I've been looking through my lithops picture folders (you can tell I miss them) and came across these photos of the aucampiae (these two have been featured here before). They are home-improvement store kids, but looked relatively healthy, so I couldn't walk by (you normally see horrible things done to lithops in those stores and realise they won't survive long if you bought them... although cacti are even less fortunate, with eyes and flowers glued to them). Well, here are two pictures of the same two plants before and after the annual change. On the first picture they look like two different aucampiae to me: not only different pattern but also different color. The one on the right is probably older, the one on the left is probably overfed.
Anyway, on the second picture they're like twins! How come?
Anyway, on the second picture they're like twins! How come?
Several months later they've become quite beauties!
I even keep the last photo as my netbook wallpaper :)
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Very, very nice. Yes, it's strange, isn't it. Year to year they can look quite different - and "different" appearances like the one on the left - can disappear as fast as they show up. (Fast for Lithops, that is!)
ReplyDeleteI'm quite new to Lithops so it's very interesting to see that change. Actually i got the 'bug' a couple of years ago, but as Luther says that's recent for Lithops!
ReplyDeleteIn the very beginning i did buy one that was 5-6cm tall, cos i felt sorry for it. By removing the outer leaves as soon as i was aware of a new pair coming up inside, about three times now, i have brought it down to about 1.5cm. No reason it won't be back to normal in a couple of years. :0)
I won't do that again though.
Great blog. Whereabouts in Japan are you, btw? I lived in Kanagawa-ken for a couple of years, in the 1990s.
Thank you, Luther!
ReplyDeletewith these two it almost felt like they were assimilating each others' features over the year, haha. makes me wonder what the next loves will look like :)
nice to meet you, mand! thank you for commenting!
ReplyDeletei got the 'bug' ca. 3 years ago, so i'm recent as well. it doesn't wear off that easily!
you mean buying lithops at a home center (or whatever they're called..)? i had both good and bad experience. you get nice plants there from time to time, surely without a cole number etc., but sometimes they're just pretty and you sort of see the potential
still, i'm trying to buy from breeders/collectors or grow them from seeds nowadays.
you've been living in Japan? i'm studying in Nara, it's a one year long stay. will be back in germany in august, i guess.. living in Japan is an interesting experience, isn't it? :)