Question: What are Lithops supposed to be doing now, in Northern Hemisphere conditions?
I got one last week, my absolute first time with Lithops and mesembs. It looks like it's in the middle of changing leaves, though the old one is still kinda fat and plump and it's got the remnants of a recent flower. I read this from iann from some post "try to keep the new leaves plump, but the old ones should totally dry out at some point", and this is basically what I'm trying to do/follow right now )
If you're in the northern hemisphere, your lithops should be coming towards the end of its regeneration process. You will need to withhold water until the old leaves are like paper, with minimum density, ie no flesh on them. In the UK this is usually around late April to early June, depending on the conditions and the species. You will see the new body well before this as the old body begins to shrink but don't be tempted to water too early. Once the old leaves are very thin and you water for the first time, the new body will burst forth, often within 24 hours of the watering. It's an exciting time.
Cactus enthusiast on and off since boyhood. I have a modest collection of cacti & succulents.
I see. Thanks Rod. Though, you mention that the process should more or less be done by June (generally), so this means they do this prior to deep summer (in your country at least)? I've been reading around, and it's repeatedly stressed that Lithops will be dormant in very hot weather, so in your case they *might* get dormant after they've renewed leaves. I'm concerned that mine would hit our hottest months real soon, before it's done with the leaf change (our driest and hottest months are from March-May). Any implications or possible issues with this?
piyeron wrote:I see. Thanks Rod. Though, you mention that the process should more or less be done by June (generally), so this means they do this prior to deep summer (in your country at least)? I've been reading around, and it's repeatedly stressed that Lithops will be dormant in very hot weather, so in your case they *might* get dormant after they've renewed leaves. I'm concerned that mine would hit our hottest months real soon, before it's done with the leaf change (our driest and hottest months are from March-May). Any implications or possible issues with this?
Yes, I'd overlooked that you were in the Phillipines, which is likely to get a lot hotter than the UK in the summer. I would suggest that you still need to wait till the old leaves are dead before watering. The general rule with lithops watering is if in doubt, don't. As you state that the hottest months are March to May, this seems the ideal time to leave them for the fresh leaves to completely regenerate and the old ones to wither. You can then begin to give them water after the hottest time of the year and they can grow during the rest of the summer and well into the autumn. There are one or two contributors to this forum who have a lot more experience with lithops than I do and one of them may be able to give you further advice.
Cactus enthusiast on and off since boyhood. I have a modest collection of cacti & succulents.
Some of mine are almost done changing, some are not even close, some have changed their skins 4 times!! I don't even wanna think how behind they were before I got them for the kids, it's weird cause they didn't look like they were so far behind, now I'm kinda at a loss to when I should water them, it seems like after they she'd the start shedding again! !! It's really odd considering they are only yearlings I Believe (???) Inn master of mesembs do u have any clue to what's up with these guys shedding multiple times? Or does anyone else have a clue, u can PM me If you'd like
Sorry to hijack the thread piyeron, you've got good advice from these guys your in good hands listening to Ian aswell
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