In a plastic pot that seems to have peat in it I wouldn't

First things first I'd repot it in a terra cotta and then I would (Hmmm) Practice what your about to read.

My practice for watering Lithops is water them slowly (better yet VERY SLOWLY).

Slowly meaning ( to me) an amount of water is captured by air and moves in air partly by it being warmer in the day and cooler by night.

This same cool to warmer moisture can pass though a breathable tera cotta pot into the open and very pourus mix, then the free air moisture simply pass though the same pot when heat returns .

( YES you still want your pot(s) to have bottom drainage)

At times I will hand water but if so I will do so by misting lightly on the top near the side of pot wall untill the water misting droplets have filled to about 1/8 of an inch into my mix I move water toward the head(s) for a short very short time ( To dust them in a sence.) I don't water messebs when temps are over 80 nor if under 50.

Lithops can handle temps as low as 40 they have been known to handle very short times in frost, I guess they could as long as it warms up to over 40 soon I certainly wouldn't suggest to anyone to try the lower temps Lithops limits

Lithops are a messeb,they tend to grow when its warmer. In a sence it's an opertunist plant some/ any messeb will grow anytime as long as it's warm. Yours is a wee bit taller than they should be is because they wheren't ever kept in" cooler" dimmer light.
I understand ambition and am glad you want to try. In my opinion ( Not to be direct) I would have left the one you picture posted where it was and looked else where for a better looking lithops I would also repot on that same day

Emphisis is, not to hot, not to cold water them lightly if not then slowly but by all means loose the peat.

From what you said on your comments and questions ( other than a long time) I think you have the idea, my posted picture is: No, I would want to wait to water my Lithops.

Ionly water with a sprayer, he gets full Sun... he just kinda likes to look like THAT i guess lol, then again I'm NOT a Lithop so i don't truly kno.. he's in a C/S mix with perlite and he was in a terracotta pot But it broke so all my lithops are in mini plastics at the moment.. trying to find terracotta pots in MA when YOU don't have a car is a pain in the butt. .. butt what can you do. All my other lithops are nice and smooth..seems like this one and only this one likes to do stuff very very different......

Sooo is the wrinkling OKAY? Or is it an issue? (or is he getting old ;-) ..)

What do you DO when a Lithop gets to tall? Do u cut him smaller or bury him deeper? I must admit I'm fond of this not so by the book Lithop that's prob what made me keep him in the first place.

I learned a really helpful tip about these plants recently; if the wrinkling is horizontal, it means the plant has too much water and is starting to rot. If it is vertical, that means it needs a drink. Unfortunately yours is horizontal so it may not survive..but that should be a good tip for future reference!

They need a much grittier mix than what they are in,.

I've been telling her that about her mix, she says she's not ready &/or can't get perlite to amend her mix.

I know Karen , I did too in the same post with you... sadly though these are the pickiest of the bunch IMO...

Kittie,
If you want to keep cactus and succulents you must research their care and provide proper mixes.

You say you don't want to lose them, and they can "get by" with what you have, but as you see they can't "get by" and that is what me and Pirate girl were trying to tell you last night..

I've had this Lithop for literally years....
This is a problem that is JUST happening not something that's been happening. There's too many mixed answers on here, someone says its fine.... then someone says it's NOT.

I didn't just wake up one morning and say i think I'm gonna collect succulent plants, i read up on most of the plants i own, i don't know where you guys are from but apparently YOU have access to things easier then i do where i live, would any body care to send me a bag of perlite? Rush ordered?? I assume not...
The plants can wait a few days to be potted right without dying over night, or i can rush them and kill them immediately by using dirt from outside.
I looked online and other people said the wrinkles are due to cold temperature dropping below 40ð in the sun porch, others say it needs water... some say i need to put more stones in the bottom, or don't water it. Online is a resource of mis- matched information. To criticize someone for asking for help is just rude. My plants may not be the prettiest but i guarantee they are very well taken care of. I go for the one's That need the most TLC and would other wise be thrown away, they all eventually recover and i haven't lost any of my plants so i gatta be doing something right atleast. I didn't say they DON'T need to be rep potted iv simply said that with my limitations at the moment it will simply have to wait.

I'm kind of confused when you say you have grown lithops for year and then show a pic of one as if it where Hmmmm
I don't see (by reading) anybody criticizing you or being rude. I see people trying to help you tohave a better looking plant.
( Personaly I want to tickle pinch you right now just to make sure you can laugh)

Granted ( if accsess is a car) I have a car and can drive to places but please do me a favor ? Dont think for a minute that people with cars have it any eaiser to get items they need. The drive to get the items can be distant at times, Even better is after making a 40 minute drive the item isn't on the shelves or in stock.

Worse case seneral is I call a buddy of mine and have them make part of the long drive then I go to there house to pick the stuff up (WAIT this is best case seneral)

( Wont mention my 40 minute drive can be done in 20 minutes by anybody else.... I tend to " Stop to smell the roses ".)

