I live in Las Vegas and haven’t watered mine in 6 months. They are finally wrinkling so I’m going to water them soon. Then they shouldn’t need water again all winter. Best advice is just fight the urge to water them. The more you ignore them, the better they do. Love them from a distance!
Hey neighbor! I couldn't agree more!! I live in AZ and end up watering mine every 6 months. Once after flowering and once when the old leaves are all dried up.
I find that when you have multiple lithops in one pot and one is fully hydrated using a thick needled syringe to inject the water just under the top of the soil near the one that does not have enough water works really well!
Everyone has such a hard time with lythops their first time having them! Lol I'm glad you made this video for all new lythop owners. I think it will help cut down on how many lose theirs right away! You were open and inviting yet informative. Hard combo to master 🙌 I live in Arizona, USA and my 7 lythops are nearly 8 years old now! ❤
Thanks Erica! I'm glad you've kept your Lithops happy for so long! It goes to show how dry climates can do wonders for growing the more difficult succulents, but I know it can be hard w/ the extreme heat and cold winters.
Wow, I didn’t realise my new lithops had so special needs - mainly - in terms of watering! So thanks for the info, I hope I can now succeed with keeping it alive.
I have my weee little butts growing in a planter with cactus, but the butts are sectioned off together on one end of the pot away from the cactus. I never water the little guys, only the cactus area and it seems they love it, only getting some residual moisture/humidity in the soil. They're healthy and multiplying when they should.
I saw this video and thought.... damn... I just found one of my butt plants melted away from the smallest spray of filtered water. Needed this in my life 2 days ago 😩 thank you for putting this out there.
I haven't watered since late summer. One of my Lithops just melted away recently. What did I do wrong? East window in Wisconsin so they get chilly at night during the winter is this okay? I could move them under LEDs. I think they are young plants. Only one split in the fall. Appreciate any suggestions
This video was very useful. Thanks. I taught botany at a community college for several years but dealt more with the anatomy, physiology and reproduction in higher plants. Higher in that they were higher off the ground. Of course Lithops are higher too, just near the ground in dry climates. I have several pots of Lithops germinating and will give your video more looks as they develop. They look like ideal candidates for gifts.
Wow! Super helpful. My mother just purchased about 50 beautiful lithos of varying top colors. This video will help her properly care for them here in southern Mexico. Thank you so much.
I’ve always been intimidated by lithops (specifically my baby’s toes) and how to grow them. Thanks to your informative video, I feel more confident. Thanks Andrea!
Thank you for this comprehensive video on lithops care. Some instructions on when to and when not to water are confusing but I thinkI get it from your video. A+ teacher!
Yooo Thank You Very Much!! This was very detailed. I learned that Lithops are not a good choice for me, and im very appreciative of your video!! These things really are super cool 😁
Nooo keep trying! Really the only thing they need that can be hard to provide naturally is a bright dry location indoors when it gets too cold. So if you ever decide to spring for grow lights, def give Lithops another whirl ;)
This is such a great video. I had no idea the roots went dormant during splitting! I kept wondering if the taproot was dead on my Lithops because they looked yellow and dry. I'm glad I'm just letting them chill in gritty mix under a grow light right now.
Thank you for this video. I just bought 2 pots full of babies lithops online ( for RM 26 each ) and 8 minutes into this video, I immediately cancelled the purchase. To me, gardening should be relaxing and not stressful.
Thanks for mentioning where you are from. I watch so many plant videos and wonder “can I help those babies survive in this heat?” Like I’ll bet a lot of houstonians would not believe a 14 year old rubber plant can sit in your front yard and get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight and has survived freezes, hurricanes, being cut all the way down (leaving no leaves or stems)all of it. Based on what you hear about rubber plant mine should’ve died ten time over but it come back every year.
Thank you so much. I killed mine after 6months. I was so terrified of killing it. I did in the end I didn’t know what to do. Ur video is so informative. I will give it another shot.
cool great video,I hardly ever water them have in a shallow bonsai pot with an extremely well drained mix I made myself have had them growing for 3 years now.
What a brilliant video,Thank you.i am now going to get my inherited lithops out of the pot full of potting compost and try your approch and hope they recover.
Nadecia Campbell exactly! I have some and was thrilled with these unique “living rocks” but the more I learn the more i just expect them to die! If they look the same when they need water & when they’re about to “flower” then how the heck should i know... I have killed cocoon plants and string of pearls both twice. What makes me think i can do these
Amanda 'mandy' maybe you have a green thumb. I have several & one actually flowered! But they all look a bit wrinkled which causes concern. I think this video makes them seem really complex talking about needing to know what growth they’re in, climate, specific soil, ventilation....& like I said, they look the same when flowering & when they need water...I will say they’re easier than this video makes them out to be. Geez.
I love Lithops! When I got my first pot of these plants, I had done my research, and I didn't even water them for the first time until months later. If anyone struggles with the urge to water them, note that some species come from locations where the average rainfall in the entire year is just a few inches! They're like little water tanks.
