest have grown 2 heads this winter.

Flowering season of sorts (7 pics)

Winter is coming. It's dark when I go to work, it's dark when I come back home. Oh and the sun is rarely shining on weekends. That's a bit annoying after the rainy summer we've had here. Still, some lithops and conos have been flowering and there are currently 4 more lithops buds growing. That's not bad considering the conditions they had to endure this year. Strangely (or not?) the lithops that grew flowers this year are all the usual suspects, the plants they are flowering for me every year, L. bromfieldii 'Sulphurea', L. fulviceps 'Aurea' and L. dorotheae. If not for them I would not have any flowers at all. I'd recommend north-earopean growers to have those in their collection if they want to see flowers.

L. bromfieldii v. insularis 'Sulphurea' C362

L. fulviceps v. fulviceps 'Aurea' C363 

L. dorotheae C300

I kept last year's seed capsule to see if the plant will grow flowers out of the same head every year. This is what it's been doing for several years now. This year however the usual flowering head is resting while the other two are growing flowers.

Conophytums were more eager to flower. I could even catch flowers on the plants that have not flowered before.

Conophytum meyeri 'Leopardium' - that's one very yellow flower!

Conophytum verrucosum 

And of course Avonia quinaria ssp. alstonii was so kind to show some flowers as well. Good timing too - I was able to catch them on camera. I really want to grow these plants from seed. So far I was not successful.