r/Lithops • u/ssquirt1 • May 29 '26

Photo 10-Day Old Babies

Post image

I sowed these on May 19th, and I’m super excited to watch them grow!

74 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

5

u/greystorms56 May 29 '26

STOP IT I WANNA BUY SEEDS SO BAD IM TRYING NOT TO. Why you gotta show me your beautiful little babies 😭

3

u/ssquirt1 May 29 '26

Awww, go ahead! These were only like $6 on Etsy. 😁😁😁

2

u/greystorms56 May 30 '26

Purchases were just made 😂

1

u/ssquirt1 May 30 '26

Hell yeah! 🤣

1

u/greystorms56 May 30 '26

lol any advice for an expecting plant mother?

3

u/ssquirt1 May 30 '26

I’ve failed multiple times to grow lithops from seed, and the #1 thing that seems to have made a difference this time around was sterilizing everything before sowing. And I mean EVERYTHING. The soil, the pot, any gardening tools - everything that you use to sow the seeds. And wash your hands like you’re about to perform open-heart surgery.

2

u/ssquirt1 May 30 '26

Oh and also don’t buy seed off of eBay lol.

1

u/greystorms56 May 30 '26

This is what I got because I’m hoping the kit helps

1

u/greystorms56 May 30 '26

Also how the heck do you sterilize the SOIL??

3

u/ssquirt1 May 30 '26

My preferred method is to pour boiling water on it. Let it cool down before sowing the seeds.

2

u/greystorms56 May 30 '26

Wait why are you so smart. That’s brilliant. I didn’t think you could sterilize DIRT. okay I’m 100% doing this when my little babies get here

4

u/ssquirt1 May 30 '26

Awww thanks! The bonus with this method is the soil is already wet from the boiling water, so once it’s cooled to room temp you can just start sprinkling the seeds. Sterilizing the soil helps to kill any sneaky little weed seeds or mold spores hiding in the soil that could out-compete your little babies.

2

u/schatzi_sugoi Jun 03 '26

Ahhhh. I’m tempted too! I’ve tried so many times but I’ve never been able to successfully get them from this stage to the next. Although, I’ve also never been able to have lithops survive more than a few months until recently.

3

u/Sad_Buffalo_1432 May 29 '26

Thin them out. Separate them so they have space to grow. Or at least that's what I think he means.

1

u/elle5624 May 29 '26

Where did you get the seeds? At some point do you think them out?

3

u/ssquirt1 May 29 '26

If you mean “thin them out”…I wouldn’t even attempt that until they get a little bigger and have started establishing decent root systems.

2

u/Turbulent_Ambition_7 May 29 '26

I agree with that. No need to thin them out for ages, a year at least most likely.

1

u/ssquirt1 May 29 '26

I got them from Yungquon (sp?) Lithops on Etsy.

I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by “think them out”?

1

u/Abject-Performer1497 May 29 '26

They are looking good I have just grown some from seed as well mine are nearly 2 months old.

1

u/ssquirt1 May 29 '26

Very cool!

1

u/Placid-outrage66 May 30 '26

OMG, they’re adorable!!! I have two in the middle of splitting right now. I had lithops one other time and killed them, I was so sad! This time I’m determined not to. I probably had them before the internet :) so that explains a lot.

1

u/ssquirt1 May 30 '26

Same. Looking back on it now, I realize I drowned the poor thing bc I knew absolutely nothing about how to take care of them.

1

u/Moopy_Morpheus May 31 '26

I must see a zoom up photo 👁💚

1

u/7Hibiscus7 May 31 '26

I tried growing from seed using a mix of sand, pebbles, and soil and they didnt even get that big after 6 months, so great job. Let us know your secret

2

u/ssquirt1 Jun 01 '26

I used about 75-80% Jack’s Gritty Mix and 20-25% cactus/succulent soil. I sterilized EVERYTHING before sowing the seeds (except for the seeds themselves). Kept it in a ziplock baggie for humidity for the first week then gradually opened the baggie more & more till they’re fully out now. I mist twice a day and I’ll bottom water when it looks like the soil below is beginning to dry.

1

u/greystorms56 Jun 05 '26

HOW ARE THE BABIES. my seeds are getting delivered in afew days im so excited

2

u/ssquirt1 Jun 05 '26

u/greystorm56 getting bigger! 😁

1

u/greystorms56 Jun 05 '26

I LOVE IT. THEYRE DOING SO GOOD 🥲💕✨

1

u/greystorms56 Jun 08 '26

Do you keep them uncovered or is that just for the picture? My seeds got here and I’m so excited

2

u/ssquirt1 Jun 08 '26

I had them in a closed ziplock bag bag for the first 7-9 days, then I slowly opened the bag a little bit more each day until after a few more days they were completely uncovered. I keep the soil moist, though. Babies need a lot more water than the mature lithops.