Question: Mix soil for Lithops

[dreadnot]

Hi

I'm currently use 50% potting mix + 50% perlite.
Any suggestion? Maybe something we can get from Lowes or Homedepot?

Thanks.

[MagiCarpus]

Honestly I think any soil mixture could work as long as you have a good gauge over its moisture. When I bought my lithops from a botanical garden, guess what they were sitting in? 100% standard potting mix, and they all looked super healthy at purchase (they are all still well and alive today).

In a greenhouse where mass production is the priority, growing media that are en par with the hobby tend to be overlooked, yet with the right watering regimen and climate control, the type of medium becomes more trivial.

Using a medium that is fast draining tends to keep tragedy at bay. 50/50 potting mix and perlite should be fine as long as you know when and how to water. Maybe increase the proportion of perlite to 2 parts? Some of the standard formulae you could find online are a mixture of horticultural sand, screened pumice, and crushed gravel plus some other optional organic or inorganic material.

Anyway, if you're living in the northern hemisphere, watering should be tapered to non probably in the next week or so, but it all depends on where you live and what stage in the growth cycle they're in.

I'll leave you with an interesting video where this guy attempts to grow all his lithops/haworthia indoor under CFLs, and some even in 100% perlite.
https://youtu.be/ncUmcDag-YI
and the result of that...
https://youtu.be/Uauxc5ZbrRg?t=10m45s

Good luck, and I'm learning a lot about growing these awesome plants as well.

[iann]

100% standard potting mix (ie. peat or equivalent) is pretty standard for bulk grown Lithops for the retail market. However you have about 0% chance of keeping your plants alive in it. I would suggest that whatever you are using, reduce the organic content and increase the proportion of coarse material. You are highly unlikely to ever underwater Lithops and there are plenty of times when you'll wish that the soil had retained a little less the last time you watered. Mostly you should be aiming to water infrequently but even then a highly free-draining soil will retain enough water for Lithops to thrive. You want the soil to stay damp for several days, even a week or two, anyway since Lithops will grow fresh roots each time you water and it takes a few days for them to fully develop.

[dreadnot]

Thank you!

[dreadnot]

Gonna Try 1/3 Soil + 1/3 Perlite + 1/3 vermiculite
The youtube video is very helpful! Thanks.

[Kattatonic]

I just bought these lithops from Lowes. I live in Southern California, and even in October my region is still experiencing 90F degree and up temperatures. Currently i have these planted in a premixed "cactus and palm" soil. I did not have the foresight to grab a bag of perlite to mix in.
For the best rate of survival of these guys, should i replant them in a 50/50 mix of perlite and the cactus mix? I am also worried about stressing the plants out by replanting them again with in such a short period of time.

IMG_5799.JPG (55.82 KiB) Viewed 5960 times

[keith]

I buy a pumice called dry stall sold at pet and feed stores. " premixed "cactus and palm" soil." I don't use that stuff for my potted cactus it attracts too many pests for me to deal with.

I grow my 2 Lithops in cactus soil that I made but I don't know much about growing them yet. I think experienced growers will tell you to mix in Pumice or perlite for better drainage.

I didn't know Lowes sold lithops??

[dreadnot]

Lowes and Homedepot both sell lithops here.

[iann]

No stress to a Lithops that was only just (within a few weeks) planted. Also not much to gain or lose by waiting since they will be dry until spring. Think about the soil some more. What you have, with or without more perlite, will not make it easy to keep your three Lithops aucampiae plants alive.