Transplanting Lithops in pumice substrate (video)

I was transplanting some Lithops today and thought I'd better catch it on video because I always receive questions about how to dig holes in pumice. The answer is you don't. You fill the container with dry pumice stones up to the brim, make sure the tip of the root is in and then wiggle a stick to make the stone collapse and pull the plant down by the root while slightly pushing from above. You don't have to be afraid to damage the roots. If you followed the rule to transplant dry-to-dry it'll all be fine. The pot in this video is 5x5cm small but you can get up to 16 young seedlings in it using this method. No need to dig holes or use the common cacti transplanting method by laying the plants on the side. Anyway, I find it quite easy and fast :)
(Sorry the video is not good..)

Harvest Special (video)

... or How To Harvest Lithops Seeds.

I normally scrape lithops seeds out of a seed capsule with a needle and it works fine if the seeds are big (like lesliei's) or there are not that many. Harvesting tiny karasmontana seeds lately I had to realise it takes too long and hurts my back and eyes. I don't know any other method other than throwing the seed capsule in water, but without any help not all of the seeds detach. Combining the water bath and a needle I was able to get the seeds out very quickly.

First you need a small shallow bowl and a piece of wet paper towel fitting the size of the bowl. The piece of towel goes into the bowl, then you can pour water into it.

Now you need a pair of (scissor) tweezers and a needle on a stick (a pensil will work). Make sure to clean out every section of the capsule properly.

Once all the seeds are out you just take out the paper and put it somewhere it can dry (it helps to lay another paper towel folded in several layers under it).

To put the dry seeds into a paper envelope I use a white brush. I find the seeds don't jump around much and you can count them as you go if needed.

Sometimes there's a whole lot of seeds in one tiny seed capsule.

Transplanting a lithops (video)

 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.