Mine still live after 3 months bought them and had no idea how to look after them, your video is very helpful and precise Thank you for taking the time I will use it for reference.
Excellent video! Very informative and great background info. I have been to South Africa and seen these things the size of plates and I think they are way cuter when they are little. I just might be tempted to give them a go.
I live here where lithops grow ..but have never seen one as big as a plate..unless its a family/ cluster of maybe 100 years old..with 20 to 30 heads maybe ..
I am so pleased to have found you Andrea. I have a Līthops which has root rot, I think I got it like this from the nursery but it was not visible as the injury is below the ground. After watching this I took it out of the pot to see the root, and there is was half rotten. I am so upset about it and thought to reach out to see if you have any advise to see if I can save her? Not sure if I can add a photo here so you can see the patient....mmm
Thank you for such an informative, well organized video. I’ve been binge watching your channel for a couple of days, and I feel comfortable that I have enough information to hopefully stop giving these innocent cuties death sentences because they’re unable to grow legs to help them run to safety when I walk into any sort of “garden center” to try something other than orchids to grow - I’m a recently-paroled orchid a****r, and the succulents seem to know that they have less than zero chances of survival once I get through the checkout in the store and out to my car. Your clear explanations for and against the use of any of these various “soil” amendments make perfect sense, especially as far as how to tweak the ratios based on the climate where the plants will be living. I live in the New Orleans area, and although we do have colder winters and slightly cooler summers than you do in Houston, pretty much everything else that would work well for your plants in your climate should be - at the very least - a good starting point for my foray into the world of succulents, and I think that I will be able to continue to grow my orchids in the greenhouse right alongside the Lithops (and Mesembs and other succulents that have been cowering in fear at my favorite store(s) for overpriced plants). Here’s hoping, and thanks for so much great information!
Sorry for the late reply - I kind of go dormant in the winter 😅 Yes our climates are very similar and humidity/heat/rain are our biggest challenges. Plants that do well for me are Kalanchoes, Euphorbia, Haworthia, Aloes - more 'tropical' varieties. I still keep more difficult sucs but those are my BFFs because they don't give me much trouble ;)
I feel like i have a new god complex. I've kept my living rock alive for 6 months now without doing any research. Its growing amazing so far just needs more light. Im so proud!
I really love your video!! I slowly started to really care for all my different succulents, because I noticed they are not as easy as it seems. The most populare Information given, is that they all don't need to be watered often. It seems to be too easy. So I started to look up for more information and learn that they aren't as easy as people think. There are so many things you need to look out for, for each individuell succulent. I really thank you for this really good video!! I find it hard to find good quality informations. I wish there would be more informations in my language as well but I am lucky to understand english as well❤️
This is so informational, and formal. This is so perfect video for wanting to know how to care for these amazing succulents. I’m just to scared to take off the soil around it to put in all of those rocky plant bases lol. But thank you so much for this video
I just ordered mine and it will arrive in few days. I only own haworthia so far and since she has been doing just fine I wanted something a little bit challenging but now I am nervous especially when it comes to watering. I hope I won't kill it, but, yeah I am kind of intimidated by the fact that they need more care and I am only on my second plant and not having much experience
Excellent information! I have been growing Lithops and other mesembs for thirty years and your video is the best I have seen on Lithops care. Wish I had a lizard for my colection.
Thanks a lot. I got my lithops 2 days ago and i was so sad that some of them started to wrinkle :( but now im happy as i have learnt from you that they will start to their new life with their new form. Im a bit anxious i hope they will manage to transform. Thanks again
But Andrea says they also wrinkle from too little water. Knowing how big box stores water their plants, it's probably easy to miss one or two. You'd have to know what cycle the plant was in before you bought it. Hmmmm...what a conundrum
Great vid I just received 10 baby lithops I had one for over a year I brought back from Florida. I really wanted to try again and this info helps so much . They are so interesting looking and I got a few different varieties. I will replant them in a mix like yours when I get some . I planted them in soil for now and put under my plant lites because I’m in Maine and it’s dark at 4:30 I hope the lites help a lot 🌱I do believe overwatering killed mine because it was having new plants emerge at the time
So I was supposed to get Lithops for my birthday... but my mum gave them to me a few days before my actual birthday since she doesn't know how to handle them. 3 of them have died since, they seem pretty overwatered and also all of them are in one tight pot. Sooo...I'm here to learn and thanks to your video I now know how to make them survive haha. Thanks!☺️
Thanks for the deep info of keeping lithops. My one question is I live in Malaysia tropical climate. We do not have 4 seasons here. So when should I water my lithops?
I'm kind of in the same boat weather-wise. You'll still follow the same instructions though. If you get a flower in 'winter,' stop watering after the bud is dead. If you don't get a flower, stop watering around December if it's starting to spread/split. Follow the other rules about when to water 🙏 I hope that makes sense!
