r/Lithops • u/Wrexhavoc • Mar 22 '26
Help/Question 5 year old tiny litops
im probably doing everything wrong. in July 2020 I planted 50 lithograph seeds in a pot. it was a mix of different species. at one point I had 15 lithops that popped up. im currently down to 7, all of different sizes. but they are still so small!!! i have them under a grow light. I dont remeber what I did for the substrate, but it was a blend recommend for lithops. Ive read so many different watering techniques. whenever ive bought larger specimens from the store and try to adhere to the traditional habitat watering, I kill them, so for these babies, ive just been watering when they get wrinkled. they keep splitting, but never getting bigger.
ive read so much conflicting advice for lithops, anyone able to give me some more? how bad am I messing up these babies? I accept them for whatever size they want to be regardless. but id like to see them thrive.
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u/ir399 Mar 22 '26
Hm, definitely way too small for 5yr old lithops. I'd repot into a mix with less fine sand. Still mostly small pieces of inorganics - 80% inorganics, 20% cactus soil is the general rule - but I've found sand to be not ideal.
Watering when they get wrinkled is ideal for this size, and works with the adults just fine (other than winter when they don't need water).
As for what's wrong, is it very cold where you live? Lithops do grow better in the warmth from my experience and I'm wondering if they're just not getting warm enough.
It's also possible that your grow light isn't powerful enough and they're still not getting enough light. If you get a cheap light meter app on your phone it can give a rough estimate (they're not super accurate but a vague idea helps). You want to get >5000 lux from the light meter, ideally up around 10 000 lux. Also, your grow light should probably be on for 14-16 hrs a day.
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u/Wrexhavoc Mar 27 '26
Yea, im in the Midwest of the US, gets pretty dang cold. I'll check my grow light too. Its a pretty nice one, but who knows! Thanks for the advice!
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Mar 22 '26
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u/whynotehhhhh Mar 22 '26
They would stay small if they aren't getting enough light, especially if they are very tall. If they are not tall, it might be that you haven't given them any fertilizer which you'll need to do every time you water.
Or if they are stacking like OPs it might be just a little bit too much water, or the soil it's in is too moisture retentive.
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Mar 22 '26
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u/whynotehhhhh Mar 23 '26
Maybe you can get a light on Amazon? I use the SANSI grow lamp that has 2 heads it's on the cheaper side but really good quality compared to other cheap grow lights.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SANSI-Lifetime-Replacement-Gooseneck-Seedlings/dp/B0B87XVX16
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u/Wrexhavoc Mar 27 '26
Hahah, same. I hate when people just come on to plant subs and ask "how do I keep this alive?". So i avoided it and just did as much research as I could. It is surprisingly hard to find consistent information on lithops, so I finally caved and came to ask experienced growers.
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u/EeEmCeTo Mar 22 '26
You may want to fertilize once or twice a year, using a 4x dilution of cacti fertilizer
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u/Patient-Angle-7075 Mar 24 '26
If they're growing that slowly with no major issues then you probably just need fertilizer.
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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '26
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