Succulent of the Week (2011-02-07) Some Easy Lithops
Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 2:50 am
Lithops species
Lithops are the classic "living rocks." They are small, beautiful gems, popular since the 1960's, and deservedly so. A few are tricky in cultivation, but many are reasonably easy, as long as you're careful with their lighting and watering requirements. I'm very much a beginner with these species, but here are some that I've found easy to keep:
Lithops aucampiae ssp. eniceae v. fluminalis C54
Lithops karasmontana v. tischeris C182
Lithops lesliei v. hornii C15
Lithops lesliei subsp. lesliei v. venteri C1
Lithops schwantesii C79
Growth Habit: Tiny, a few cm high at most, with extremely succulent, paired leaves, between which their flowers appear. Mostly interesting for the patterning on the tops of the leaves.
Scientific name: Lithops N.E. Brown
Taxonomy: The genus was described by N.E. Brown in 1923. Desmond Cole is undoubtedly the best known of Lithops taxonomists, so you'll often see lithops' species names followed by a "C" number, as in my list above.
Distribution: From Namibia east through the Northern Cape and mostly east to Limpopo in South Africa.
Cultivation: As much sun as you can give, year around. Watering is more problematic, but this is what has worked for me, for these species: Summer, no water. Around late August or early September, they start to perk up, and most start to show flower buds. From then until their flowers start to fade, I water them weekly. After that, they're kept bone dry until their old leaves dry up. In late spring the ones whose leaves have completely dried up get a little spritz.
Emerging flower buds:
Flowers: Not terribly interesting, typical flowers from the Aizoaceae/Mesembryanthemaceae. Most are yellow, some white. Sometimes the yellow flowers fade to red, as in this L. aucampiae ssp. eniceae v. fluminalis, and I think they look better that way:
Minimum temperature: Lithops grow in a variety of environments, and some of them undergo temperatures below freezing. The few that I have flower well with a minumum of 50 degrees.
Conservation Status: A few lithops are considered vulnerable or near threatened, but none of the above are protected.
Observations: You can often find grossly overgrown, bloated (some over 4" tall) lithops in big box stores and garden centers. I don't have any personal experience with these, but from what I've read, it's very difficult to keep them alive and bring them back to their normal state.
Lithops are the classic "living rocks." They are small, beautiful gems, popular since the 1960's, and deservedly so. A few are tricky in cultivation, but many are reasonably easy, as long as you're careful with their lighting and watering requirements. I'm very much a beginner with these species, but here are some that I've found easy to keep:
Lithops aucampiae ssp. eniceae v. fluminalis C54
Lithops karasmontana v. tischeris C182
Lithops lesliei v. hornii C15
Lithops lesliei subsp. lesliei v. venteri C1
Lithops schwantesii C79
Growth Habit: Tiny, a few cm high at most, with extremely succulent, paired leaves, between which their flowers appear. Mostly interesting for the patterning on the tops of the leaves.
Scientific name: Lithops N.E. Brown
Taxonomy: The genus was described by N.E. Brown in 1923. Desmond Cole is undoubtedly the best known of Lithops taxonomists, so you'll often see lithops' species names followed by a "C" number, as in my list above.
Distribution: From Namibia east through the Northern Cape and mostly east to Limpopo in South Africa.
Cultivation: As much sun as you can give, year around. Watering is more problematic, but this is what has worked for me, for these species: Summer, no water. Around late August or early September, they start to perk up, and most start to show flower buds. From then until their flowers start to fade, I water them weekly. After that, they're kept bone dry until their old leaves dry up. In late spring the ones whose leaves have completely dried up get a little spritz.
Emerging flower buds:
Flowers: Not terribly interesting, typical flowers from the Aizoaceae/Mesembryanthemaceae. Most are yellow, some white. Sometimes the yellow flowers fade to red, as in this L. aucampiae ssp. eniceae v. fluminalis, and I think they look better that way:
Minimum temperature: Lithops grow in a variety of environments, and some of them undergo temperatures below freezing. The few that I have flower well with a minumum of 50 degrees.
Conservation Status: A few lithops are considered vulnerable or near threatened, but none of the above are protected.
Observations: You can often find grossly overgrown, bloated (some over 4" tall) lithops in big box stores and garden centers. I don't have any personal experience with these, but from what I've read, it's very difficult to keep them alive and bring them back to their normal state.