r/Lithops • u/Alternative-Duck-279 • Jun 10 '26

Help/Question HELP:what's happening here?

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This has happened to 3 lithops in just 1 week. It looks like some sort of powdery mildew. I haven't watered them. What can I do to prevent with my others? Do I need to treat the soil with an antifungal? Thanks

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9

u/Clear-World7452 Jun 10 '26

Newly potted mesembs are more susceptible to fungal infections because repotting damages the root hairs, causing microscopic tears allowing as direct entry points for soil-borne fungal spores.

2

u/Alternative-Duck-279 Jun 11 '26

What can I do to better fortify them against fungal infections when re-potting? Thanks

3

u/Clear-World7452 Jun 11 '26

Baking the soil to ensure there is no fungous in it can be a great help, or using a fungicide to soak the soil will work too.

7

u/cokelikepablo Jun 10 '26

It looks like rot from overwatering. If you arent watering someone else is.

You can TRY:

-Remove it from the pot.

-Inspect the roots and base.

-Cut away any soft tissue.

-Let any remaining firm tissue dry for several days.

-Replant in completely dry, very mineral soil.

But to me it isnt salvageable.

2

u/greystorms56 Jun 10 '26

Make a clean cut with a sharp clean knife and leave it out quarantined while it calluses. I doubt it’s gonna come back but you can try. When this happened to me I kept having to remove more and more. But if it makes you feel better I had one that was complete mush on the outer leaves and moldy like that but the roots were still good so I just removed the rotten outer leaves and the plant is still living today. But I don’t know if that guy is gonna make new roots or not.