Lithops: Keeping At Home, The Nuances Of Proper Care And Reproduction + Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-17 22:26

Living stones: growing lithops

To say that lithops are beautiful is to bend the soul. They are extremely similar to ordinary pebbles. But due to their unusual appearance, they are definitely included in the top ten plants suitable for growing at home. The pot with them is guaranteed not to go unnoticed. The originality of lithops attracts florists who create amazing-looking compositions from plants of different varieties. With proper care and compliance with the rules of maintenance, they also bloom.

Content

• 1 What are lithops

• 2 Lithops species suitable for home floriculture

  2.1 Species of lithops - video

• 3 Optimal conditions for growing and keeping

• 4 Necessary care

  • 4.1 Watering
  • 4.2 Fertilization
  • 4.3 How to care for flowers - video
• 5 Posada and Lithops transplant

• 6 Breeding procedure

  • 6.1 Sowing seeds

    6.1.1 Breeding Lithops - video

• 7 Diseases and pests

  • 7.1 Diseases and pests from which lithops suffer - table

    7.1.1 Harmful insects in the photo

What are lithops

Lithops are succulents from the Aizov family, or Aizoatseevs, more like pebbles than plants. Hence the name. Lithos translated from Greek means "stone", opsis - "similar", "similar". They grow extremely slowly - another reason for comparison with a stone.

The collection of lithops is a matter of legitimate pride of its owner

Their homeland is the African and South American rocky and sandy deserts. Most of the species (there are about 40 of them in the family) is found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Chile. The appearance of lithops is due to the need for camouflage. There is very little food in the deserts, but still no one eats stones.

Their roots are very interesting. Firstly, they are dozens of times larger in volume than the aboveground part of the plant, and secondly, in a particularly severe drought, they can suck everything that is located on the surface into the ground using a kind of "mechanism".

The stem is missing. The aerial part consists of two or more thick fleshy leaves, fused together at the base and separated by a gap, from which flowers and new leaves appear. The "incision" can be only 2-3 mm deep or reach the ground. Lithops are 1.5–4 cm high and up to 5 cm wide.

The color and shape of the leaves are variable. This makes the plants an interesting collectible. Lithops can be gray, bluish, green, chocolate, beige, terracotta, lilac, convex, round and flat, with or without patterns. Patterns are a kind of "windows" through which lithops, even completely immersed in the ground, receive heat and light from the sun.

The flowers are sometimes larger than the plant itself. They are very similar to white, yellow or pale orange daisies with a mild aroma. At home, lithops bloom from early August to late October. Flowers last 7-12 days. The buds open for the first time in the middle of the day.

The development cycle of a lithops looks like this:

• Dry season with long daylight hours (summer). The plant is completely submerged in the ground, is dormant.
• The rainy season (autumn). Intensive growth, flowering.
• Dry season with short daylight hours (winter). Fruit ripening, forming a growth point for new leaves. They grow only at the expense of the old pair of leaves and inside it, sucking out nutrients. As a result, only a wrinkled skin remains, no thicker than paper.
• The rainy season (spring). The peel bursts and falls, new leaves increase in volume due to the accumulated moisture.

Lithops species suitable for home floriculture

Lithops is brownish. The leaves are beige-brown, with a tinge of rust, the top is truncated. The pattern is chocolate brown lines with bright spots at the ends. Between them, the color of the leaves is lighter, so the pattern gives the impression of embossing. Flowers are lemon-yellow, large (3 cm in diameter). The stamens are tightly pressed against each other.

The drawing on Lithops brownish looks like frosty patterns on the window (color corrected)

Lithops Volka. This is a combination of grayish-green (sometimes with a reddish tint) "columns" and gray-blue "leaves" with a whitish coating. The gap - only a few millimeters, divides the lithops into unequal parts. Pattern - small lilac spots, almost round. If not, the leaves are covered with pale green translucent spots. Flowers are golden yellow.

Lithops Volka - as if stones fell on raindrops

Lithops is pin-shaped. Both height and width are 2.5–3 cm. The leaves are brown, with a reddish or brick tint, the top is flat. Rough to the touch. They seem to be spread out, so the whole lithops is very similar to a coffee bean. The pattern is voluminous - protruding tubercles and branching grooves depressed inward. The flowers are the largest (4 cm), the petals change color from white at the base to reddish orange at the tips.

Pigtail Lithops have the largest flowers with unusual coloration.

