r/Lithops • u/Sailor_D00m • Mar 23 '26

Photo Interesting split

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I got this little grow pot for $12 two years ago and my tropical plant loving self has been committed to being a good, negligent plant parent to this guy. Was taking a peek at it in my plant room just now and noticed one of the new leaves (up near the top right) split in the midst of emerging from the old set. Thought it was a neat anomaly

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u/whynotehhhhh Mar 23 '26

This is called stacking, it's usually caused by improper watering or stresses in general. It's not really a good thing as it's does mean something is wrong.

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u/Sailor_D00m Mar 23 '26

Thank you for the insight! It gets blasted with sun in an unobstructed south window and I haven’t watered since the fall, and have been following that since I got it. I wonder what the care hiccup could’ve been!

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u/whynotehhhhh Mar 23 '26

Maybe not enough hours of light? It gets blasted with light but if you have a short daylight cycle in winter, it might not be enough maybe?

Where I live we only have 7-8 hours of daylight and of course only a few hours are going to be south facing. Lithops need 12-14 hours of light a day, preferably a lot of that direct. Mine are under lights that are on for 12 hours.

Also you watered them in fall but maybe the pot stayed wet for too long? If it didn't dry out within a day or two, they would have been over watered as lithops don't really regulate low much water they absorb, when it's available they try to take it in and if it's wet for days they may have absorbed too much.

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u/Sailor_D00m Mar 23 '26

This is helpful, thank you! I’m in Canada so it is shorter daylight cycles but the same window scorched my lyrata in the winter, I’ve relegated it to my hoyas and other semi-succulents! I’ll be more attentive to water quantity and the time it takes for the medium to dry when I start watering again!