SUCCULENTS > LITHOPS
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LITHOPS GUIDES
Sowing
Even by the laid - back standards of succulent , Lithops take cool to a whole fresh stage , as these evergreen plants look like a couple of stones .
They often have a semitransparent or dappled appearance , which is pretty enough , and then they break into flower .
If you ’re a gardener who also like to pile up strange stones and has an interest in geology , Lithops is just the plant for you .
“ I have found Lithops to be a great agency to inaugurate nipper to succulents , ” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .
“ They are a capital fashion to explain adaptation because they look so much like sway and then blossom so impressively . ”
Overview
PreferredFull sun
ExposureSheltered
Height0 – 0.1 M
Spread0 – 0.1 M
Bloom TimeJuly to September
PreferredSand or loam
MoistureWell - drained
pHAcidic to indifferent
These evergreen plant succulents mimic stone and , as a result , rake herbivore in their native habitat of South - Eastern Africa safely pass them by.1Rewald , B. , Eppel , A. , Shelef , O. , Hill , A. B. , Degu , A. , Friedjung , A. , Rachmilevitch , S. , & Bell , E. M. ( 2012 , March).Hot desert environments . CABI eBooks . retrieve June 16 , 2023 , fromhttps://doi.org/10.1079/9781845938147.0196
These apparent stones are actually particularize leaves which occur in pairs that are separated by a twat .
By looking at Lithops , you would n’t guess that it is an evergreen plant , because quite a number of these living Isidor Feinstein Stone are grey or brown in color .
They have translucent windows on the upper airfoil to let in sunlight that take care like blotches , dapples or mottling which , for the nurseryman ’s purpose , make the plant life more cosmetic .
However , the decorative value of Lithops does not cease with this foliage .
In former autumn , they create wide - subject flowers that often bear a resemblance to common daisy .
proportional to the plants ’ small size , the 3 - 4 centimetre wide flowers look quite large .
Lithops Varieties
There are 38 species and many more cultivar in the Lithops genus , and virtually all of them can be grow as houseplants in temperate regions , let in the UK.2Lithops N.E.Br.(n.d . ) . Kew Botanic Gardens . Retrieved June 20 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:16237-1
Though all kind are tender plants with a hardiness military rating of only H2 , if grown as houseplant in the UK and Europe , they are deal low maintenance .
This is one of the reasons that all the following metal money , among others , have been grant the RHS ’s Award of Garden Merit .
Beige with ruby - ocher mottling , bearing white flowers with a sensationalistic centre .
Of a brownish hue with olive - green mottling and white or yellow heyday .
Beige with olive - immature mottling , red - ocher markings and yellow flower .
green - grey with a darker splotch that is sometimes marbled bearing white flush .
tiresome green with an olive - green splodge with vivid yellow flowers that have a medial blank ring .
These plant typically reach a mere 3 - 4 centimetre in height , with a 5 - 6 centimetre spread .
Over clip , some species can and do become expectant .
In all causa , the bulk of the plant is beneath the soil , where it is well swelled than what you may expect .
How To Grow Lithops
In the UK you should mature Lithops in container .
The plant should be kept alfresco during the ardent atmospheric condition when the temperature is consistently above 12 ° C and indoors during the balance of the class .
Otherwise , you may grow them as houseplants all twelvemonth round .
However , they do needseveral time of day of direct sunlight .
In a nutshell , Lithops prefer sunny skies , a dryish climate and sandy - to - rocky free - draining grime .
The aspect of the mountain should preferably be south - lining but east or west - cladding will also be all right .
Though technically Lithops should be sited in a sheltered spot , this is not a strict instruction .
This is because these potted plants would not be kept outdoors in the UK during the frigid weather and their very low rise and stubby profiles make them imperviable to secure breaking wind .
In the UK , Lithops will thrive in full sun , with several hr of unmediated sun , outdoors or indoors .
When maintain outside , potted Lithops must not be divulge to a scorching sunshine during very hot weather , even in the UK .
Note that sunlight is necessary for this plant to flower .
stone life face do best in gratis - draining media that is pebbly and flaxen with little organic content .
The simplest and most computer error - costless way to go about it is to obtain ahigh - timber commercial-grade cactus potting mixand amend it in relief with moxie , perlite or both .
Otherwise , you would have to make your own cactus medium but be sure that it is neither overly rich nor moisture - retentive .
In very fond and humid climates , you’re able to supply fungicide powder or root to the growing medium to stave off fungous disease , but this is not strictly necessary in the UK as long as you do not keep potted Lithops outside during blistering , muggy weather condition or in cold , humid condition .
The soil pHshould be in the slimly acidicto achromatic range .
gage should be made of terracotta or clay and have multiple drainage hole .
Watering Lithops is a bit more complicated than watering other succulent .
This plant should be watered like other succulent , but only during springiness and from tardy summer to October - November , which are its periods of active outgrowth .
Water so that the sensitive is made damp all the way of life down , then H2O again after the spiritualist has become dry and stay dry for a couple of days .
How frequently you water depends on the temperature , exposure and the type of potbelly .
Sometimes , these plants go sleeping and do not grow actively during the summer .
If , during the summer , the industrial plant are keep in a warm spot with little sun , then they should be water sparingly , but if they are go along outside and get full Dominicus , then they should be watered sporadically .
Allow the soil to dry out out before rewatering .
A good indicant of when to water is the hold out Stone themselves .
If they look full and plump , all is well , but if they seem wrinkled or as if they are shrivelling , they need a beverage .
Do not irrigate these plants in winter .
Start irrigate again as soon as the Modern pair of leaf have take the place of the onetime , shrivelled ones .
stone plant are typically grown from seed .
The summons is not exactly easy , but it is quite a honest way to produce this plant .
seminal fluid should be sown in trays or pot and the best time to do so is April .
They need bright , collateral lighting and eminent humidness to germinate .
check that to water the seedling more than you water mature plants .
Lithops Care Guidelines
Living rock grow very slowly , they do not drain the medium of nutrients , their root are fragile and they are prostrate to transplantation shock .
All these are very good reason not to repot Lithops as you would other plants .
Once they are all typeset in a pot , they are good for twenty eld or more .
If you need to repot a Lithops plant for whatever reason , the best time to do so is in the center of summer .
Before pot on Lithops , water the plant and be cognizant that these plant have fragile roots and are prone to transplantation impact .
‘ Living Stones ’ are diffuse by two methods , by seed and by offset division .
In April they may be grown from germ , as outlined above .
or else , when an offset has matured and looks like a viable flora , it may be carve up and potted on , thereby becoming a new plant .
As with other succulent , root rot is a common trouble if living stones are grow in moist , water - retentive soil or if they are overwatered .
If the dirt is kept moist during wintertime , which is a no - no , the older pair of leaves will not shrink away and you ’ll end up with an ill at ease industrial plant with a double pair of leaves , the young on top of the old , which will give rise to strike hard - on trouble .
In the UK , they may be attacked by two pestilence , aphidsand mealybugs .
aphid do not pose too serious a job , but mealy bug are difficult to capture early and are not easy to eradicate .
In the UK , Lithops are loosely disease free .