Lithops is beautiful. The leaves are convex, brownish or beige with an olive tint, the top is rounded. The gap reaches almost to the ground. The pattern is chocolate-olive, in the form of large spots with blurred borders. Sometimes forms a group of two or more pairs of leaves. Flowers are snow-white, bloom late (mid-September).

Lithops flowers are easy to confuse with daisies

Lithops Leslie. Quite tall (4–4.5 cm), but not wide (1.5–2 cm). The apex is flat or slightly convex. The color of the leaves ranges from blue-gray and gray-brown to chocolate and rusty. The shape resembles inverted cones. Pattern - dark green and beige-yellow circles over olive spots. The crack is shallow, bent in an arc. The flowers are snow-white with a characteristic aroma.

The pattern on Leslie's lithops is one of the most spectacular

Lithops marble. The plant is 3 cm tall and 2 cm wide, the leaf surface is greenish-gray or gray-white, with dark gray veins resembling a pattern on marble. In appearance, the leaves seem to be covered with short villi, but smooth to the touch. Flowers are white with a yellow center, large (5 cm), fragrant.

Lithops marble most of all look like ordinary pebbles

Lithops false truncated. Grows in groups. The leaves develop vary in size. A very narrow slit almost divides them in half. Color - gray-brown with a pinkish tint. The top is almost even, with a pattern of dots and small strokes that are darker than the leaf. Flowers are yellow, sometimes golden.

Due to the color of lithops, false truncated slightly resembles lips

Optical lithops (or Optics). The only one with leaves of lilac or lilac color, darker outside. Low (2–2.5 cm). The flowers are almost completely hidden in the slit, only the tips of the white petals and the anthers of the pale yellow stamens protrude outward.

Optical Lithops most of all resembles an alien from another planet

Lithops Aucamp. The gap is practically absent, the leaves are densely accrete, unequal in size. A border is clearly visible along the edge of the gap. The flat tops are covered with short broken lines and spots of various sizes.

Lithops Aucamp has almost no gap

Lithops species - video

Optimal conditions for growing and keeping

Lithops, accustomed to the heat of the desert, are demanding on temperature conditions

Since the birthplace of lithops is a hot desert, they love the sun very much and do not suffer from burns caused by direct sunlight. Place the pots on the sill of a window that faces south or southwest to maximize natural warmth and light for the plant.

After winter, the plants "get used" to the sun gradually. The first 10-12 days after the end of the dormant period, do not leave them on the windowsill for more than 3-4 hours. Or move to the east window. The sun is not so hot in the morning.

In nature, lithops tolerates temperatures up to +50 ºС, but the optimal range is much lower - + 23 … + 28 ºС. During the rest period, the plant needs to provide a relative coolness - + 14… + 16 ° C. The minimum that it can survive is + 5 … + 7 ° C.

Lithops is calm about high or low humidity, this does not affect its development in any way. But he really does not like the stagnant air. The room must be regularly ventilated, while avoiding sharp and cold drafts.

During the resting period, provide the lithops with light, even artificial, and low (50-60%) humidity. If they wrinkle slightly, this is completely normal.

Necessary care

Watering

Most of the time, lithops do not need active watering.

Particular attention is paid to watering when caring for lithops. Excessive water will kill the plant very quickly. In the phase of intensive growth and flowering (April - September), lithops are watered no more often than once every 12-14 days, very moderately. The first watering is when only the skin remains from the old leaves.

From October to December, one watering every 25-30 days is enough. The rest of the time, it is strictly prohibited.

When you notice buds that are setting (starting in the first decade of July), stop watering until the flowers are fully open. Then continue as before. If during the flowering period the soil does not dry out to the bottom of the pot, increase the interval between waterings.

It is strictly not allowed to get water into the gap between the leaves. Therefore, use a watering can with a long and narrow spout or a syringe. It is even better to moisten the soil and the surrounding air with a fine atomizer.

The water should be clean and settled, in no case hard. Chlorine and fluorine are death for plants. Add 0.5 g of citric acid to tap water for every 10 liters.

Fertilizer

Lithops can only be fed in summer

There are different opinions regarding feeding Lithops. Some growers refuse it. Other times a month, adult plants that have not been transplanted for 5–7 years are fed with fertilizers specifically designed for cacti and other succulents, reducing the manufacturer's recommended dose by half. The most common remedies are Agricola, Life Force, Health, Reasil, Master, Bona Forte, Etisso, Garden of Miracles.

