Lapidera margaretae now a wrinkled beauty

[swords]

Hey guys, this weekend I found a fantastic local nursery (50 miles away) that has a great selection of odd tiny Mesembs and I picked up Lapidera margaretae, it looked very good but today it's wrinkly on the newest growths. I misted it but it's still wrinkly, should I actually water the soil? I'm just scared cos I've read that the Lithos aren't supposed to be watered at all when they are absorbing their old body (most of mine are making new bodies but two or three aren't) and it is still technically winter, but is wrinkling the sign I have to water?

I've melted the other succulents I've owned with too much water so this time I'm being mr. drought with them but I don't wanna make them ugly, I want them to be shapely and colorful.

 

[Clue]

Look it up. I've never kept Mesembs expect Lithops, so of couse I've no "clue" what you are talking about.
Lithops must be kept dry during the "body-absorbing phase", which my L. karasmontana is doing (It's dividing into 5 different bodies!)

-Clue

 

[seedjar]

Keep it dry. If it doesn't perk up in a month, then consider watering. You can't expect your plants to be pretty if you aren't even sure what conditions to give them. You've grown other plants before - there's a learning curve. Don't get impatient.
~Joe

 

[swords]

Thanks guys. Yup I've looked them up online (one of the joys of new plants is coming home and scouring the net for info) but the trouble is with Lapidaria (as with Lithops, etc) I'm finding that everyone grows these damn Mesembs differently! What one guy says will kill his plants is the very thing that some other guy says is what's keeping his plants alive... arrrggh! Neps were easy in comparison, do this, this and this and you should have relatively predictable good luck. Regardless of what I can/can't find out there in the world I always like to ask here too since there's so many different folks.

I met a pretty cool cactus growing guy at that nursery I mentioned when I went back there today (actually only 35 miles each way). He grows under two rotating 1000 watt metal halides. He said his Lithops have been doing their best since he put them all in a big shallow bowl and just put them in the window to get full sun (not possible for me). He watered his Lithops the last time in October. But he said he's never done well with Mesembs in single pots but rather group plantings work best for him. His opening line to me when he saw my cart with today's Mesemb choices was "So you like those easy-to-kill types huh?"

Basically the idea with these Mesemb type plants seems to be to turn in my watering can for an eyedropper and forget all about using peat. Use pumice, aquatic plant soil/kitty litter/etc. any baked clay substrate, calcium sand, crushed limestone, pea gravel, quartz gravel, etc.

The Lapidaria is doing the same as before, it's not deteriorating further so I guess I'll leave it be. It was just so nice before it got wrinkly.

Here's a non-wrinkly one that looks like mine did...

Lapidaria margaretae

 

[seedjar]

Good luck with them man - they are spiffy looking plants.
~Joe