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Stone plant help!

Chaddycakez

Chaddycakez

So I bought this lithop a couple weeks ago from a nursery in Santa Monica. Before I bought my plant, I was browsing around and then saw this really cute display that the owner had made with another succulent. He basically placed it in a cup like container and covered it up with sand so that the head of the plant just stuck out. So I asked him if that was possible with my Lithop and he said sure. So my aunt bought me a little glass vase and some sand and together with my little cousin we planted ours. Now i'm kind of second guessing the owner's advice because water doesn't drain well in sand. Any advice?



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~Chad
 
That's just a rock! It won't grow no matter what you do - just throw it away. :p
I don't know jack about Lithops in all seriousness, but you should put it in an opaque, drained container. For a succulent, terracotta/unglazed ceramic is where it's at; these guys like to dry out. Additionally, drainage is an absolute necessity; it's not the sand that's keeping the water in there. Try cutting the sand with perlite (vermiculite/ceramic chips might be better) and a little peat to help it drain faster; you can cover the top of the soil with pure sand if you like that look better. But it won't drain unless there is someplace for the water to actually exit the container. In any case, translucent pots are nothing but trouble unless you have something that's usually leafy like a Utric growing inside. (Otherwise unwanted photosynthesizers like algae take hold.)
~Joe
 
Definitely move them to a pot with drainage holes. And, follow Joe's advice about the sand/perlite. Lithops are great!

xvart.
 
They look like pills O_O.
 
They are just really cute. My little cousin alludes them back to those creatures in Halo3 that explode and release all the little creatures. :-D
 
Wait 'till they flower. :)
 
The above post is spam..
mod, please delete post and ban "weiwei"..
thanks..

getting back to the lithops..
I saw a care sheet once for them, it said something like:

Care Sheet for Lithops.

1. If you care for it, it will die.

;)

but seriously..probably just treat it like any cactus..
well drained soil, sandy, water it only a few times a year, leave it in bright sun..

found this good page:
http://www.lithops.info/

Scot
 
That is not a lithops. It is the a Pleospilos nellii. Pleospilos nellii is very closesly related to Lithops and should be grown the same way. Your set-up does not look good. They do not grow well in sand. A drainage hole in the pot is absolutely vital to prevent rot. Go to a garden store or home depot and get a bag of cactus and succulent soil and a bag of perlite. Mix a 50/50 perlite and cactus soil mix to plant the Pleospilos in. Use a clay/terra cotta pot if possible because they dry out faster. It is not nessecary, but placing pebbles or broken terra-cotta in the bottom of the pot improves drainage. Since you live in California, you have an ideal climate to grow the pleospilos outdorrs for most of the year. It likes water once a week or so in the summer but it has a strict dry winter dormancy. Bring it inside if temperatures go below 45f.
 
i have one too and it's doing well outside ...follow Slurm advice...mine grows well in a 60/40 regular poting soil and sand mix
 
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