*I love your channel, you are awesome! Beautiful and a sense of humor, I subscribed. Love your channel name. I just bought a lithops today and found your channel and exactly what I needed to know. I have heard it called a stone faces plant and a brain plant, but never a butt plant! From now on that’s exactly what I’m going to call it!🤙*
Me, seeing lithops online: oooh pretty! I'm going to get that. It's pretty expensive, but it's a succulent, so I should be able to keep it alive. Every website: if you look at your lithops the wrong way it will shrivel and die. Me: well shit. But for real, caring for lithops isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be. I'm a serial plant murderer (mostly from underwatering, one unfortunate victim of fungus due to overwater, RIP favorite cactus) and not only is my lithops still alive, it survived being transferred to a bigger (ceramic) pot, flowered, the flower died off, and I came back from winter break to find that two of the three plants had produced new leaves. This was all in my first year of owning them, so who knows what could happen. I got my lithops from the website Logee's, which I credit a lot for their success, since clearly they had a good start. They're fun little plants if you are a habitual underwaterer.
I agree, websites make everything too complicated. I disregard the complicated watering schedules. I live in Ohio. All my succulents, including my lithops, stay outside whenever temps are above freezing, and I only bring them inside for the winter. When I bring my lithops inside for winter, usually in October or November, I stop watering. In early spring, just about the time I bring them back outside, they'll start to split. I do not water until the old leaves are fully absorbed. In spring, summer, and fall, I water whenever I start seeing them get a bit wrinkly and the top of the plants begin to flatten out a bit. My lithops are doing great. So, I don't follow some hard to follow schedule. I use common sense.
I just received my first Split Rock. I learned so much from you. I transplanted the same as I do other succulents and now I have to redo it since I did it wrong. Thank you for the information. Maybe I can grow these now.
Thank you for this video. Great information. It would help me to understand the process if you made a text slide of the growth cycle through a year (approximately) while you spoke through it.
Sorry for the late reply but I linked to the text in my video description and I have a whole section on Lithops and other Mesembs in my book The Succulent Manual 🙏 amzn.to/3SQtbo1
That was a great tutorial on the basic care of Lithops. I’m constantly second guessing myself when it comes to watering, but that was easily understandable. I have just bought my first couple of Split Rocks to go with my Lithops, are they basically the same - will they wrinkle when they need watering?
Thanks! Split Rocks is a common name for a lot of different plants. You'd want to look up their care needs under their scientific name. They may need more water or not absorb leaves like Lithops depending on the type :)
I just collected a few lithops without pots and media, I reported them as instructed, but I haven't watered the pots yet. My media is dry and consists mainly of stone chips, coarse sand, perlite and a small amount of organic matter. Some plants have no roots or very small roots. When should they be watered first?
It should be okay to water them to encourage some root growth. No roots = nowhere for the water to go, so just enough to moisten the soil, not too much. The pots should dry in 2 days or sooner.
Thank you very mutch for this detailed instructions, tips, hints, advices to lithops care. I have my lithops growing from seeds in the moment. 1st attempt was a failure, cause lack of valuable informations and how-to s. Seeds germinated well, are on the 3rd week. Have increased ventolation, removed them from the bag. Try to keep them humid. May I keep the now for good outside the bag or they still need the safe humid environment? The pumice has already some green spots. Thank you in advance! :)
If it's humid where you're located, I would leave the bag off but keep the soil moist. You can usually start letting the soil dry between waterings at 8-12 weeks. Good luck!
I'm in the DFW area. And your videos really give me confidence in what I'm doing, since you understand the climate I'm in.This video and others has helped me to understand how to properly care for plants in our exstremely humid climate. I'm new to the succulent world lol. It feels like I'm neglecting them if I don't water them weekly 😆. I'm also trying to learn to plant them and leave them alone. All of my succulents are outside. Do you have any outside, that you leave out all year round? Love rearranging them. I bought a lithop 3 weeks ago. And I know from you video I have over watered it. So far it's still alive. It had been watered when I bought it. I transplanted it 2wks after I bought it, and watered it, but didn't cover the roots. That Jus might have saved it. I'm soo thankful for this video. Thanks to you I may be the first, that hasn't killed one by over watering. 😂😁.
Most of mine are outdoors year round but I do have to cover them w/ a frost cloth when temps drop :) You'll have to worry about that more in DFW since you get longer periods of freezing temps than we do ;)
I killed my first batch Arizona is very dry so I over watered them 😞But I didn't give up and bought a few...1 month in and so far they are doing great. What an informative video. Thank you!💞 ☺
i was looking into these wanting to setup a 10 gallon terrarium of succulents for my daughter to watch grow. what suggestions would you make for a variety of lithops with other plants that would thrive together with minimal attention
Just got my first Lithops. There are two in the small pot (about 2.5 inches deep) and one is flowering. I’m wondering about East the timing is to reply them. Would this be the wrong time to report?? Great video !!
Sucs For You! I reported it a couple days ago. The leaves seem to be shriveling some. Was prob too vigorous in getting all the old medium off the roots. Will see what happens.
