would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

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EcheVeria
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would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by EcheVeria »

I've ordered seeds and have no experience of these at all. I have quite a bit of Tufa Rock I want to get creative with.
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BrianMc
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by BrianMc »

I'm not sure that Lithops would be the suitable subject for tufa. It might be worth experimenting if you have sufficient spare plants, but I think any Lithops growing on tufa would be stunted and struggling. Tufa is pretty high in calcium, so I'm not sure that it would suit Lithops. I believe neutral to slightly acid conditions are best.
Well obviously you would need to sow the seed and grow the plants on to a decent size before introducing them to tufa, you wouldn't be able to sow the seed onto it, so you a talking a number of years down the line before you are able to try, unless you buy some adult plants.
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by DaveW »

Don't know about Lithops, but cacti can so probably Other Succulents too if they stand alkaline conditions. Growing in rocks of course stunts growth as Brian says, but keeps them looking more in character with habitat plants:-

http://succulent-plant.com/tufa.html

http://www.english-tufa-rock.co.uk/bons ... pine-cacti

Some cacti are said to grow in association with bacteria that can dissolve rocks and make the nutrients available:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_ne ... 209687.stm

Probably best way would be to drill a small hole in the tufa and put in a little soil initially then let them root into the tufa if they want.
Last edited by DaveW on Tue Dec 16, 2014 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by Lithaddict »

Hello,

First wich tufa did you talk ?

abstract of wikipedia :

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with tuff, a porous volcanic rock also called 'tufa'.
For other uses, see Tufa (disambiguation).
Mono Lake's "South Tufa" area
Tufa columns at Mono Lake, California

Tufa is a variety of limestone, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from ambient temperature water bodies. Geothermally heated hot-springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits known as travertine. Tufa is sometimes referred to as (meteogene) travertine;[1] care must be taken when searching through literature to prevent confusion with hot spring (thermogene) travertine. Calcareous tufa should not be confused with tuff, a porous volcanic rock with parallel etymological origins that is sometimes called "tufa".

For me Lithops Seeds are to tiny i think. In tufa they will be lost in the deep of your pot... when your plant will be adult maybe Tufa is a way to grow them.

For sowing sand and sowing compost is a good deal for young Lithops as do François Hoes on his web site. I do the same.
(sorry for my english... Marc, France).
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Diane
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by Diane »

I very much doubt they would grow well in tufa, Christine. In habitat they seem to grow on flat quartz fields (depending on species), and will grow in between rock fissures, but always with some depth of "soil" below. They pull themselves right down in the dormant season to below soil level too, due to contractile roots which can go quite deep.

You could try shallow rooted genera such as some crassulas, by scooping out a hole in the tufa, and filling with compost, but you would need to watch the watering so that they don't desiccate completely.

I stand to be corrected by any lithops experts, however. I'm sure Iann or ChrisR will have good advice.
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by EcheVeria »

I believe mine is white limestone chalk, having only just researched online.
I received a quite a few bits dug out of an old rockery. Grey looking stuff covered in black and green moss. I saved a few little ferns from it but the sedums were so full of moss it was hardly worth the bother. I have been putting each piece in a bucket of bleach. It now looks beautiful. :grin: Some of it remains a bit grey and I am thinking of limewashing it .
Thankyou for the links they are very interesting.
I first thought of attaching Tillandsias to them and placing them in a 'Dish Garden' with Crassulla. Sedums I know would work but as you say it's all about experimenting
Thanks for your views ,it helps when I can benefit from other people experiments :grin:

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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by iann »

Try it. You must have some plants that are expendable. Plenty of Lithops grow on limestone, although typically a dense limestone rubble or calcrete rather than tufa rock. Most of the rest don't seem bothered one way or the other by alkalinity. Several of the more difficult species like L. vallis-mariae, L. comptonii, and L. rushiorum are found on calcrete, but also the indestructible L. salicola, L. optica, and L. marmorata var elisae.
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by DaveW »

A quote from the following link :grin: :-

"The most xeric mesembs inhabit grit pans and rocky hillsides as well as the iconic quartz fields. They avoid sand, and even the handful of species that do live in sandy places root in a dense or rocky soil underneath and just poke through the sand. The larger vigorous shrubs may inhabit richer soils, but for the most part it is best to avoid anything that a Petunia might survive in. Soil pH is usually not critical. Many mesembs grow in alkaline limestone based soils, but are happy enough in normal soil provided it is not too rich and drains well. Using a limestone soil can help to produce compact plants with strong colours and textures, or stunted plants in the opinion of another grower. A handful of mesembs do seem to react badly to alkaline soils, as well as to hard water, and certainly the more vigorous ones will do better with a soil containing some organic components."


http://www.succulentguide.com/grow_succulents/
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iann
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by iann »

Check the author, Dave. It's a small world ;)
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Re: would Lithops grow on Tufa Rock?

Post by Phil_SK »

You see, this is the danger of the indiscriminate use of a serch engine: you can end up with all sorts of articles by all sorts of authors. :lol:
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