Lithops

Kenny · Post by **Kenny** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:59 pm

i am interested in the Lithops Species and want to grow some, however i live where its starting to get cold so should i wait to try to grow them when it warms up again? or can i get away with it in the house?

clemons · Post by **clemons** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 2:57 pm

kenny,,learnin myself,,i just orded some lithops from miles to go..he told me over the phone would be alright to plant now but getting late,,he also said they should flower shortly also then to stop watering for winters rest..id keep in a sunny window then to a cooler room late in fall..

templegatejohn · Post by **templegatejohn** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 7:40 pm

Yes, that is pretty good advice. The general rule of thumb and certainly one I use myself is to stop watering immediately the plant has flowered. of course not all plants will flower. Young ones probably won't. In that case mid Octoer is a good time to stop.

A cool room is adequate to keep Lithops ticking over. But try to gather as much information as you can. I have put up various threads on the Forum in the past. Lithops behave in a totally different way to most plants and you need to know what is happening and when it should happen.

John

Bill in SC · Post by **Bill in SC** » Mon Sep 25, 2006 1:15 pm

John said: "Lithops behave in a totally different way to most plants and you need to know what is happening and when it should happen."

You got that right John! They do have some odd growing characteristics and requirements. I tentatively think I have the hang of it now, at least for their summer, and fall requirements. I really love these plants and hope I can do well with them..
Bill in SC

clemons · Post by **clemons** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 5:33 pm

templegate,,order arrived a few days ago..5 hallii n 5 schwantesii..the schwans are all flowering but the halliis are not..my guess they mite flower at different times but not sure..they all look very healthy..i kept the 2 different kinds in 2 different pots incase they need treated differently..couldnt find anything on the web concerning the culture of the 2 individual kinds..anyone know or where to look....

iann · Post by **iann** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 8:36 pm

Water each plant as it needs it, not according to a timetable. This will be slightly different for each species but not enough that a book could describe it. Small ones will need more frequent than large ones. L. hallii does tend to flower a few weeks later, but your lack of buds could equally well mean that the L. hallii are younger or were not watered as recently.

templegatejohn · Post by **templegatejohn** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:50 am

Good advice from Ian. All Lithops species can be treated in the same way. I do not know of any grower who specialises in Lithops who would treat them differently.
After they have flowered is definitely the time to stop watering. Of course as I said before some may not flower so cut down on the watering from the beginning of October and finish by mid October. The only one that can be watered for slightly longer than the others is Lithops optica rubra. This has a slightly different growing cycle.

John

clemons · Post by **clemons** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:57 pm

i gave a real small dose of water with a turkey baster right around each plant as miles had told me on the phone to pot with moist soil an i forgot and planted in bone dry dirt..the swans had buds and flowered the next day..a week later the flowering ones are soft and rinkly on the sides but the buds are huge now..so since they were rinkled and miles said to wait a week i went ahead an watered a full dose hoping to stiffen them up a bit..the halliis on the other hand still have no buds but the leaves are opening up and the plants themselfs are still real firm,i figure to wait till they show some signs of wrinkle till i water those ones..how am i doin ? open to suggestions..like these plants,hope i dont mess em up..