Great info. My friend gave me a mixed pot of these as a birthday present. A bird thought they were food and knocked the tiny bowl over. They were scattered on the ground and i saw most had NO roots!!! I got a big heavy pot and re planted them (difficult as they are really tiny). I just used sand and a tiny bit of cacti potting soil. I have not watered them. Do you think they will grow new roots in the future? They don't appear to be rotten at the bases, looks like the roots were snapped off by the person who planted them as they were too small. Thanks.
Since they're so small, I'm guessing they're pretty young so it's okay to water them a bit more frequently than mature Lithops as long as the soil is drying out quickly (like after a day or two tops). More water will encourage roots during their growing season (not too hot/cold). And yes, sometimes growers trim roots to encourage growth so don't worry too much :)
Thanks for the thorough explanation! Shall I wait for the Lithops to wrinkle once the old leaves completely dried out or can I water as soon as I see the older leaves are completely dry?
Its 2024 and people are still benefiting from this video 😄
You are so right😂 I didn’t even buy one yet and I have gone down a rabbit hole of compiling what I need to care for one!
I mean the video is just 6 years old. I don’t think Lithops are going to change anytime soon.
@@gerdz101 it’s still good to stay educated
@@Frogy56 yeap. That’s actually the point of my comment.
@@gerdz101 exactly😊
I love my little weirdo’s, grown from seed , thank you for this 5 years later 💜
I live in Las Vegas and haven’t watered mine in 6 months. They are finally wrinkling so I’m going to water them soon. Then they shouldn’t need water again all winter. Best advice is just fight the urge to water them. The more you ignore them, the better they do. Love them from a distance!
Hey neighbor! I couldn't agree more!! I live in AZ and end up watering mine every 6 months. Once after flowering and once when the old leaves are all dried up.
i just bought lithops an hour ago and i’m out here binge watching videos in yt on how to take care of them
I approve of this comment 😂🙏
what happen if they split :( we only have 2 season here in the philippines HAHA :(
same.. I have 10 baby lithops..
I just bought one too
Enjoy..
I find that when you have multiple lithops in one pot and one is fully hydrated using a thick needled syringe to inject the water just under the top of the soil near the one that does not have enough water works really well!
I did this too lol
Do pipettes work too?
Great advice!
Nice idea
My lithops flowered this year with these tiny little white and yellow flowers. So cute.
Everyone has such a hard time with lythops their first time having them! Lol I'm glad you made this video for all new lythop owners. I think it will help cut down on how many lose theirs right away! You were open and inviting yet informative. Hard combo to master 🙌
I live in Arizona, USA and my 7 lythops are nearly 8 years old now! ❤
Thanks Erica! I'm glad you've kept your Lithops happy for so long! It goes to show how dry climates can do wonders for growing the more difficult succulents, but I know it can be hard w/ the extreme heat and cold winters.
Lithops are a test of faith LOL
It's 2022 and there are still so many benefits from your lesson! Thank you.
Wow, I didn’t realise my new lithops had so special needs - mainly - in terms of watering! So thanks for the info, I hope I can now succeed with keeping it alive.
I have my weee little butts growing in a planter with cactus, but the butts are sectioned off together on one end of the pot away from the cactus. I never water the little guys, only the cactus area and it seems they love it, only getting some residual moisture/humidity in the soil. They're healthy and multiplying when they should.
I watch this video every spring when I haven’t watered them for a couple of months and I’ve forgotten how to take care of them
Sounds like you're doing it right if you're leaving them alone long enough to need a refresher 😂🙏
I just received 10 lithops and this info was easy to understand thanks
Very welcome!
The video just started and judging by these comments I'm already scared
Lithops and succulents always remind of me some underwater oceanic connection with their design and look.
I saw this video and thought.... damn... I just found one of my butt plants melted away from the smallest spray of filtered water. Needed this in my life 2 days ago 😩 thank you for putting this out there.
Gah I'm sorry - it happens...usually more than once :/ I'm betting the next one is THE one :p xoxo
I haven't watered since late summer. One of my Lithops just melted away recently. What did I do wrong? East window in Wisconsin so they get chilly at night during the winter is this okay? I could move them under LEDs. I think they are young plants. Only one split in the fall. Appreciate any suggestions
One of the most fascinating plants.
This video was very useful. Thanks. I taught botany at a community college for several years but dealt more with the anatomy, physiology and reproduction in higher plants. Higher in that they were higher off the ground. Of course Lithops are higher too, just near the ground in dry climates. I have several pots of Lithops germinating and will give your video more looks as they develop. They look like ideal candidates for gifts.
Wow! Super helpful. My mother just purchased about 50 beautiful lithos of varying top colors. This video will help her properly care for them here in southern Mexico. Thank you so much.
You’re welcome 😊
I’ve always been intimidated by lithops (specifically my baby’s toes) and how to grow them. Thanks to your informative video, I feel more confident. Thanks Andrea!
Thank you Pam! Baby Toes are even pickier I think! But understanding Lithops really has helped me keep my toes alive longer than ever :D
Thank you for this comprehensive video on lithops care. Some instructions on when to and when not to water are confusing but I thinkI get it from your video. A+ teacher!
