Lithops Seedlings....guide me through this :)

I still love seeing your updates and seeing how the plants are doing. You seem to be doing well so far.

Our gardening shops have a load of these plants in adult size; however I won't be able to send one from here due to all the regulations.

ok thanks anyway dipsey.....that species is allowed INTO this country as far as i know, because i know someone here that got some seeds and a live plant once, not sure where he got his FROM is the thing.

dalmation_fan87 I have ordered from both of the following websites and received excellent service. Their initial service is wonderful and they make themselves available to answer any questions before, during and after the sale. I emailed with a question just prior to my initial order and they were very helpful. Visit their websites and look through what they have available. I think you might find what you are looking for there and if you don't, just ask.
www.oldmancactus.com
www.gosucculent.com
These companies are both great to deal with and I don't think you will be disappointed. Good luck to ya!

Thanks for the sources.....not only am i tempted by their lithops, but they have so many other tempting plants as well!

When you stated you were interested in an adult plant, I immediately thought of these two websites. I have purchased several varieties and have been completely satisfied. I also have the babies I grew from seeds that are a couple months growing time behind yours. They are holding their own at this point and I am anxious to see them grow up. Happy growing!

id love to see your little seedlings too fem! :)

femluc and dalmation_fan87.
Good luck with your growing - SOON ??????>>
One of my plants snapped today.
P.S. sorry about the 6 months silence on site - I am recovering from a stroke!

The pic above shows how Lithops grow. The two leaves SPLIT as 2 ot 4 new ones force their way out from the growing point in the centre. Then the original leaves dry up and shrivel away.
P.S. Never water an adult Lithops when actively growing - WAIT till the old leaves have shriveled to the stage shown above. If actively growing Lithops get wet (and at all cold) the damaged caused by their growing is very likely to make them rot!

hi cerahipp. thanks for showing us your plants. And so sorry about the stroke, so glad youre ok though! I have a few seedlings where the seed leaves are completely dry like you mentioned about the adult plants.....many others are still stubborn to suck their seed leaves dry.

Cerahipp, so sorry to learn of your illness, but glad you are back on your feet again. The pics of your Lithops are great. I actually have a couple adults that I purchased from one of the websites that I have mentioned before in a post and they are wonderful. One of them dried up and I thought it was gone for good, but I recently noticed a new "leaf" growing out of the middle of it. Yay, I guess I am doing something right. I think I actually have the same species as what you have posted, along with a couple other varieties.

dalmation_fan87 My babies are holding their own at this point. I have wondered whether to water, not to water and have decided to just let them be for now. I looked at them under a magnifying glass and they are green and healthy looking, but very slow growing. I took them out of the tent I had them in and placed them near a window for natural light. I do not have a digital camera that would do them justice, so I will try to post something as soon as I can. As soon as spring arrives, I probably will purchase more adults and keep them going rather than holding my breath with the seeds, unless they go through a huge growing spurt and surprise me. All in all, I am very happy with them and actually amazed too! Happy growing!

glad to hear yours are doing so good fem....just dont bring them into sudden bright light too fast....they can actually get fried by the sudden bright light.....ive read to put them into bright light like that slowly unless they were already in bright light like that from the time you sowed the seeds

Thank you for sharing that info dalmation_fan. I actually placed them not far from where they already were in filtered light, so hopefully they will be okay.
It is nice to have this forum to compare progress with these little creatures ( as I call them ).

I am watching my Lithops like a hawk so that I can photograph and post pics as they flower and produce seed pods over the next few months. Recently they have been suffering from the LACK of water but I am sure they are alive and will bounce back.
Thanks for your concern about my health - I am aware that recovery will take some time.
Time to be happily passed with my cyber-friends!

Here are month 10 pictures...

part 2, the sun kind of glared up this shot

part 3

part 4, sun glared out this one a little too

part 5

part 6, still waiting on true leaves from this huge seedling

and finally part 7

I finally went ahead and got me some adult plants...that way i can enjoy lithops without having to use a magnifying glass to see them, LOL


I got me a couple of L. Dorothae (or however you spell it)

I have the adult species that you posted here and it looks as though one of them is about to reproduce, as are these. Are the baby plants still surviving at this point dalmation_fan87? Evidently I was a bit nervous about over watering them and did not water mine enough. I will say however, that I do enjoy the adult plants, but I wanted to at least try the seeds, so I will not rule out tryng them again at some point. I think I might use a soil mixture from one of the nurseries as opposed to mixing up my own on the next round. Good luck and keep posting. Happy gardening!

ill have to get you guys more pics of my seedlings.....however one of them looks like it might have got roasted by the sun, it turned pink....then got super shrivled, the others are ok still though. And im sorry to say that one of my adult lithops suddenly died on me too. When i got it in the mail, the leaves that it was still draining from got torn off of the plant and they mushed off of it, i was thinking it would be ok, so i planted it anyway....but then it got more and more shrivled, to the point it was just a crispy little ball. I guess when the leaves it was draining from got torn off....that was its death sentence huh?

Ok here is a seedlings update for you guys

part 1

part 2

heres part 3

and part 4

heres part 5

heres part 6

part 6 showed that seedling i was talking about that went pink and shrivled

heres part 7, the seedling right beside the one that went pink

and part 8

OOPS i posted the same picture twice, LOL! lets try that again

the other remaining adult L. Dorothae has drained its old leaves completely crispy dry now....is it ok to give that one a little taste of water?

Delmatian_fan #7609055 (Lithops dorotheae). Named by Desmond Cole THE world expert on Lithops. Lithops were Coles all cosuming hobby whilst he was professor of African languages at Witwaterstrand University in Johannesburg. Several have girls names, the best girls in his class??
Who was Dorothy (dorotheae) - weel, maybe his wife so we call him DIPLOMATIC DESMOND! (actually his wife's name was Naureen)
My daughter moved from Tasmania did a term doing Botany at Witts Uni. but well before Cole's time

For a really good read try Desmond T. Cole 1988, 'Lithops - Flowering Stones'
ISBN 0 620 09670

D_f87. Good idea to give them a little MISTING to prevent them drying beyond the point of no return. Try sterile water fron the cooled kettle.

thanks for the bit of lithops history there cerahipp....and i will give it a little mist and see what happens

I have just found this thread and have enjoyed watching the little lithops growing. Dalmation fan, you certainly have a lot of patience. I like seeing the progress pictures, please keep them coming. Laverne

well these fellas are a year and one month old now

hmm...have i perhaps went to the end of the post limit? wont let me post anything else picture wise

must have been a bug....lets try again