Lithops portraits 2018 (15 pics)

In case you haven't noticed I'm on vacation :)
Which means finally time to take care of my (mostly plant related) hobbies. And I don't have to tell you how much I enjoy the company of my cat. All of it is so relaxing. Playing with Mila, checking on the plants, napping with Mila, taking some plant pictures. It's the paradise on earth. I hurt my back recently (which sucks) but it gives me a legit excuse to just be lazy and enjoy myself.

Now I'm just gonna spam you with some Lithops photos :D

L. ruschiorum. Love their new faces.

L. marmorata. Very slow old leaf digestion.

L. marmorata 'Polepsky Smaragd'. Good shape and color is only possible by very careful watering.

L. localis. These guys start to stretch as soon as I start thinking of watering them. They are tiny but it's the only way to keep them alive.

L. aucampiae are more difficult than you think. I've killed a lot of them so far. This is a really nice specimen though.

L. bromfieldii v. mennellii. Love the texture.

L. lesliei ssp. burchellii (C302). Love the fluid pattern.

L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. venteri. Nice and flat. Got them as adults in 2011.

L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. venteri 'Ventergreen' (C001A). These are 7 year old seedlings.

L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. lesliei 'Albinica' (C036A). Got them in a hardware store in 2012.

L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. lesliei (grey form) (C008). Got them in 2010.

L. bromfieldii v. insularis (C042). I haven't had a very good experience with multiheaded plants in my environment. But L. bromfieldii are hard to kill so I gave it a try last year. It regenerated fine so it should be okay now.

Lithops don't waste time (5 pics)

Winter has started very early this year. It's gloomy and cold. The plants feel it and react to it: winter growers waking up, seeds germinating eagerly, and lithops are already recycling their resources. I've stopped watering most of them a month ago. They will get water again once they regenerate and it's warm and sunny again outside the window. April maybe. Yes, this means even if they fully regenerate earlier they still won't get water if there's not enough sunlight. No need to wake the roots if the light is not sufficient, unless absolutely necessary (young or small plants that grow visibly thirsty).
In my experience, it will take them a long time anyway :)

New pebbles (4 pics)

Since I have much more room now I'm getting more plants. I've sown some too but the heatwave is trying very hard to ruin it. The adult plants are truly enjoying it! It's 38°C in the shade, no idea how much in the sun, it's crazy! And it seems the living stones can't get enough of it.

Anyway, I'll be posting about new pebbles this weekend and will start with Lithops ruschiorum I purchased recently. They vary from completely white and opaque to white with fine golden lines. The surface is a bit  rough, similar to L. vallis-mariae, I imagine, eve though I've never had those.