Lithops, my old friends (10 pics)

After yesterday's lithops post I've been feeling nostalgic, browsing through old photos and blog entries. Since I was talking about plants I've had for years I got curious and wanted to see what I wrote about them back then.

It's hard to decide whether it is depressing or uplifting to see those old photos. The plants I got as adults look just as fresh and shiny now as 8 years ago. There is no difference at all. Meanwhile I am getting older and for sure don't look the same. Yearly rejuvenation was a good choice.

Here is a photo of a L. dorotheae (C300) I took this week and here is the entry where I mention this plant for the first time, in 2010, when I was still in Japan.

These two I bought the same year in Japan as well. It is the "de Boer" variety of L. dorotheae with a stronger coloring. It seems back in 2010 these were the first L. dorotheae I grew.

And their own two-year-olds look promising, too.

This slightly unusual L. dorotheae (C300) has grown 2 heads compared to the 2012 photo. 

L. olivacea v. olivacea (C055). Such a happy plant first mentioned sometime in 2011.

And these guys! They are my absolute favorites! And it has nothing to do with the fact that they are the first Lithops I grew from seed back in 2008. Ok, it's partly the reason :D 

But they have the most perfect color, pattern and shape. Stunning plants. 10 years old now.

L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. minor (C006)

These L. bromfieldii v. glaudinae (C382) were sown in 2010. I can not believe they made it.

L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. mariae (C141) from the same year. It took them several years to develop the typical mariae pattern and now here they are.

And of course the L. gracilidelineata from the year 2009. They survived my mother's generous care when I was studying in Japan and they have been flowering, too. 

Lithops make me feel old.

Older lithops seedlings (2 pics)

Not only older lithops seedlings but actually 6 years old lithops seedlings. Can you believe that? These are the guys from the so-called "pumice experiment" back in 2010 which is now my standard procedure (oh my, they are so tiny there). I was disappointed for a very long time that they didn't look like "mariae" I wanted them to be - all dotty. Instead they looked like regular lesliei. However, now, 6 years later, the proper looks are apparent. The fine dotty lines and the sandy color. I remember reading that "mariae" are the largest among lesliei but mine are rather compact.

L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. mariae (C141)

Lithops flowering season (4 pics)

Looks like my Lithops are heaving an early flowering season. I have 4 flowers at the moment and more coming soon. What a happy sight! :)

One of my own L. bromfieldii v. glaudinae seedlings has flowered for the first time and the flower is HUGE! In fact, this is one of these little kids. All grown up now.

Good thing they flower in the afternoon. This way I can catch them on camera even when I come home after six. And even though it is already getting dark the flowers are still brimming with sunlight they've soaked up during the day.

The L. fulviceps 'Aurea' flower looks very relaxed...

... and the one on L. fulviceps v. lactinea is already a week old. It has an interesting shape now but still such shiny petals!

The newcommer, L. verruculosa, decided to bloom, too. This is the first time I see a cream-colored flower on a lithops. It's so unusual. It looks more like red gold to me and fits the color of the plant leaves.

Some two-headed-ness (10 pics)

These days you can feel the spring and the regeneration that took the lithops so long to do before progresses in no time. The new leaves are getting bigger every day and the old ones disappear. 

Quite some of them have gotten two-headed and I'm especially glad to see the plants I grew from seed do that ♥

Here come the stories!

These two L. lesliei v. minor C6 belong to my very first lithops sowing back in 2008. Yes, they are this old! Under windowsill conditions and without any doping they mature very slowly. They haven't flowered yet but this year there were dried up rests of flowers inside so at least they tried. Maybe they'll have more strength this year. After all the chances have doubled now ;)

A random L. lesliei 'Albinica' C36A. It doesn't have any stories to tell yet. You can see my finger nail on the photo for some scale XD

I got these L. hallii v. ochracea C111 in 2010 as tiny seedlings. They are still quite small but at least there are more heads now.

These L. bromfieldii v. glaudinae C382 you know from their very young age. :D Sown back in 2010 they turned out to be very grateful plants with the most agreeable character. One of them has now two heads.

Other bromfieldii, L. bromfieldii v. insularis 'Sulphurea' C362, all went two-headed last year. This year one of them went triple. I read that Sulphureas eagerly grow multiple heads.

This L. julii ssp. fulleri v. brunnea C179 is actually a miracle. I could never keep any other L. julii alive for more than a couple of years but I have this one since 2008! It always regenerates properly and without any problems and never changes much except for this year. This change needs to be documented :)

The rest don't have stories yet. They are more or less new tenants, arrived in 2012 and 2013. 

Bromfieldii C382 seedlings these days (2 pics)

I actually feel bad calling them seedlings. After all they are now 2,5 years old and adult-looking in size and shape. All they need is to finally flower. But none of my own seedlings has flowered yet so I don't dare hope.

You really get best plants if you grow them from seed. It might take long but the results are worth it. Strong and healthy, perfectly shaped and colored, they never went through the acclimatization pain. They just grow as they grow and are happy with what they've got. Something to be envious about.

You can look up their progress by clicking on the "seedlings 2010" tag below.

Greenie among the lesliei v. mariae

Just a little update. If you remember the little greenie that germinated among my lesliei v. mariae C141, it's still alive. I actually have two more pots of these but at this point only several plants look like v. mariae as I've imagined them to be. Which means all dotty like the one in the middle of the pic. Also, compared to the bromfieldii seedlings (2,5 years old as well), these leslilei are pretty small. Hoping for a growth spurt this season.

winter-lithops

Lithops look really bad this time of the year but it's a good thing and means they're healthy. :) The one-year-old leaves are all wrinkly and soft while the new, fresh ones are already visible.

The bromfieldii v. glaudinae seedlings from 2010 are obviously finally in the annual rhythm of the grown up plants...

... and most of the one-headed bromfieldii v. insularis 'Sulphurea' are growing two heads this year.

C246 seedlings

Sown 29.10 2010 these guys with a long name of L. pseudotruncatella ssp. groendrayensis 'Witkop form' C246 have finally regenerated into their adult-like long-fissured selves. They're still small though. :)

I really like the delicate golden lines even though I've expected C246 to be completely blank.

lesliei v. mariae seedlings

These seedlings (sown 23.10.2010) are finally starting to look like adults, long fissure and everything. I don't see much of the mariae-like dotted feature yet and the color varies a lot but they should get there in time. As most of my other seedlings they seem to be sleeping through the summer. Some have regenerated a couple of months ago, some haven't. Also, I'm glad the one greenie is still alive. :)

To see a documentory of their lives click on the seedlings 2010 tag.

More room for bromfieldii seedlings

I can't believe they've grown so much (sown 29.10.2010). Growing plants from seed is an amazing experience. Even if it takes a long time, like it does in case of Lithops. These bromfieldii v. glauidnae will be two years old in a couple of months and deserve a less crowded place to live.

I was relieved to see they are all in a good shape. Still I can't dare hope for flowers sooner than next year. :)

not wasting time

Hatched in October 2010 these seedlings didn't want to go to sleep this winter. Instead they've changed their leaves two times in a row. I'm just glad they haven't turned into cucumbers. ;)
Bromfieldii's color is more even now compared to January.

Lesliei v. mariae are getting bigger with the greenie not far behind.

in the evening sun

I was most excited to see this one seedling regenerate. As mentioned before I've had a "greenie" germinated among the regular lesliei v. mariae C141 in October 2010. It was weirdly shaped all the time but with this leaf-change it's clear how special it really is. 

rainbow bromfieldii

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.

seedlings update

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.

bromfieldii seedlings

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.