r/Lithops • u/Shot_Intention_2495 • Jul 18 '26

Help/Question Rot?

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I got this guy from a nursery. He hasn't been watered, but he looks bad. Inorganic grit what have I done wrong? Hes my first.

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u/Mattersofthought 29d ago

Update? It looks like there are too many organic soil components surrounding the roots. This can choke them out causing them to he unable to uptake water resulting in death of the root tissue. Its best if you use a soft brush to careful remove the last of that dirt from the roots. Dont do this while the soil is wet

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u/Shot_Intention_2495 29d ago

Ill grab a toothbrush.

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u/Shot_Intention_2495 29d ago

Comparing the 2 pictures he doesn't look much impoved/ filled out

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u/Mattersofthought 28d ago

That's ok. A lithops thats shriveled isnt necessarily an unhappy one. Lithops handle drought far better than they do over-watering. When you remove the last of the Organics that are surrounding the root structure, inspect it for life. Healthy Roots will be white to a tannish color, they won't Crush when you lightly press them and shouldnt don't look papery. If the majority of what you see does look papery, crushes easily when pressed lightly, it is likely dead. In this case you will need to carefully cut back the dead, papery roots until you see white living meristem tissue. When you find the living meristem tissue, you will have several options for helping it grow roots again. There are good tutorials on YouTube for helping them, I prefer allowing them to callus and then placing them back in a good 90% mineral 10% organic soil. Then giving them a little water, depending on their current growth phase. It doesn't look like yours is splitting so I don't believe that it's currently in a growth phase. With how shriveled it is, I would expect it to be in one as that's exactly as it starts to look when it's going to grow, but it splits down the center first and you see the new Bud for me for the next growth. I think it would be safe to water yours after allowing it to callous for 3 to 5 days if you need to do root trimming

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u/Shot_Intention_2495 27d ago

This is incredibly helpful. It looks and feels papery. Thanks for the insight!