Do Lithops grow like Crabs and Snakes, and other questions

[cooky173]

Do lithops need to shed their skin each year to get bigger? Or do they do it each year to reboot and repair any damage they may have suffered?

Also, a question on seedlings. My seedlings went out in the sun last summer, produced 'proper' leaves, and then through winter produced new leaves again. Will they now grow like adults, and not produce new leaves until next winter? (If they do grow like crabs I suspect this will not be the case)

Finally, winter rain belt lithops, in simple terms do they grow like the rest, except they need to get watered while they are developing new leaves? Or are they 2 seasons out of phase?

Thanks to anyone who replies.

[iann]

Do lithops need to shed their skin each year to get bigger? Or do they do it each year to reboot and repair any damage they may have suffered?

Mostly the second. They certainly grow within the same skin although perhaps it couldn't go on forever. They are just two leaves and they start to look faded and ratty after a year.

Also, a question on seedlings. My seedlings went out in the sun last summer, produced 'proper' leaves, and then through winter produced new leaves again. Will they now grow like adults, and not produce new leaves until next winter? (If they do grow like crabs I suspect this will not be the case)

After the first 12-18 months they usually settle down to a once-a-year shedding. You can push them faster by extra water and fertiliser but you're likely to get them shedding leaves at the wrong time and it can all get messy. Easier just to get them used to an annual cycle.

Finally, winter rain belt lithops, in simple terms do they grow like the rest, except they need to get watered while they are developing new leaves? Or are they 2 seasons out of phase?

Here in the UK they grow more or less like all the others. In Brisbane things might be very different. In fact you might want to consider all Lithops as winter growers, with perhaps a few exceptions for really dedicated summer growers. None of them are at the best when nights are hot and steamy.

[cooky173]

Thanks iann.

Just so I'm clear, if I was to be treating them as winter growers, they would still shed their leaves in winter, it just may be that they wouldn't finish absorbing them until much later in the year than if I kept them dry? Or I would I continue to water them through autumn to get them to hold off on producing new leaves until spring/summer?

[iann]

Lithops always grow the new leaf pair in winter. They all have very low water needs in winter. So low that in England they are effectively zero. In climates with more winter sun, some water can be helpful, but don't go mad. The winter rainfall Lithops are from areas with no summer rain and just a bit of winter drizzle (plus dew), while the summer rainfall Lithops are from areas with occasional heavy rain. All have the ability to sit out extremely hot weather, but will do better with a spray every few days unless you want to see them disappear under the top dressing. Once it cools down you will see how they plump up on seemingly the same light drizzle.

The main rule is just to get rid of the old leaves in spring, or maybe during summer, so that they don't stack up.

[cooky173]

Thanks.

Sounds like lithops aren't too hard to grow in principle then. But as I've seen you say in other threads, you have to learn to know your plants, where they are from and how that fits with where you live.