Glad it was helpful!
Yooo Thank You Very Much!!
This was very detailed. I learned that Lithops are not a good choice for me, and im very appreciative of your video!!
These things really are super cool 😁
Nooo keep trying! Really the only thing they need that can be hard to provide naturally is a bright dry location indoors when it gets too cold. So if you ever decide to spring for grow lights, def give Lithops another whirl ;)
This is such a great video. I had no idea the roots went dormant during splitting! I kept wondering if the taproot was dead on my Lithops because they looked yellow and dry. I'm glad I'm just letting them chill in gritty mix under a grow light right now.
Thank you for this video. I just bought 2 pots full of babies lithops online ( for RM 26 each ) and 8 minutes into this video, I immediately cancelled the purchase. To me, gardening should be relaxing and not stressful.
I enjoy the challenge ;)
This is the best instructional video I have seen on TH-cam, and I have watched a lot! Great job! Thank You!
That's great to hear!! Thank you Marie B :)
Nice captions! Looks like you typed them yourself. That's awesome and so appreciated. 💕
Thanks for mentioning where you are from. I watch so many plant videos and wonder “can I help those babies survive in this heat?” Like I’ll bet a lot of houstonians would not believe a 14 year old rubber plant can sit in your front yard and get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight and has survived freezes, hurricanes, being cut all the way down (leaving no leaves or stems)all of it. Based on what you hear about rubber plant mine should’ve died ten time over but it come back every year.
Thank you so much. I killed mine after 6months. I was so terrified of killing it. I did in the end I didn’t know what to do. Ur video is so informative. I will give it another shot.
cool great video,I hardly ever water them have in a shallow bonsai pot with an extremely well drained mix I made myself have had them growing for 3 years now.
What a brilliant video,Thank you.i am now going to get my inherited lithops out of the pot full of potting compost and try your approch and hope they recover.
Great info. I’ve been lucky in keeping mine alive so far. Had my split for about a year now and it’s flowering😊
Thanks Margarita! That's great news that it's flowering for you! It has to be mature and happy :D Good job!!
Thanks so much. this has been the most clearly informative video I've seen.
Yay! I'm glad it was helpful!
Great video.. I just decided I won't be buying any
Nadecia Campbell exactly! I have some and was thrilled with these unique “living rocks” but the more I learn the more i just expect them to die! If they look the same when they need water & when they’re about to “flower” then how the heck should i know... I have killed cocoon plants and string of pearls both twice. What makes me think i can do these
Ive had mine for a while now and theyre doing rlly well. Honestly these are a lot easier then a lot of my other plants
Amanda 'mandy' maybe you have a green thumb. I have several & one actually flowered! But they all look a bit wrinkled which causes concern. I think this video makes them seem really complex talking about needing to know what growth they’re in, climate, specific soil, ventilation....& like I said, they look the same when flowering & when they need water...I will say they’re easier than this video makes them out to be. Geez.
@@jen_217_ Look to the season to know whether they're 'scheduled' to flower. Typically fall through mid winter.
They're not too hard. I love them so much. They're such cute little plants and leaving them alone is key lol
Great video, Andrea! Thank you!😃In Houston, too. Excited to learn more about these types of succulents!
I love Lithops! When I got my first pot of these plants, I had done my research, and I didn't even water them for the first time until months later. If anyone struggles with the urge to water them, note that some species come from locations where the average rainfall in the entire year is just a few inches! They're like little water tanks.
They're AMAZINGLY efficient!
I bought one 2 days ago and I am not watering till the summer passes by.
Your video has helped me keep my lithops alive. I now own 10 separate 2-4" pots of lithops. :)
Glad I could help!
Beeskloutjies,here in South Africa :) Means little cattle feet!
Very cool!!
Mine still live after 3 months bought them and had no idea how to look after them, your video is very helpful and precise Thank you for taking the time I will use it for reference.
Great job Ian!!
I'm a new Lithop grower , thanks for the easy to understand information
Happy to help! 🌵😊 Thanks Dave!
Excellent video! Very informative and great background info. I have been to South Africa and seen these things the size of plates and I think they are way cuter when they are little. I just might be tempted to give them a go.
WOW. I'd like to see that too! Thank you!
I live here where lithops grow ..but have never seen one as big as a plate..unless its a family/ cluster of maybe 100 years old..with 20 to 30 heads maybe ..
Perfect timing, my Lithop just arrived today among many many other little beauties from Fairyblooms. Thank you 🌵
WOooo! Enjoy!!!
Now I’m curious about how to pronounce Lithops. Thank you for the info.
Now i am ready to buy some lithops :)
That's what I like to hear!
If you want even more info, Ashley Glassman has a pretty good playlist for lithops and conophytums care as well :D
Thank you. I have seen her videos.
Best video on lithops! Thank you for the pictures and explaining everything so well!
