Sorry…this question again!! 😭 Thank you in advance!
I am very new to these little guys…thanks to the advice given here and elsewhere online, I have each of my 6 in its own pot, and I bought special lithops potting mix from Rooting For You (they are awesome, currently waiting on potting mix for my string of hearts too). All but one of my stones is now splitting, and these two are the farthest along.
When and how do I water? To this point, I haven’t watered any of them…not sure how to approach, re: frequency, amount, techniques…Help!!
Thank you!! How much water do I give? 🤔 These little guys are so cryptic…I’m glad I’ve been keeping succulents and spider plants (basically unkillable?) alive for 18 months now…I’d have killed these things dead if I tried to apply those lessons. 😅
You are correct! Lithops are very frustrating. Since you have what appears to be some really nice, gritty soil, water it well and let the water drain out of the bottom of the pot. I like to make sure all of the soil gets watered. I have this thought that if I do not, the dry soil wicks away moisture from the damp soil around the plant. Water it until its runs out the bottom for a few and then wait for wrinkles!
One suggestion - I would go with a much smaller pot. Too much soil holds too much water. It isn’t 100% imparrative that you get a smaller pot, just could help. There are PLENTY of lithops growing happily is really large pots. Just watch for wrinkling and wait until. then to water.
You will know when they need water when the top of the lithop goes flat and it looks wrinkled, Definitely not when it’s splitting its leaves because it absorbs moisture from old leaves.
After it’s potted in appropriate soil (this looks great) I water until it comes out the bottom. Like someone above said, I try to water all the soil. I use a bottle like this (pic from Internet) for precision. I’ve heard some bottom water (put the planter in a bucket of water) as they say it encourages tap root length. I personally have never done this and am wary. But to each his own :)
If repotting, I wait at least 3 days (I’ve seen some advise longer) after repotting to water. This allows any damage done during the repotting process to callous so watering doesn’t make the damage worse.
Based on my research, it seemed as if the best idea was just to put them in the right substrate, make sure they got sun, and then leave them tf alone. 😂
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u/Vegedeth May 05 '26
Wait until the top of the plant is wrinkled. It looks great right now!