Confused about my lithops...

[madaboutsnails]

hello all,

yet another post on lithops...

I bought these on-line about a month ago. They were as dry as a bone but as they were in their rest period I did not water them.

I have now started and they seem to be growing well and producing new leaves, but I have a few questions...

1. the soil and roots are still rather dry, how much should I water them?
2. They are very pot bound (please see photo), should I split them up, and if so how from the tangle of roots? I think that they are overcrowded, but my planty aunty told me not to separate them. Is she right?
3. They also seem rather long and tall. Is this elongation due to lack of light or overcrowding or something else? Is it normal?

So basically, I need a lot of advice about these plants please.

Thanks,
Angela

[greenknight]

The old leaves are supposed to dry up as the new ones grow, and you're supposed to hold off watering until that happens. See this thread - http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 11&t=35057" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm not a lithops expert, hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.

[iann]

And now you know how big Lithops roots can be! Actually you might find that most of those roots come from the two Fenestraria plants. They really do grow huge root systems, and those roots look thicker than Lithops feeder roots would be.

So you need to get the Fenestrarias out of there at the very least. They grow at different times and need different watering.

The Lithops are a little tall, probably a combination of less sun than ideal and more water. L. julii is prone to stretching in autumn. Certainly none of them need water right now. In a pinch you could keep all the Lithops in that pot, but really they need a little more space. Ideally they'd all get their own pot. The smaller ones will get crowded out and die, or the bigger ones will explode from getting too much water. Or both. Also a slightly deeper pot would be nice. You might get away with keeping them together since they are all from the same species, or very similar species, so they'll get along to some extent with the same treatment. Maybe keep the Fenestrarias in that pot, they'll soon fill out.

The Lithops are just starting to grow new leaves for this year. The outer leaves will then dry up and you'll be back to where you started. Maybe slightly bigger, occasionally even with the leaves doubling up. Then you water

[madaboutsnails]

Thanks to you both.

It was the Fenestraria thwt actually made me water them, as they were dying of thirst. I will split them up, stop watering the lithops till they have paper thin leaves.

Really helpful

[iann]

Thanks to you both.

It was the Fenestraria thwt actually made me water them, as they were dying of thirst. I will split them up, stop watering the lithops till they have paper thin leaves.

Really helpful

Fenestraria require very little water (partly because of all those roots!) but they don't like to stay completely dry for long periods. They'll survive but they won't look good on it. They are also very active in cool weather, autumn and spring here, but right through winter in hotter climates, and they need water when Lithops really don't.