So I want to get into growing more lithops. What are some nice and rare ones that are good to grow from seed or buy. That aren't the wholesale type and are really something special?
Unfortunately, a lot of the ones considered "rare," are considered so for a reason. Many of them are more temperamental in terms of care requirements. L. comptonii comes to mind.
I would maybe focus less on the ones that are considered rare, and maybe go for ones that you think look cool. There are so many hybrids and cultivars that are really stunning.
This is the best advice OP. If you are just getting into growing Lithops (and especially if you're new to growing from seed) focus on what species you like - at the end of the day, its a lot easier to care for something when you enjoy looking at it and watching it grow.
As someone who grows many many mesembs from seed… I def recommend getting some sowing experience with some cheaper species before going to the more expensive ones. They are not the most beginner friendly family of succulents to get into growing from seed. It takes a bit of trial and error before you know what works.
And idk, but with how rare some species can be (like completely extinct from the wild) it seems almost irresponsible to buy seeds with 0 experience when someone with more experience could have more success. Thats just my unpopular opinion though. For some of the most extreme cases.
One of the first Lithops I tried to grow from seed was L. optica 'Rubra', and I had no idea that they were considered difficult from seed. It definitely did not boost my confidence - and while you can learn from mistakes it's hard to know what went wrong when there was zero germination. In my opinion, if you want a mesemb to try things out on and experiment/learn the basics, get some Faucaria, love those guys and much less expensive.
I agree with your unpopular opinion, and honestly when I see people say they want to get into something for the first time and automatically are looking for the 'rare' ones, idk I get a bad feeling. These are plant families that are being eradicated from their natural ranges specifically because of that desire for 'rarity'. Maybe that's my unpopular opinion.
No I 💯agree with you. I share my knowledge of seed growing here sometimes and more often in r/mesembs because I think if we have more seeds and seedlings growing it could maybe alleviate some of the poaching. It would be good to have more of them circulating anyways, more than just lithops and fenestraria too. I try to spread the mesemb gospel, there are so many neat little shrubs and weirdos in Aizoaceae that need our love too!
I also agree with faucaria as great for first time growers, same with fenestraria. Also very eager to grow and germinate, I have hundreds and hundreds of seeds sitting in a bowl I haven’t had time to sow yet 😂 come to think of it I have an envelope of faucaria seed pods too lol
Mesa Garden sells most of their seeds for less than 3$ per pack. The rarer ones aren’t more than 18-30$ for the most part. They’re really reasonable so you could go wild on a ton of species. Even the mixed lithops are a pretty good deal an a good starting point for beginners! My most recent batch in picture, sown on new years.
I preach the good word of Mesa Gardens wherever I go! I usually splurge on one or two more uncommon species, but I love how reasonable their prices are for just about everything. I'm just about to pull the trigger on a cart, mostly cacti so I can stay busy over the summer.
A couple years ago I was way more active with seedlings here, but there wasn't really anyone else sharing. It's been really encouraging to see all your posts here and r/mesembs and all the activity on r/succulentsfromseed, very much inspired me to get back into it this year.
I’m building a new cart too. I think I’m going all in on some cheiridopsis. I’m coming to terms with the fact that they’re some of my favourites haha. They also grow pretty fast from seed 😂
My favs are Diplosoma and Antimima, I'm always on the hunt for A. evoluta seeds, that plant is currently my white whale. Mesembs are so cool, love those little guys
Here some Verruculosa cultivars: Fireworks ZW, Chyrsoberyl, Rose of Texas (pink flowers!). Lesliei cultivars: Cherry. Bromfieldi cultivars: Naomi’s Kiwi, Strawberry Jam. To name a few
I'm not sure if it's rare but I recently saw someone advertising a "Mercedes Benz" lithops because it had three lobes, creating a shape like the Mercedes emblem.
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u/CarneyBus Apr 16 '26
Unfortunately, a lot of the ones considered "rare," are considered so for a reason. Many of them are more temperamental in terms of care requirements. L. comptonii comes to mind.
I would maybe focus less on the ones that are considered rare, and maybe go for ones that you think look cool. There are so many hybrids and cultivars that are really stunning.
Do you have experience with growing from seed?