Lithops advice please

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el48tel
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Lithops advice please

Post by el48tel »

Just after Christmas I bought a few Lithops plants including a hookerii. Yesterday whilst removing old leaf and flower debris I found this plant was sitting on the compost / gravel topping without roots.
Advice please ....
Endeavouring to grow Aylostera, Echinocereus, Echinopsis, Gymnocalycium, Matucana, Rebutia, and Sulcorebutia. Fallen out of love with Lithops and aggravated by Aeoniums.
Currently being wooed by Haworthia, attempting hybridisation, and enticed by Mesembs.
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Re: Lithops advice please

Post by topsy »

Hi,

If you bought this from a garden centre then in all probability it was in a peat or coir based compost and so I am not surprised that it had no roots, you were lucky not to have lost it completely. It does seem rather early for the old leaves to have dried up completely, but not harmful.

You now need to get some compost with a high mineral content prepared for your little plant and just sit it in a depression in the compost in the pot, put it somewhere light but out of direct sunlight and mist spray it if the compost seems dry.

As long as the meristem is still present at the bottom of the two leaves where they join then new roots should form and it's a good time of the year to undertake this as the plant should root and grow well during the mid to late summer.

Good luck, Suzanne
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el48tel
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Re: Lithops advice please

Post by el48tel »

Suzanne
Thanks for the advice.
No ... it was from a dedicated grower so it was in "proper" growing medium. I'll give it some TLC by putting it in a new pot of medium. With regards to the leaves etc. Some of the other species lost the old leaves ages ago and some have not yet started.
Endeavouring to grow Aylostera, Echinocereus, Echinopsis, Gymnocalycium, Matucana, Rebutia, and Sulcorebutia. Fallen out of love with Lithops and aggravated by Aeoniums.
Currently being wooed by Haworthia, attempting hybridisation, and enticed by Mesembs.
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jhb
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Re: Lithops advice please

Post by jhb »

Hi.
You should be ok with it if you pot it up as Suzanne suggests. I know in years gone past when I was a little over zealous in removing dried bodies & a body became detatched I potted it up & all was fine. one way of enlarging a collection :grin:
Jayne H.B.
Growing Mamms, Turbs, Ario`s & a bit of most genera in darkest North Devon. Love Lithops too.Now getting hooked on Haworthia`s & Cono`s.
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