Oooh thank you Jeri! I'm gonna quote you on that ;)
I am so pleased to have found you Andrea. I have a Līthops which has root rot, I think I got it like this from the nursery but it was not visible as the injury is below the ground. After watching this I took it out of the pot to see the root, and there is was half rotten. I am so upset about it and thought to reach out to see if you have any advise to see if I can save her? Not sure if I can add a photo here so you can see the patient....mmm
Hello I found your channel today and I struggle with my Pleiospilos, can you do more videos of them? Thank you so much
Check out these blogs I wrote - sucsforyou.com/?s=pleiospilos
Thank you best advice I've had.
Have a good growing day
Thank you Kathryn!
Thank you for such an informative, well organized video. I’ve been binge watching your channel for a couple of days, and I feel comfortable that I have enough information to hopefully stop giving these innocent cuties death sentences because they’re unable to grow legs to help them run to safety when I walk into any sort of “garden center” to try something other than orchids to grow - I’m a recently-paroled orchid a****r, and the succulents seem to know that they have less than zero chances of survival once I get through the checkout in the store and out to my car. Your clear explanations for and against the use of any of these various “soil” amendments make perfect sense, especially as far as how to tweak the ratios based on the climate where the plants will be living. I live in the New Orleans area, and although we do have colder winters and slightly cooler summers than you do in Houston, pretty much everything else that would work well for your plants in your climate should be - at the very least - a good starting point for my foray into the world of succulents, and I think that I will be able to continue to grow my orchids in the greenhouse right alongside the Lithops (and Mesembs and other succulents that have been cowering in fear at my favorite store(s) for overpriced plants). Here’s hoping, and thanks for so much great information!
Sorry for the late reply - I kind of go dormant in the winter 😅 Yes our climates are very similar and humidity/heat/rain are our biggest challenges. Plants that do well for me are Kalanchoes, Euphorbia, Haworthia, Aloes - more 'tropical' varieties. I still keep more difficult sucs but those are my BFFs because they don't give me much trouble ;)
What is an orchid a****r? Can u give a clue? 😅
Thank you for this video. It is the only one I watch over and over again especially if I get tempted to water my babies in a very humid climate.
Aw thank you Maria!! I will think about your comment when I'm tempted to water them at the wrong time lol!
I feel like i have a new god complex. I've kept my living rock alive for 6 months now without doing any research. Its growing amazing so far just needs more light. Im so proud!
AWESOME!!!
My dad is getting me a lithops so thank you for this vid
This is the best video on Lipthos. Love it!
Yay! Thank you!
I really love your video!!
I slowly started to really care for all my different succulents, because I noticed they are not as easy as it seems. The most populare Information given, is that they all don't need to be watered often. It seems to be too easy. So I started to look up for more information and learn that they aren't as easy as people think.
There are so many things you need to look out for, for each individuell succulent. I really thank you for this really good video!! I find it hard to find good quality informations. I wish there would be more informations in my language as well but I am lucky to understand english as well❤️
Thank you! I agree it takes some time to get to know each plant's needs but it's time well spent!
This is so informational, and formal. This is so perfect video for wanting to know how to care for these amazing succulents. I’m just to scared to take off the soil around it to put in all of those rocky plant bases lol. But thank you so much for this video
You are so welcome!
I am also a lithop lover🥰glad to watch your video,i hope i can learn more about this plant😊
Love the picture with a lizard resting on the lithop 🦎 ❤
I just ordered mine and it will arrive in few days. I only own haworthia so far and since she has been doing just fine I wanted something a little bit challenging but now I am nervous especially when it comes to watering. I hope I won't kill it, but, yeah I am kind of intimidated by the fact that they need more care and I am only on my second plant and not having much experience
thank you !! just got a pot with about 6 in it , one of them flowered . now i know how to take care of them !
Wonderful!
Excellent information! I have been growing Lithops and other mesembs for thirty years and your video is the best I have seen on Lithops care. Wish I had a lizard for my colection.
Thanks so much Stephen!
Maybe the person above needs a lizard to eat the mealy bugs?
This was really helpful! Just bought my first lithops and I really hope I can keep it alive!
Awesome!! Good luck!!
Thanks a lot. I got my lithops 2 days ago and i was so sad that some of them started to wrinkle :( but now im happy as i have learnt from you that they will start to their new life with their new form. Im a bit anxious i hope they will manage to transform. Thanks again
Ooh good luck!!
Hope they lived
@@jen_217_ actually some of them growed a lot and 2 of them just blow out in a night im so sad for them. I think caring lithops is a though job
But Andrea says they also wrinkle from too little water. Knowing how big box stores water their plants, it's probably easy to miss one or two. You'd have to know what cycle the plant was in before you bought it. Hmmmm...what a conundrum
Beautiful and fascinating! Thank you for the info
Great vid I just received 10 baby lithops I had one for over a year I brought back from Florida.
