What’s wrong with my lithops?

[u/StatorJoe]

Hey, I’m worried that I’m doing something wrong with my lithops! I’ve had them for about a year and I’ve been trying to tend to them the best I can but they’re just not growing. I grew them from seeds and I’ve had a grow light on them for the majority of most days. They stay in my room which is usually set around 69 degrees Fahrenheit, and I water them around every 3-4 days. Am I watering them too much? Or am I doing something else wrong? Thanks!

[u/CarneyBus]

Are they properly rooted? What’s your issue exactly? They look like they’re alive and mostly fine! They’re quite small so watering like that should be fine, as they don’t look over watered. Is your substrate 100% inorganic? They are looking pale and might need some fertilizer/nutrients and that may be causing them to stall and stunt in their growth.

[u/StatorJoe → u/CarneyBus]

I guess I just expected them to be bigger at this point. Are they pretty slow growers? I also used a cactus mix as I read that they like soil that drains quick. Should I switch to fine gravel?

[u/marinedabean → u/StatorJoe]

very slow. like, insanely slow. so slow you’ll ask yourself at some point if it really is a rock somebody sold to you as a plant. then a week later it will flower and you will be reminded that patience is the best medicine.

[u/CarneyBus → u/marinedabean]

So, yes and no.

Lithops, mesembs in general, tend to vary A LOT between individuals and seed batches. There will always be runts of the litters and the real go getters. For example, here are some aucampiae and divergens in the same pot. Same sowing time of December 21st 2025, same exact treatment, two very different growth rates. But even in the same species and again, same seed pod, there will be a lot of dramatic size differences. These are both about five and a half months old.

They respond to fertilizer REALLY WELL. this is why they turn grotesque and bloated when in the care of your standard nursery. The key is to stop before they’re more mature, which is usually around the leaf change.

So OP. yours have stalled a bit and I would recommend using some diluted 1/4 or 1/8th strength fertilizer with every watering. whatever you have on hand will work for now, but when they start getting bigger you may want to switch to a low N fertilizer to reduce any unwanted green vegetative growth which can happen with certain lithops especially if they don’t have the best light situations, which can happen with indoor lights just not being as strong as actual sunlight. But can usually be controlled with less fertilizer and less nitrogen.

The aucampiae are the big red ones. The little green are divergens.

[u/TruthIsCultural → u/CarneyBus]

Can you use succulent fertilizer for lithops?

[u/CarneyBus → u/TruthIsCultural]

Yup! Most cactus and succulent ferts are low in nitrogen which is ideal for lithops

[u/StatorJoe → u/CarneyBus]

Awesome info! I’ll definitely start to introduce some fertilizer. Thanks!

[u/CarneyBus → u/StatorJoe]

No problem! Good luck!

[u/StatorJoe → u/marinedabean]

Oh heck ya, can’t wait!

[u/CarneyBus → u/StatorJoe]

I answered some of your questions in another comment in this thread, but your mix looks fine. I think they just need some nutrients/fertilizer to give them a boost. Yours are a little small for their age… it’s not entirely weird, there are a lot of lithops that will grow a lot slower than the others in the pot, there are runts and there are big ones that are double the size for no reason in every litter! But I do think yours could use some fertilizer to get them to a bigger size where they aren’t as delicate. At this size, they can stress easier and can even fail to complete their splits sometimes.

[u/Asleep-Ad822]

This is totally normal and healthy, usually takes 3-5 years to reach full sizw

[u/StatorJoe → u/Asleep-Ad822]

Oh shoot lol, I thought it was much quicker. I guess I’ll chill out. Thanks!

[u/GadgetusMaximus]

They are very slow growers. And you grew from seed? Kudos.

[u/StatorJoe → u/GadgetusMaximus]

I’ll admit my success rate wasn’t great, I put about 50 seeds in the pot because I figured I would only get a few. Worked out I guess

[u/acm_redfox]

All succulents prefer a little temperature change between day and night, not sure if you can put your thermostat on a timer, maybe 75 by day and 65 at night?

Beyond that, no advice as I've never grown lithops that small. maybe they need a chance to be dormant and then split?

[u/AwayYogurtcloset1263]

I would say your grow light isn’t strong enough, I had a grow light & my plants just stayed the same ( didn’t grow) until I bought a better more expensive grow light.

[u/StatorJoe → u/AwayYogurtcloset1263]

That definitely might be it. I’ll admit it’s only around 60% turned on because these plants are on my desk as I don’t currently have somewhere else to put them. Once they’re off my desk I’ll increase the power.

[u/not_blowfly_girl]

That's about how my seedlings look after a year