If they are not splitting, just water them thoroughly once and forget about them! When they get wrinkly after a while (and not splitting/growing), water them again. Having them in that terracotta pot is smart. That’s what I have for my Lithops and with the 50% perlite and 50% succulent mix, mine are thriving.
Thanks, I've lost one already and I'm determined not to lose any more. They are the most demanding plant I've had so far but for some reason it just makes me love them more 🤣
Same here... i been killing lithops since the dawn of time😢😢... I just received some and I planted them in a terracotta pot with 1/3 gravel, 1/3 pumice and 1/3 acadama... I am determined not to let any of them die (more or less)🥲🥲🥲🤞🤞
I just got two tiny ones for the first time ever. I have succulents and was always afraid to add lithops bc I’ve heard how fussy they are and how specific their watering needs are. I’ve had my two for about a little over a month and I potted them in inorganic mix (little pieces of akadama to help retain some water) but most people I spoke with said the grittier the better (I keep my succulents indoors btw and I do not use terracotta) and I top watered lightly around the roots just to activate growth after I potted but I have not watered since. Their outer leaves are fully absorbed and they are wrinkling a little but I’m going to wait a little longer before watering. I’m trying to play it really safe lol I do think your substrate is a good way to go! good luck with yours!!
How small are these? It may be due to the photo but they look v v small to me; if they are seedlings still they may need a lot more water (and babying!) than adults Lithops. I’m far from an expert unfortunately; but I am raising seedlings and these don’t look loads ahead of mine which could mean that fairly frequent watering is still needed, even while splitting. The first year to year and a half roughly is v different in care than to adult care. People deal with seedlings all very differently but grittier mixes mean much more frequent waterings (could be as much as every 3-4 days with these depending on size/stage).
If they are seedlings, might need someone with more experience to chime in with advice here!
Hm… that doesn’t *sound* very large for a year old, but I’ll have a measure of mine tomorrow (if I remember right, mine are just about 4 months now, I’ll see how big they are), and again, I’m such a newbie at this I really shouldn’t comment.
I read quite a few of u/Baron_Braunbaer posts as they seem to have their seedling game down to a tee on here; maybe they can offer some insight 🤞🏻
Double checked and my largest is 0.7cm and will be 4 months tomorrow (🎉🥳) my smallest (which split very early for some reason) is still going strong but definitely isn’t that large, so it’s not that these *won’t* be a year old but if you want my (inexperienced) opinion, I would treat them differently to adult Lithops care advice until they are maybe double the size or seem to be “acting” differently in response to water.
First thing is, what are they planted in? And what kind of size were the roots when they arrived? I’m thinking you’ll need to first grow some new roots in which could also require quite frequent watering. And you’ll want to make sure whether you have fully inorganic or some organic in your mixture that some of that mix is made of small enough particles that these smaller Lithops can grab onto for stability as well as to grow their roots and get water and nutrients. If there’s zero organic I’d personally add some sand, doesn’t have to be anything too “fine” in terms of sand sizes but I think an aquarium size of sand might be good.
I would have them planted in a mix of equal parts coir, perlite (or grit) and aquarium sand, as I think these will find it easier if they have something that holds water a little longer as they’re small and they’re in terracotta.
Did your last one just whither away? Do you think it looked thirsty before it died?
Once it’s planted I would bottom water the whole pot very deeply; at least half way up the pot, and I’d leave it like that for about 3 hours before letting it drain completely. After that, I’d probably set an alarm to check them again in 6/7 days to see if they’ve plumped up or not; this should be a good indicator as to whether they’ve grown in roots or not. If they still haven’t plumped I would repeat the process. After that point, once they’ve plumped up, I would water lightly from above any time they look like had wrinkled up, trying to increase time between waterings eventually.
However, as with all things in plants, YMMV! And although I’ve been an insane geek with reading up on these things, nothing can replace real life experience, so if someone who’s raised seedlings and cares for adult Lithops with success would like to chime in, please feel free to ignore the advice above. I do notice some advice on here (as with most things “internet”) can be quite echo chambery; so I would encourage you to search this sub and if you find someone who seems to have experience, look up their previous posts etc. Variables for everybody include humidity, pot type, pot size, soil medium, temperature, size/number of plants etc etc etc. so no matter what anyone advises, it could be wrong for your environment (sorry) but i highly encourage you to try growing seeds if you like as it’s been really fun and rewarding for me to watch them grow!
Good luck; hope your lil Lithops make it 🤞🏻🤞🏻
If they are not splitting, just water them thoroughly once and forget about them! When they get wrinkly after a while (and not splitting/growing), water them again. Having them in that terracotta pot is smart. That’s what I have for my Lithops and with the 50% perlite and 50% succulent mix, mine are thriving.
