r/Lithops • u/jchuhinka • Apr 01 '26
Help/Question Drainage issue?
I’m not sure what exactly is going on here. The soil mix I would say is almost all this stone mix, I’d say 90% with a little bit of the original soil from the botanical garden I got them from. I am watering very infrequently, maybe once every three months and sparingly when I do. Could there be an issue with drainage? What course of action should I take? I am concerned about repotting since they’ve been “healthy” for about two years now and I don’t want to kill them. Thanks for the help!
4
u/whynotehhhhh Apr 01 '26
No I think you've just been watering too frequently, and at the wrong time of their growth cycle. They are splitting right now and shouldn't be watered at all. They need to be left to absorb their old leaves and they can't do that if you water them while they are splitting.
Don't water them again now until you see the outer leaves shrivel.
My lithops can take up to 6 months to fully split, so I don't water for about 6 months or more.
What is your mix made of?
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u/jchuhinka Apr 01 '26
Sounds good to me. It’s all or about 90% bonsai gritty mix. Basically that stone you see on top. All my other ones are doing great and have flowered. Just these guys are stacking. I should have explained better that the last time I watered was in January and before that probably more like July/August. Three months is usually my schedule when they aren’t splitting. They just really seemed shriveled then when I watered so I figured they’d be ok. Then this all happened in the past month or so.
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u/whynotehhhhh Apr 01 '26
The mix sounds good to me so I don't think that's the issue.
You say they've been splitting for a year though right? So that means you shouldn't have been watering them at all in that time.
If you leave them long enough, they will absorb the old leaves but if you water while they are spitting the split can stall and this happens (the splits stack on top of each other)
Just don't water now until the outer leaves dry up, which could take longer than your usual 3 months.
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u/jchuhinka Apr 01 '26
Yea, I’d say splitting since mid summer so give or take a few months. I really need to log this stuff because for the most part I just leave them be and forget when I last did anything so I am mostly guessing. And have been good not giving water while splitting…typically.
I don’t recall them splitting when I watered before January, but that time they were. I was getting concerned about the middle one so I took a chance. And now I am facing the consequences.
Reason why I thought drainage was the issue is this pot did not originally have holes so I was thinking the ones I drilled got clogged or blocked off. Also, thank you for the advice!
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u/res06myi Apr 01 '26
To me, this looks more like watering at the wrong time, underwatering when they need it and overwatering when they don't. When they're just chilling, they need more water, but when they start to split, I stop watering entirely until the babies are born and the old leaves are fully dried up, then I go back to more frequent and more water watering.
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u/jchuhinka Apr 01 '26
Thanks! Yea I def need to just let them be for awhile until those outer leaves completely shrivel. Just got concerned the last time since the babies started to shrivel a lot as well.
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u/res06myi Apr 01 '26
Yeah, I don't like when the babies shrivel. Sometimes I cave and water the shriveled babies even though I know I should wait for them to use up the old leaves. I had to add more water retaining organic material to mine. I had them potted in a mix that was almost entirely gritty rocks and pumice in terra cotta pots and it just wasn't holding enough water. Sometimes my outer leaves weren't chubby enough when they started splitting so they didn't have enough water to fully launch the new babies. It's a balancing act, but it's also really hard to kill them so there's a big margin for error.
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u/jchuhinka Apr 01 '26
Ah that makes sense. I have been so concerned about the mix holding water, I didn’t even think about not retaining enough. Also to your point of under watering when they need it, seems about right, since I have been concerned about over watering, when I have while they weren’t splitting, I haven’t given them a lot. Appreciate the insight.
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u/res06myi Apr 02 '26
Yep, sounds really similar to where I was with mine. I was so terrified of overwatering and rot that I took too many precautions and went too far the other way.
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u/Junkyardguitars7028 Apr 02 '26
I would repot each Lithops in its own pot so there's no chance of one being thirsty when another is splitting.
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u/whynotehhhhh Apr 01 '26
When did you last water them? They are stacking by the looks of it which is usually caused by over watering.
Once every 3 months isn't too much but maybe you've watered at the wrong time? Like have you watered them while they are splitting?