I really wanted to try again and this info helps so much . They are so interesting looking and I got a few different varieties. I will replant them in a mix like yours when I get some . I planted them in soil for now and put under my plant lites because I’m in Maine and it’s dark at 4:30 I hope the lites help a lot 🌱I do believe overwatering killed mine because it was having new plants emerge at the time
I'm glad you have grow lights! They are essential for keeping Lithops happy in your situation :)
Literally the best TH-cam channel name I have ever seen 😂
You don't know how much I appreciate the name being appreciated - thank you! 😂🥰
I’ve got two and they ain’t dead yet! Im excited to plant their seeds. I’ve had em for about 2 months
Wooo! You're off to a great start! 🙏
i use cacti and succulent soil mix and I added more pumice stones in them
That sounds like a great recipe for Lithops! 🙏
So I was supposed to get Lithops for my birthday... but my mum gave them to me a few days before my actual birthday since she doesn't know how to handle them. 3 of them have died since, they seem pretty overwatered and also all of them are in one tight pot.
Sooo...I'm here to learn and thanks to your video I now know how to make them survive haha. Thanks!☺️
Good on you for doing the research! Best of luck!
Thanks for the deep info of keeping lithops. My one question is I live in Malaysia tropical climate. We do not have 4 seasons here. So when should I water my lithops?
I'm kind of in the same boat weather-wise. You'll still follow the same instructions though. If you get a flower in 'winter,' stop watering after the bud is dead. If you don't get a flower, stop watering around December if it's starting to spread/split. Follow the other rules about when to water 🙏 I hope that makes sense!
ive got one lithop juuuust hanging on after losing 4 😔 . thank you for the info
This video is very good can you tell me what size pot to use
Maybe 2 to 3x the width of the plant. I like taller pots if I can find them - 4-5 inches or so.
wow this video must have been a LOT of work, honestly your videos are enough to learn from scratch, which has suited me ::)
Are they easy to grow from seed????? Tks
*I love your channel, you are awesome! Beautiful and a sense of humor, I subscribed. Love your channel name. I just bought a lithops today and found your channel and exactly what I needed to know. I have heard it called a stone faces plant and a brain plant, but never a butt plant! From now on that’s exactly what I’m going to call it!🤙*
Thanks so much! Good luck with your new booty-butt plant!
Absolutely terrific video! Great useful information.. thank you for sharing.
Thank you!!
Thank you so much! Best information! I love how you talk about them ❤
You are so welcome!
Thank you for this.. Bought my first one, so excited
Have fun!
Me, seeing lithops online: oooh pretty! I'm going to get that. It's pretty expensive, but it's a succulent, so I should be able to keep it alive.
Every website: if you look at your lithops the wrong way it will shrivel and die.
Me: well shit.
But for real, caring for lithops isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be. I'm a serial plant murderer (mostly from underwatering, one unfortunate victim of fungus due to overwater, RIP favorite cactus) and not only is my lithops still alive, it survived being transferred to a bigger (ceramic) pot, flowered, the flower died off, and I came back from winter break to find that two of the three plants had produced new leaves. This was all in my first year of owning them, so who knows what could happen. I got my lithops from the website Logee's, which I credit a lot for their success, since clearly they had a good start. They're fun little plants if you are a habitual underwaterer.
Well said!
What is the exact website? I’d love to check it out ❤️
RockerCatErrorEncountered 404 I got a pack of 8 for $5
I agree, websites make everything too complicated. I disregard the complicated watering schedules. I live in Ohio. All my succulents, including my lithops, stay outside whenever temps are above freezing, and I only bring them inside for the winter. When I bring my lithops inside for winter, usually in October or November, I stop watering. In early spring, just about the time I bring them back outside, they'll start to split. I do not water until the old leaves are fully absorbed. In spring, summer, and fall, I water whenever I start seeing them get a bit wrinkly and the top of the plants begin to flatten out a bit. My lithops are doing great. So, I don't follow some hard to follow schedule. I use common sense.
This was very informative. Thank you
Love how informative your videos are on plants ! Subscriber !
Thank you and extra thanks for the sub!
I just received my first Split Rock. I learned so much from you. I transplanted the same as I do other succulents and now I have to redo it since I did it wrong. Thank you for the information. Maybe I can grow these now.
Happy to help!
Great you put pics of similar plants at the end, it shows me the plant I bought as a lithops is apparently a dinteranthus wilmotianus! 🥸
They're much the same care-wise, and that's a very common mix-up so no worries!
@@SucsForYou 🙂
Great tips. I just got my first one today, and not thinking, gave it a tiny bit of water. Hoping it doesn't hurt it :(
Thank you for this video. Great information. It would help me to understand the process if you made a text slide of the growth cycle through a year (approximately) while you spoke through it.
Sorry for the late reply but I linked to the text in my video description and I have a whole section on Lithops and other Mesembs in my book The Succulent Manual 🙏 amzn.to/3SQtbo1
Wonderfully explained! Thanks for this video ❤️
Thank you Greg!
I just brought a raise Thorp i love them they are fantastic plant
I only killed 4 out of 6 until I wised up and studied lithops life cycle. Thanks for Great Lithops Video.
Hey, it happens!