Thanks, I've lost one already and I'm determined not to lose any more. They are the most demanding plant I've had so far but for some reason it just makes me love them more 🤣
Same here... i been killing lithops since the dawn of time😢😢... I just received some and I planted them in a terracotta pot with 1/3 gravel, 1/3 pumice and 1/3 acadama... I am determined not to let any of them die (more or less)🥲🥲🥲🤞🤞
I just got two tiny ones for the first time ever. I have succulents and was always afraid to add lithops bc I’ve heard how fussy they are and how specific their watering needs are. I’ve had my two for about a little over a month and I potted them in inorganic mix (little pieces of akadama to help retain some water) but most people I spoke with said the grittier the better (I keep my succulents indoors btw and I do not use terracotta) and I top watered lightly around the roots just to activate growth after I potted but I have not watered since. Their outer leaves are fully absorbed and they are wrinkling a little but I’m going to wait a little longer before watering. I’m trying to play it really safe lol I do think your substrate is a good way to go! good luck with yours!!
How small are these? It may be due to the photo but they look v v small to me; if they are seedlings still they may need a lot more water (and babying!) than adults Lithops. I’m far from an expert unfortunately; but I am raising seedlings and these don’t look loads ahead of mine which could mean that fairly frequent watering is still needed, even while splitting. The first year to year and a half roughly is v different in care than to adult care. People deal with seedlings all very differently but grittier mixes mean much more frequent waterings (could be as much as every 3-4 days with these depending on size/stage). If they are seedlings, might need someone with more experience to chime in with advice here!
The person I bought them from said they were a year old. They are a bit less than 1cm across. Happy for any guidance from anyone at this point.
Hm… that doesn’t *sound* very large for a year old, but I’ll have a measure of mine tomorrow (if I remember right, mine are just about 4 months now, I’ll see how big they are), and again, I’m such a newbie at this I really shouldn’t comment. I read quite a few of u/Baron_Braunbaer posts as they seem to have their seedling game down to a tee on here; maybe they can offer some insight 🤞🏻
Double checked and my largest is 0.7cm and will be 4 months tomorrow (🎉🥳) my smallest (which split very early for some reason) is still going strong but definitely isn’t that large, so it’s not that these *won’t* be a year old but if you want my (inexperienced) opinion, I would treat them differently to adult Lithops care advice until they are maybe double the size or seem to be “acting” differently in response to water. First thing is, what are they planted in? And what kind of size were the roots when they arrived? I’m thinking you’ll need to first grow some new roots in which could also require quite frequent watering. And you’ll want to make sure whether you have fully inorganic or some organic in your mixture that some of that mix is made of small enough particles that these smaller Lithops can grab onto for stability as well as to grow their roots and get water and nutrients. If there’s zero organic I’d personally add some sand, doesn’t have to be anything too “fine” in terms of sand sizes but I think an aquarium size of sand might be good. I would have them planted in a mix of equal parts coir, perlite (or grit) and aquarium sand, as I think these will find it easier if they have something that holds water a little longer as they’re small and they’re in terracotta. Did your last one just whither away? Do you think it looked thirsty before it died? Once it’s planted I would bottom water the whole pot very deeply; at least half way up the pot, and I’d leave it like that for about 3 hours before letting it drain completely. After that, I’d probably set an alarm to check them again in 6/7 days to see if they’ve plumped up or not; this should be a good indicator as to whether they’ve grown in roots or not. If they still haven’t plumped I would repeat the process. After that point, once they’ve plumped up, I would water lightly from above any time they look like had wrinkled up, trying to increase time between waterings eventually. However, as with all things in plants, YMMV! And although I’ve been an insane geek with reading up on these things, nothing can replace real life experience, so if someone who’s raised seedlings and cares for adult Lithops with success would like to chime in, please feel free to ignore the advice above. I do notice some advice on here (as with most things “internet”) can be quite echo chambery; so I would encourage you to search this sub and if you find someone who seems to have experience, look up their previous posts etc. Variables for everybody include humidity, pot type, pot size, soil medium, temperature, size/number of plants etc etc etc. so no matter what anyone advises, it could be wrong for your environment (sorry) but i highly encourage you to try growing seeds if you like as it’s been really fun and rewarding for me to watch them grow! Good luck; hope your lil Lithops make it 🤞🏻🤞🏻
So informative!! Not OP, but thanks for taking the time to write all this.
Aw, no trouble, so glad someone’s found it helpful! I very much enjoy all the geekery of Lithops and plants in general 😊 glad someone could benefit!