A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Living Stones

I was told NOT to water these at ALL during winter, is that true?

Thanks!

I was actually reading up on them just this afternoon, asking to myself the same question...

Hi Bad,

Oh wow, I didn't know that! I thought if they didn't get water in the winter, or very little, they would get watered like other succulents, during spring, summer and fall months!
So, I should water during the spring months when dry, then just a little bit in summer, fall and winter, that is, ONLY enough to prevent shriveling?
Have I gotten that right?

i orderd seeds so im learning too!

scroll down and it tells ya how to take care in house soil,water web page

Here's some info. For these plants shriveling is good, at the right time of year. I could never keep mine alive/growing/blooming more than 2-3 years. Best of luck to you!!!

http://www.smale1.demon.co.uk/grow_lithops.htm


lithops

Great! Thank you all for all the information. I'll read over all the sites given and hopefully I can keep these alive for a while. The ones I bought a few years back sadly didn't live very long.

Yea the rock, ice, or mimicry plants (Mesembryanthemaceae) are all very difficult plants to have good luck. I currently have 3 clumps of “baby toes” Fenistaria (spelling) sp., Glottiphyllum olgicarpum, and Pleiospilos simulans… my baby toes went the entire sweltering Texas summer almost 5 months with only a few waterings. And as soon as winter came along they shrived immediately demanding water (LOTS OF IT)… soon afterward they flowered and will want water until early spring (march April) and are currently sending out offsets and new leaf pairs. But that is different for my Glottiphyllum… which wants ample water all spring, summer, and fall (flowering period occurs during the fall). But my Pleiospilos simulans, only required water during spring with the onset of lengthening days. All genera of these plants and even species have STRICT watering schedules sensitive to photoperiod & temperature… this is what makes them so hard to grow, they also rot easily to use a soil mix low in humus and high in gypsum, lime and sand…and use deep (tall) containers… and allow water absorption from the bottom…

What my friend taught me was to wait until the leaves are squishy before watering, and then ONLY WATER A LITTLE BIT. If the leaves are firm, no water is needed. I planted it in very sandy soil. That was about 5 years ago and my jade is doing well, though it's time to transplant to a bigger pot again (hasn't done much growing in the past year). I'm afraid to put it in a bigger pot because it'll be a lot harder to bring inside during frost warnings...

Originally posted by DowntoEart Hi Bad,

@ mark! thats to funny!


i have yet to start my seeds!

I havent tried to grow any but i think they are just the coolest things....good luck everyone.

thanks penny
now that wally world got their garden stuff out im hopin to get soil for the living stones, those seeds are so small they look like specks!