That was a great tutorial on the basic care of Lithops. I’m constantly second guessing myself when it comes to watering, but that was easily understandable. I have just bought my first couple of Split Rocks to go with my Lithops, are they basically the same - will they wrinkle when they need watering?
Thanks! Split Rocks is a common name for a lot of different plants. You'd want to look up their care needs under their scientific name. They may need more water or not absorb leaves like Lithops depending on the type :)
I just collected a few lithops without pots and media, I reported them as instructed, but I haven't watered the pots yet. My media is dry and consists mainly of stone chips, coarse sand, perlite and a small amount of organic matter. Some plants have no roots or very small roots. When should they be watered first?
It should be okay to water them to encourage some root growth. No roots = nowhere for the water to go, so just enough to moisten the soil, not too much. The pots should dry in 2 days or sooner.
Thank you very mutch for this detailed instructions, tips, hints, advices to lithops care. I have my lithops growing from seeds in the moment. 1st attempt was a failure, cause lack of valuable informations and how-to s. Seeds germinated well, are on the 3rd week. Have increased ventolation, removed them from the bag. Try to keep them humid. May I keep the now for good outside the bag or they still need the safe humid environment? The pumice has already some green spots. Thank you in advance! :)
If it's humid where you're located, I would leave the bag off but keep the soil moist. You can usually start letting the soil dry between waterings at 8-12 weeks. Good luck!
Just got some seeds, so now I'm gonna cross my fingers and plant them.
😍 You
Why do you have to be intelligent, good looking, AND into plants?!? love your planting style too.
I'm in the DFW area. And your videos really give me confidence in what I'm doing, since you understand the climate I'm in.This video and others has helped me to understand how to properly care for plants in our exstremely humid climate. I'm new to the succulent world lol. It feels like I'm neglecting them if I don't water them weekly 😆. I'm also trying to learn to plant them and leave them alone. All of my succulents are outside. Do you have any outside, that you leave out all year round? Love rearranging them. I bought a lithop 3 weeks ago. And I know from you video I have over watered it. So far it's still alive. It had been watered when I bought it. I transplanted it 2wks after I bought it, and watered it, but didn't cover the roots. That Jus might have saved it. I'm soo thankful for this video. Thanks to you I may be the first, that hasn't killed one by over watering. 😂😁.
Most of mine are outdoors year round but I do have to cover them w/ a frost cloth when temps drop :) You'll have to worry about that more in DFW since you get longer periods of freezing temps than we do ;)
Hi from FtW! I just placed a huge order for lithops! Did yours make it?
I killed my first batch Arizona is very dry so I over watered them 😞But I didn't give up and bought a few...1 month in and so far they are doing great. What an informative video. Thank you!💞 ☺
This is great news!! Keep trying!
Best video ever. Thank you for your awesome full I don’t know what else to say video
Wow, thank you!!!
i was looking into these wanting to setup a 10 gallon terrarium of succulents for my daughter to watch grow. what suggestions would you make for a variety of lithops with other plants that would thrive together with minimal attention
Sorry but terrariums aren't a good place for lithops and they like to be potted alone since they have very different care needs
Just got my first Lithops. There are two in the small pot (about 2.5 inches deep) and one is flowering. I’m wondering about East the timing is to reply them. Would this be the wrong time to report?? Great video !!
I'd wait until the flower is finished.
Sucs For You! I reported it a couple days ago. The leaves seem to be shriveling some. Was prob too vigorous in getting all the old medium off the roots. Will see what happens.
Should you cover the drain holes for a lithops plant?
Nope! Drainage is very important w/ these!
@@SucsForYou Thanks, I live in Round Rock so you have the most reliable info for me!
@@flippyfolder4374 Awesome!!
Thank you soooo much!! Now I think I might be able to keep my Lithops alive!! :)
Yes!
YOU'VE GOT THIS!
Great info. My friend gave me a mixed pot of these as a birthday present. A bird thought they were food and knocked the tiny bowl over. They were scattered on the ground and i saw most had NO roots!!! I got a big heavy pot and re planted them (difficult as they are really tiny). I just used sand and a tiny bit of cacti potting soil. I have not watered them. Do you think they will grow new roots in the future? They don't appear to be rotten at the bases, looks like the roots were snapped off by the person who planted them as they were too small. Thanks.
Since they're so small, I'm guessing they're pretty young so it's okay to water them a bit more frequently than mature Lithops as long as the soil is drying out quickly (like after a day or two tops). More water will encourage roots during their growing season (not too hot/cold). And yes, sometimes growers trim roots to encourage growth so don't worry too much :)
@@SucsForYou Thank you. Keeping my fingers crossed the little guys will be OK.
My Lithops arriving Monday ( 80 pieces ) , ordered from Amazon lol and sooo exciting , I can’t wait 🤭
Pics
Thanks for the thorough explanation! Shall I wait for the Lithops to wrinkle once the old leaves completely dried out or can I water as soon as I see the older leaves are completely dry?
It probably wouldn't hurt to give them a sip if they aren't already beginning to wrinkle 🙏
@@SucsForYou thank you!!