Pricking out Lithops

[Jude]

I have some seedlings of Lithops hookeri, L.julii, and L.aucampiae grown from BCSS seed and sown at the end of January. They all look healthy, and are about 4 mm tall. They have been out of the heated propagator for about 3 weeks and are in small pots covered with a propagator lid on a windowsil. Being new to Lithops culture, I don't know when to prick them out. When large enough to handle is what I've always done with other stuff, but is there any special technique for Lithops? I was going to try using 2 dissecting needles, to avoid squashing them with my not very dextrous fingers, but please does anyone have advice? Also, is it best to prick them out into mini individual pots? or just more spaced-out in a bigger seed tray? and what then, in terms of continuing care? Any info gratefully recieved.

Jude

[Lindsey]

Are they very overcrowded?

And if this is your first time growing Lithops from seed - and if you haven't sown other mesemb seed, most of which is much quicker to develop than baby Lithops - do remember that an important time in a Lithops seedling's life is when the true leaves appear within the fissure of the cotyledon, 3-4 months or longer after germination. Usually best not to disturb till the autumn after sowing... but that's just the way I grow them.

[Aloenut]

Jude,

I would not transplant until the first true leaves appear.

I leave my Lithops seedlings for at least a year in the pots in which they were sown. If I am short of space, I have waited 2 years at times with no harm coming to them.
Lithops seedlings seem to enjoy being crowded, so there is no rush to move them on.

Thanks
Aloenut

[Jude]

Thanks to Lindsey and Aloenut - Now I won't even think about trying to prick out the seedlings. They are a bit close together - but have a bit of room to expand. I reckon I probably would do more harm than good by attempting to do anything at this stage. Thanks for the advice. I'll post a couple of pics soon.

[iann]

I agree, don't mess with them now. They're probably tiny soft green things with a single thread root, easy to damage followed by a quick death. If they have absolutely no space between them then you could try pricking out a few to see whether enough survive to make it worth doing the rest. Even completely cramped they will manage to survive although things might get messy for a while.