If feeding is carried out, then only during the summer. In flowering lithops, it can be extended for another month.

How to care for flowers - video

Posada and transplantation of lithops

Alone, "living stones" are bored. They feel much better in the company of congeners or other succulents. This is reflected in the growth rate, and the appearance of the leaves, and the regularity of flowering. In addition, such a composition looks much more impressive. Decorativeness will be added by multi-colored pebbles and pebbles, differing in size and sand of different shades.

All lithops are remarkably combined in color with each other

The only suitable time for transplanting lithops is early spring, when a new pair of leaves begins to grow. They do not need an annual transplant, as they grow very slowly. The optimal interval is 3-5 years.

Lithops pots resemble soup bowls. The depth is no more than 6–8 cm. The bottom 2 cm is a layer of drainage made of expanded clay, pebbles, gravel, crushed stone or small ceramic shards. With the same pebbles, but only beautiful, lay out the surface of the substrate after transplanting. This is an effective prevention of root collar rot.

Prepare the soil yourself. In this case, it is impossible to go the easy way by purchasing special soil for cacti. For lithops, sod soil, leaf humus (a mixture of fallen leaves rotted under the snow and earth), coarse river sand and red brick chips are mixed in a ratio of 2: 1: 3: 2. The finer the crumb, and the older the bricks, the better. It can be replaced with oven dried and powdered red clay. The leaves in humus should be birch. All components must be disinfected and sieved through a sieve. Lithops categorically refuse to grow on soils with limestone content. Therefore, if you are collecting soil in your own garden, check its acidity in advance.

The plant, along with a lump of earth, is carefully removed from the pot and most of the lateral roots are cut off. Lithops restores them very quickly.

Breeding procedure

The normal lifespan of lithops is 7-15 years. Therefore, if you like this specimen, take care of receiving the seeds in time. This is the only natural breeding method for lithops. Plants obtained in this way are already adapted to local conditions, they get sick less often and bloom more often.

It is risky to divide them into two "halves". The root collar of two leaves is common, there are no natural branches. But if you really want to try the method of dividing, wait until the beginning of autumn, when the sheet reaches its maximum size, and cut it strictly vertically with a sharpened knife. Sprinkle the cut with powdered activated carbon.

Sowing seeds

Lithops do not breed in captivity. Therefore, you need to cross-pollinate yourself. Pollen from one flower is collected with a soft brush and transferred to another.

If a fruit sets in the fall after flowering, it is left on the plant until a new pair of leaves has formed. Then the fruit is cut off and left for six months in a dry and dark place. After this time, the seeds are removed. However, you can simply buy them. The seeds are not small, but very small, so pick them very carefully.

The procedure for planting and caring for seedlings looks like this:

1. Flat wide containers are filled with a mixture of leafy earth and coarse river sand in a 1: 2 ratio. Both the boxes and the soil are pre-sterilized. The first are kept in a saturated purple solution of potassium permanganate for at least a day, the second is spilled with boiling water, held over steam, sent to a refrigerator, oven or microwave.
2. The surface of the soil is leveled, wet seeds are spread with an interval of 2-3 mm (it is convenient to take them with a needle or a toothpick) and covered with a very thin layer of sand on top.
3. After sowing, the container is immersed in water, making sure that it does not overflow - this way the soil will be well moistened. Then it is covered with glass and placed in a warm (+ 25 … + 30 ºС) and bright place. At night, it is advisable to lower the temperature to + 20 … + 22 ºС.
4. The glass is removed daily for ventilation (maximum for 3-4 minutes), as the soil dries, it is sprayed. The first shoots can be expected in 7-10 days.
5. Seedlings are planted in separate pots when they survive the first winter. The composition of the soil is the same, but for every 3 liters of soil, 10 g of simple superphosphate is added.
6. The roots are gently straightened, sprinkled with soil. The pots are covered with glass again. Within a month, lithops "accustom" to open air, gradually increasing the ventilation time. Seedlings need to be watered less frequently than seeds. The soil should dry to the bottom of the pot.
7. Then the glass is removed and the lithops are placed in the light, protected from direct sunlight.
8. A year later, another transplant. From this moment on, the seedlings are looked after as if they were adult lithops.

This is how lithops sprouts look after about two months.

Reproduction of lithops - video

Diseases and pests

In the summer period, lithops practically do not suffer from diseases. But in winter, when the temperature drops, the danger increases dramatically.

