One Becomes Two and So On.....

I really had never been a fan of Lithops, but I bought a group of three last year. One died, so I was left with two, now one has developed into two plants so I'm back to three. The new thing that has helped me is that I learned the watering system for them. Since the plant is made up of so much fluid, you must be careful and not water like other succulents or cactus. When the Lithop is developing into a new plant it is receiving its moisture from the old leaves and no watering should be done, otherwise they will rot.

One of the old leaves is that little shriveled reddish piece on the right at the base of the plant in the photograph below, at one time it was about the size of the new plant. But no water was given during this time.

Still add one or two to your collection, you might surprise yourself and be able to grow them. To find out more information about Lithops check out these blogs, Gaia Nursery, Lithopsland, and Lithops Stories

OCSS Sale

Last Saturday and Sunday the Oregon Cactus & Succulent Society had their annual June sale at the Division St. Portland Nursery. There will be another sale in July on the 20th, 21st, and 22nd at the Stark St. location. I always like to see what there is to purchase, do some admiring, and to visit with Luther of Kara Nursery and also writes the Oregon Cactus Blog. The photos below are the plants that I purchased from him for new additions in my collection in the Death Valley Shack.

Mammillaria huitzilopochtli  

Lithop bromfieldii var. insularis

Lithop schwantesii

Stone Faced

LITHOP

Derived from the ancient Greek words
lithos meaning "stone," and ops meaning "face"

This is the only collection of Lithops that I have, they are very charming. I will have to look into adding more to the collection. Kara Nursery offers a great selection if you are looking for something special to add to your own collection.


Lithops are found across wide areas of Namibia and South Africa, as well as small bordering areas in Botswana and Angola, from sea level to high mountains. They are perennial plants which develop a new pair of leaves each year. The leaf markings of any one particular plant change very little from year to year, and no two plants have markings exactly alike. They begin growing during the fall, continue throughout the winter and into the spring. In late spring or early summer, the plants will begin to go dormant. If a plant does not flower the first year you have it, it is perhaps not quite old enough. Lithops usually must be three to five years old before they begin flowering which will be a spicy-sweet scent and white or yellow in color.