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Cultivation: Need an open mineral, fast
draining mix and the maximum amount of light you are able to give them.
The basic cultivation routine is: Stop watering after flowering. Start
watering after the old leaves completely dry. (Usually late March or
Early April) Water freely during the growing season, soak the compost
fully but allow it to dry out between waterings,
no water when cold. Some growers fertilize
frequently, some hardly ever. Keep them dry during the winter. Nearly
all problems occur as a result of
overwatering and poor ventilation especially when weather
conditions are dull and cool or very humid.
This plant is best for a well lit area (Bright
shade to
full sun).
Note: After flowering in the
autumn and extending through
winter
season the plant doesn’t need
watering, but they will still be
growing, the new
bodies will be increasing in size extracting
water from the outer
succulent leaves, allowing them to
shrivel away. In fact the plant in this time extracts
water and
nutrient stored in the outer
succulent leaves, allowing them to
dehydrate relocating the water to the rest of the plant and to
the new leaves that form during this period until the old leaves are
reduced to nothing more than "thin papery shells".
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Remarks: Lithops are partly
subterranean, with only the clear 'window'
in each leaf tip exposed above soil. A type of optical system exists
whereby a layer of apical tissue rich in calcium oxalate crystals acts
as a filter to intense sunlight before it reaches the thin
chlorophyllous layer below. They are also called
mimicry plants as they show a striking similarity to their
background rocks and are difficult to detect when not in flower. These
are the commonly known as pebble plants or living stones; each species
is associated with one particular type of rock formation and occurs
nowhere else. Its soil-embedded, subterranean growth form also reduces
the need for chemical defences against herbivores.
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Cultivation
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