(status. last rev. 12 october 2020)
It is in no way a form of gospel, nor is it a set of compulsory rules!
It is only an overview of what I do and this may serve you as a "library" to pick up ideas and concepts and maybe a couple of "scientific" explanations.
You need to implement the information yourself to suit your situation.
Nothing less, nothing more! Enjoy!
You need to implement the information yourself to suit your situation.
Nothing less, nothing more! Enjoy!
I wanted to make an attempt to share my experience and the ways in which I proceed growing Lithops with people that are genuinely interested in getting to know more about these intriguing plants.
I did not conceive this "blog" as a "post when you fancy" logging. It would not be practical to bring consistent and readable information if it was split into bits and pieces scattered all over, so I opted for a more coherent "web site type" of blog, which is not too easy using a "blogger" platform, so bear with me.
I want to really emphasize that this "blog" (under te form of a pseudo web site) is just an enumeration of the conditions that I think Lithops are subject to in their habitat. That information I bring it for you as general data but with an attempt to tell you what I do to mimic those conditions under my local circumstances and possibilities!
What this blog is NOT:
a quick and dirty "one size, fits all" growing recipe,
a "ready to cook" recipe book to cover every possible growing condition for any,
window sill, living room, greenhouse, patio, attic and whatnot place on the planet!
People need to think over their own situation and adapt accordingly !
a quick and dirty "one size, fits all" growing recipe,
a "ready to cook" recipe book to cover every possible growing condition for any,
window sill, living room, greenhouse, patio, attic and whatnot place on the planet!
People need to think over their own situation and adapt accordingly !
It is important for the novice to understand that, certainly with Lithops, that a serious initial effort is required to master ALL the growing concepts and their implementation to the local growing conditions.
If one is not prepared to follow this philosophy and actually do this, then it may be better to not even attempt to grow Lithops at all, as one will always wander, at random, along and over a very thin line of success or utter failure, not even knowing what side they're on at every given moment nor what may happen next. c'est la vie ...!
As a start I want to bring some sort of shorthand information about the natural environment of Lithops, roughly, where and how they grow. This is done because of the immensely large territory they occupy and the very divergent conditions under which they need to grow. It is a facet that is completely overlooked by the "occasional" grower. I will be the first one to agree that putting plants together in a mixed collection is not a situation that is making these things easier, but if one is aware of the differences then one can more or less, act accordingly and enhance the chances for success, eventually by putting "similar" species together in a collection although it is strongly advised to keep each species in their own container.
The information brought will first be in a more general approach to familiarise people with what they are dealing with. First a short "In habitat" page to briefly sketch the situation in the field, followed by how this can be translated in cultivation. More in detail pages of all aspects try to cover the things more in detail. Repeat: it is not possible to provide a "one size, fits all" recipe to accommodate everyone's needs just in one stroke. That's not the aim of this blog, anyway.
In all those long years of cultivation and actually from the very start, my main goal was to cultivate cactus plants in an environment that was as close as possible associated with the natural growing conditions plants get in their habitats. In fact, in those early days, using "leaf mould" was the rule, it seemed impossible to grow succulents without this component. I never used leaf mould, instead I used stones and pebbles in my soil making it a "mineral" soil long before this concept became a hype. My fellow club members laughed with this idea but only till they saw my growing results. Then all of a sudden "stones" appeared in their own soil mixes as well!
In my concept the, somewhat hyped, "mineral 90/10" rule is nothing new. I have been using it over 40 years (nearly from the beginning in 1973) in order to be able to grow cacti that come from very arid regions. It is quite clear that in order to keep those alive without the help of grafting, one needs to give them a very high content of mineral compounds in the substrate. The step to similar mixes for Lithops was the utterly logical choice, and a simple step to take.
In the many years later, many of my cactus-friends have visited the habitats in South America and just confirmed that what I had done all those past years was a good concept. Many of them, even, drastically changed their substrates when they came back from their journeys and went even more drastic in mineral soil compositions than I ever did.
So, all this is just to demonstrate that grasping back to habitat environmental conditions for growing plants "in captivity", really pays off. I know that some find this a foolish concept but IMHO they are wrong. It is not because you travel from Peking to New-York that your genetics, your metabolism and you bodily functions will change. The same goes for plants. Their genetics and behaviour has been shaped by thousands of years of evolution. You're not going to change that by just moving them from a pot to a vase.
As a start I want to bring some sort of shorthand information about the natural environment of Lithops, roughly, where and how they grow. This is done because of the immensely large territory they occupy and the very divergent conditions under which they need to grow. It is a facet that is completely overlooked by the "occasional" grower. I will be the first one to agree that putting plants together in a mixed collection is not a situation that is making these things easier, but if one is aware of the differences then one can more or less, act accordingly and enhance the chances for success, eventually by putting "similar" species together in a collection although it is strongly advised to keep each species in their own container.
The information brought will first be in a more general approach to familiarise people with what they are dealing with. First a short "In habitat" page to briefly sketch the situation in the field, followed by how this can be translated in cultivation. More in detail pages of all aspects try to cover the things more in detail. Repeat: it is not possible to provide a "one size, fits all" recipe to accommodate everyone's needs just in one stroke. That's not the aim of this blog, anyway.
In all those long years of cultivation and actually from the very start, my main goal was to cultivate cactus plants in an environment that was as close as possible associated with the natural growing conditions plants get in their habitats. In fact, in those early days, using "leaf mould" was the rule, it seemed impossible to grow succulents without this component. I never used leaf mould, instead I used stones and pebbles in my soil making it a "mineral" soil long before this concept became a hype. My fellow club members laughed with this idea but only till they saw my growing results. Then all of a sudden "stones" appeared in their own soil mixes as well!
 |
| In mineral soil! |
In the many years later, many of my cactus-friends have visited the habitats in South America and just confirmed that what I had done all those past years was a good concept. Many of them, even, drastically changed their substrates when they came back from their journeys and went even more drastic in mineral soil compositions than I ever did.
So, all this is just to demonstrate that grasping back to habitat environmental conditions for growing plants "in captivity", really pays off. I know that some find this a foolish concept but IMHO they are wrong. It is not because you travel from Peking to New-York that your genetics, your metabolism and you bodily functions will change. The same goes for plants. Their genetics and behaviour has been shaped by thousands of years of evolution. You're not going to change that by just moving them from a pot to a vase.
 |
| Mineral 90:10 |