Lapidaria margaretae care tips

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GreenHairsteak
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Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by GreenHairsteak »

Hi

I’ve recently acquired three small Lapidaria margaretae.
I’d love any experts to share any care advice, so my plants can thrive and have longevity!
Thank you in advance. 😊

Here’s a pic of one that has some new leaves appearing.
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David1971
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by David1971 »

Assuming that the potting mix is correct (mostly inorganic), be careful now with the sun till the plant is well established, exposing it slowly. Once established, it is able to manage lots of sun, and in any case it needs very good light. It is a rather opportunistic species, so water it when days are warm and nights cool, being very cautious under heat and cold conditions.
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by MikeDom »

Hi,

Agree with David. I grow mine quite hard, in an almost completely inorganic mix of gravel and a little sand in blazing hot sun, though they can burn if exposed to hot sun too quickly. This one is 5 years old now growing in a 2 inch clay pot for scale. He gets watered when I remember (which is about once a month) with 50% strength high potash fertiliser although a low nitrogen feed at 50% strength would also do. That way you should avoid stacking too many pairs of leaves.
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They germinate really easily (too easily), shown below are this years seedlings which are just getting their first leaves. As younger plants I use a 50% mix of JI No.3 and grit-sand and water more regularly to keep them growing, you might wish to water more regularly for the first year to get yours established.
IMG_4685.JPG
IMG_4686.JPG
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by topsy »

I am surprised that Mike says you can avoid leaves stacking as this little plant should not be grown like a Lithops, i.e. one fresh pair of leaves each year absorbing the older pair. It is natural for this plant to have two, three or four pairs of leaves stacked, look in some of the literature such as Mesembs of the World. They are closely related to Lithops and indeed as seedlings cannot be distinguished from them, they also flower yellow.

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iann
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by iann »

Flower time now. I can't keep mine to one leaf pair despite some brutal treatment. Perhaps in a hotter sunnier climate. Photo from 8th October (not this year!).
lapidaria-1006.jpg
My treatment is as much sun and heat as possible, top shelf in my greenhouse. Water only enough to keep the newest leaf pair happy while trying to get rid of the oldest leaf pair (maybe even two with luck). Then deeper watering as the weather cools at the end of summer. Dry and cool over winter (sun not available here for several months). I keep mine frost free, but they are hardy at least a little below freezing, maybe a lot.
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by MikeDom »

iann wrote: Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:03 pm Flower time now. I can't keep mine to one leaf pair despite some brutal treatment. Perhaps in a hotter sunnier climate.
You need to move down to the Cotswolds Ian, plenty of sunshine and heat down here, but not much water :smile:
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by rthr »

No Lapidaria flowers here yet this year. Mine are grown in very hot and sunny conditions and once past two years old will always have two to four leaf-pairs on the go. This is how they look today, after getting some rain last weekend:

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I'm fairly generous with my watering in September/October and again in April/May. Over the summer months I give them just enough splashes to keep major wrinkles at bay, no water is required over winter. In its natural habitat Lapidaria lives in a very dry, bright region where rains are infrequent but often heavy when they come. It can look terribly shrivelled for most of the time but will soon plump up after a drenching. Too much water and its fat leaves are liable to split. They do share their habitat with Lithops olivacea and following a generalised Lithops growing regime won't hurt it, just don't try to prevent leaf stacking. As Ian says, they can handle below-freezing temperatures too - mine haven't complained when it has briefly dropped to -5C.

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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by Ali Baba »

Here's my pair of plants. Right next to the south facing end of my greenhouse. Just enough water in summer to prevent excessive wrinkling, and then more water now and as they form a new pair of leaves.
They go a lovely colour in full sun, green with a hint of biscuit.
IMG_1777.JPG
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by GreenHairsteak »

Oh wow, thank you everyone for your fantastic and informative replies!

All your lapidaria’s are looking wonderful, hopefully with all your great advice I can do mine justice. 👍🏼 😊

Thanks again!
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Re: Lapidaria margaretae care tips

Post by MikeDom »

Follow the general principles and yours should flourish. Adapt as you go and 'listen' to your plant.

The plant I showed above is Lapidaria margaretae SH558 (Rosynebos), usually 3 pairs of whitish-green leaves per growth apparently. Mine appears to be a bit unusual in that respect, albeit healthy.
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