Diseases and pests from which lithops suffer - table

Cause	Symptoms	Prevention and control measures
Mealybug	Pests suck sap from plants, at the same time braiding them with white thin threads, similar to cobwebs.	The affected plant must be urgently removed as far from the rest as possible, the windowsill must be thoroughly washed with hot water. Good prevention is direct sunlight or fluorescent lamp irradiation. Until the pest has spread en masse, the worms can be collected with tweezers or washed off with thick soapy foam (15 g of shavings of laundry soap per 1 liter of water). In more severe cases, use solutions of Aktara, Actellik, Nurella-D or Rogor and Phosphamide sprays. When handling chemicals, follow the manufacturer's instructions. The minimum interval between treatments is 7 days. Folk remedies - alcohol solution (1 liter of water, 10 g of soap shavings, 30 ml of medical alcohol), tincture of garlic or dried peels of any citrus (50 g of raw materials per 1 liter of boiling water, leave for 24 hours, strain before use). The plant is sprayed with infusions and hermetically closed with a plastic bag. After a day, the bag is removed and the lithops are washed with soapy foam.
Root worm	Signs of the activity of the root worm (as if roots sprinkled with grayish powder, a whitish coating on the walls of the pot, similar to dirty cotton wool) cannot be seen from the outside. It seems that Lithops are losing color and firmness for some unknown reason. You will only understand what happened during the transfer.	For prophylaxis, immerse the lithops pots in hot (+ 50… + 55 ºС) water for 10–20 minutes every 2-3 months. Then the pots must be exposed to the sun or under ultraviolet lamps for about a day so that the soil dries out. If a problem is detected during transplantation, the pot and pallet are thoroughly washed and disinfected with boiling water, the soil is thrown away, the roots are washed first with running water, then with an insecticide solution (Aktara, Aktellik, Apache, Confidor-Maxi, Fitoverm, Mospilan, Dantop). They are also used for spraying the soil (3 times with an interval of a week) and for preventive monthly watering. In the latter case, halve the concentration of the chemical.
Aphid	Aphids cover lithops with an almost solid carpet, sucking the juices. As a result, the plants dry out and die. Diagnosing the problem is easy.	When aphids are still small, folk remedies are enough. For a liter of water, take 50 g of dried tobacco leaves or celandine, 30 g of hot pepper, garlic or onion arrows, 70 g of dry peel of any citrus, fresh wormwood, marigold leaves or tomato tops. All this is boiled for 30 minutes and insisted for 35–40 hours. Strain before use. Insecticides - Actellik, Aktara, Inta-Vir, Fitoverm.
Sciarids (mushroom gnats)	Larvae are especially dangerous for seedlings. Their roots are gnawed clean. Having multiplied en masse, the pests will not disdain young shoots.	A good prevention is a ventilator next to lithops. It will prevent insects from landing on the ground. Aerosols Raptor, Reid, Moskitol, Neo-Dichlorvos and sticky tape for catching flies are also effective against adults. The larvae will destroy the solutions of Karbofos, Inta-Vir, Agrovertin, Bazudin, Mukhoyed. Spray not only the soil, but also the pot, sump, and adjacent area of the windowsill. Folk remedies mainly scare away pests. On the surface of the soil, it is proposed to spread dry citrus peels, onion or garlic peels, and stick matches with their heads down into the soil. You can also grease the edges of the pots with essential oil of anise, orange, bergamot, lavender, or once a month water the lithops with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Rot fungus	Lithops root rot can only be recognized by touch. Remove the plant from the pot and feel the roots. Fungus affected are dark, soft and unpleasantly slimy.	The only treatment is "surgery." The roots are washed and with a sharp knife they cut off all those on which the slightest signs of damage are noticeable. Then they are immersed in a 2% solution of Bordeaux liquid for 25-30 minutes. The pot and the tray are washed, sterilized with boiling water, the soil is thrown away.

Harmful insects in the photo

Mealybug - the pest from which lithops suffer most often

The root worm, as the name suggests, braids not the leaves, but the roots

Aphids are a real scourge of indoor plants

Sciarid larvae are able to completely destroy lithops seedlings, if measures are not taken in time

Lithops are still exotic, even for experienced flower growers. But there is nothing difficult in caring for them. Even beginners can grow them. Spend a little time on these "living stones", which seem to represent the flora of another planet - unusual flowers and sincere admiration of guests will be a worthy reward for you.