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P. nelii can flower at any time of year, depending on conditions. I've had flowers in about 8 different months, all from the same plant in the same climate. Treating P. nelii like a Lithops will just make it go dormant. I water pretty much year round, just enough that it stays plump in winter and the old leaves dry up slowly over summer. I grow Pleiospilos in porous clay pots so that I can water regularly without them splitting or stacking. Last years leaves are just about gone now and this years are nicely bronzed in the sun. As soon as things cool down a little they'll start on another leaf pair, to be followed sooner or later with flowers. Up to three flowers per leaf pair on large plants!

Argyrodermas behave a lot like Lithops but skewed towards cooler weather. So they flower later and shouldn't ever be deeply watered in summer. Deep watering at any time is likely to explode them. I follow the same basic watering timetable as for Lithops but in summer I only water lightly and when they look thirsty. This is completely unlike habitat where they get only dew and occasional winter drizzle, but it seems to work. Winter on a quartz flat must be a lot like summer in my greenhouse, so I dread to think what summer must be like! The Argyrodermas also sit on the top shelf in the greenhouse where most Lithops would quickly burn.

Hard to imagine growing these in the same pot.

I would also keep Pleiospilos and Argyroderma seperate. But I treat my Argyrodermas as winter active plants. I mostly give them very lightly water in autumn, winter and spring. But also a very light splash every now and then in summer. Well, basically I give them a very light splash when they wrinkle. Which might happen at every time of the year, really. They don't go really dormant with me.

Thanks guys! Definitely have a much better idea now. Wow Iann that Pleiospilos look huge! I know they're bigger than lithops and Argy by nature but is that a more mature plant?

david90531 wrote:Thanks guys! Definitely have a much better idea now. Wow Iann that Pleiospilos look huge! I know they're bigger than lithops and Argy by nature but is that a more mature plant?

It is from a very old three-headed plant that I broke up. It is about as big as they get. The Argyroderma is also obviously a fully mature plant although it isn't the largest species. Not the smallest either.

iann wrote:

david90531 wrote:Thanks guys! Definitely have a much better idea now. Wow Iann that Pleiospilos look huge! I know they're bigger than lithops and Argy by nature but is that a more mature plant?

It is from a very old three-headed plant that I broke up. It is about as big as they get. The Argyroderma is also obviously a fully mature plant although it isn't the largest species. Not the smallest either.

Cool! My Pleiospilos is a Royal Flush, and my argy is an Argyroderma crateriforme supposedly. They didn't arrive today yet .. tomorrow for sure. Will post pics later on, I will need some help identifying my lithops!

My Lithops were shriveling and i assumed it was cause they were getting ready to shed there skins since its November..
And now i notice that some are putting up flower buds
It's so late for flowers isn't it? I mean my other lithop flowered this summer now all of a sudden they are getting wrinkly and putting there little tongues out at me
It's cold like low 40's so they must kno it's fall....
Should i water the one's that are wrinkly
Or just the ones that are wrinkly and putting up buds?

I usually stop watering in October or until the flower dies off and give it one last watering before giving it a dry period..

Now I'm soo confused idk what to do!

And iann you have the biggest lithops i think I've ever seen, i always forget they don't stay cute and small forever

And also for got to ad, some of my lithops are in a pearl stone and course perlite mix and the other Is in a pumice, lava rock and turface mix

Mine are far from being as amazing as these pictures are but i think a few of mine are starting to clump!! I am new to lithops and mesembs so im very proud of my humble lithops

two of my smaller lithops seem to be having trouble shedding their old leaves. the leaves are completely dry and have turned into almost paper but they just cant seem to break through. i know they arent dead or rotting and i have watered them properly. one is an optica rubra the really tiny one and i dont know exactly what the other one is. does anyone know why this is happening and what i can do?

That poor plant desperately needs water!

If you have watered it and it's not taking on water, the roots are rotted.
You can try and reroot it by cutting off the root at the very base of the plant.

You soil looks like pure organics which could be a real problem for Lithops.
You should use small pots and a lean soil.

Here's some photos of Lithops seedlings, 10 months old
Lithops are quite easy from seed compared to many other difficult plants, like Conos which dry up easily because they are so small.

Lithops gracilidelineata
one of my favorite Lithops and my favorite variety, Lithops gracilidelineata waldroniae Lithops salicola "Bacchus"!!!
I was able to find 2 Purple L. salicolas in seedling batches over the years, and finally got seeds
So pretty What's that other red one on the left you ask?
A Lithops optica "Rubra" seedling
I raised all the pots under the same conditions, and the other Lithops grew like crazy, I only was able to keep 3 Rubras alive,
so in other words, Rubras are difficult from seed

Nice work Craig. Purple lithops very cool. I have 3 pots of mixed lithops from seed going all kinds of patterns and colors showing up after a couple years. 2 pots in mostly in Pumice and the third in pumice mixed with sandy dirt. I think they are bigger in the mostly pumice pots.

I use Dry stall a small sized pumice and the lithops main root just goes straight down into it.

Hey there good people,

I'm a bit confused about my lithops maybe due to the seasons being a bit strange over here in Portugal, we are having hot days still, 24ºc and the nights have been wet so the dudes have to go inside for the night.

How do they look, they look plump and all but still no flowering, they were repotted this summer and they had lots of really dry outer leaves wich I removed, they should have been flowering by now right?



Looking for some advice, cheers!