Fact: There is no such a thing as a perfect mix for any thing I say use this item somody else says use anouther this might mean....
Different people do use different mixes. All you really need to do is be close and you can grow many succulents with modifications of the... ummm the ( LOL) perfect mix I use.

A list of items is being left for you becuse while out on some of my rose smelling detouring habits. I'm able to look inside many many places when there are no roses to smell.
Item one: Perlite
It's as easy as giving rude a rest Kitty it would cost sombody more to send you perlite than it would cost them to buy it.

Item two: Sand It is also at the same HD Lowes Big box stores
Awww ohhh just dawned on me that both places have two types of sand. One bag is Play Ground the other would be consturction sand .
You want construction sand or builders sand usually found near the playground sand.

In an area I call The Leaning Valley of Sick Jades where the fake straw flowers grow is item three of three but item three also has three options

Item three and it's options
Bagged Palm soil from Miricle grow ( OMG I said MG DONT SHOT ME )

Orchid bark ( A good prefferance but will be to chuncky for any of your succulent plantsbut we can discuss how to manipulate it for use it if orchid bark is what you choose)

From the bottom of the barrel realy stuck cant find anything else while at the same big box store
African viloet soil

Kitty. Where your are is also where you are going Enjoy the journey and I wont need to tickle

How come everyone said My mix Of sand pea pebbles and bark, perlite and peat And other forest stuff was bad if that's exactly what they want me to use? Idon't have people to pick stuff up for me, i don't have many friends hence why i have a lot of cats and plants...
I work everyday from noon till 1am, have a fear of driving on the highway and don't have a car..... stuck in a house all day in a small town with nothing really of service to me... no pots, no supplies, no Nuttin unless i walk the 2 hours to home depot

No one has criticized you for asking for help... and if trying to help is Rude.. so be it.

We tried to suggest a quick fix the other night with perlite, only to get our heads bit off! and the fact that you can only find sofa sized bags of perlite like it is our fault.

Nomen has brought up some very good points, and who ever said we all have an easy time finding what we need?. It took me a year to find suitable materials! I'm in Tucson, a desert! and grit and bark were hard to find!!!

I understand not having a car is hard, but there are ways..
I have a huge truck I can't afford to drive! Hubby has been out of work for almost 2 yrs, 2 surgeries, cancer and treatments. So I know all about being stuck!! $$ is tight and I just can't run out for things we need even though we have a vehicle!.. and broke!! .. and down on luck. :-/ haven't even been able to buy a plant in 2 yrs!
I am trying to get the few I have back on track now.

But if I need help, I will ask here and find ways for what I need.

It's great to rescue the underdog, but no help to it if it ends up in peat. I'm sorry.. but that is what it is...

Honestly.. the best thing for you to do is stop adding to your collection, get what you have in better mixes so you don't lose them

What nomen suggested is a variety , nomen did not say to throw it all together!
I've already said sand (at least fine sand) and peat are a nightmare, and several others have pointed out peat is bad news.
The problem with your mix is all that stuff together is a nightmare, a cactus/succulent mix is usually just a few items.

You say you've had this plant a year, done research but yet it's still in peat? If they don't get proper mixes, they will die.. :-/

Mine are mostly sifted bark, a grit of some sort, and a water retaining ingredient. Turface, perlite, pumice.. but just one depending on the plant and it's needs.

Lashing out at those that are trying to help is not going to help you.

I'm not here to fight.. and will no longer offer advice.

Good luck to you and your plants.
JoJo

No the FACT that i bit YOUR heads off its that you were all acting like i could just walk outta my house at2-3am to get a bag of perlite to ad to my mix at that exact moment. I NEVER said you made the bags as big as my couch I'm just saying that you all have been there at one point or another and should understand that no one can just *poof* make something appear that ISN'T THERE. My mix is not just peat it has sshpagnum, sand, perlite, pea pebb. Bark,and other stuff. (Depending on what plant, that is)

My point is, people can help other people without treating them like they're an idiot, and maybe you ALL don't assume that's how you are being but .....you kinda are.

It would be nice to get HELP, without people twisting my words back at me into what was NEVER said.
All i was looking for was help without the "Pfft"

Example: you should work on your mix Kat, try using etc...etc... and see how That works for ya, they should be fine till you're able to get those materials in the next few days.

Not: your plants are gonna die, you SHOULDN'T have succulents, you gatta do it NOW or they will die, Your mix sucks, so you don't wanna do it..., why did YOU do that....there goners..., miss the obvious, etc...etc...

You never said in the next few days, or anything about ANY time frame, just that it would have to wait. No, they're not so likely to be fine, so while you may wish that, we know better than to give empty assurances like that.

Mixes containing sphagnum &/or sand (don't know pea pebbles) are bad for succulents; succulent growers know this, we've learned the hard way. We see this repeatedly from all the folks who come here asking for our help after using mixes containing those components & then having their plants decline.

We NEVER treated you like an idiot, but pointed out problems w/ the care you're giving your plants & why or how to fix it. So actually in explaining, seems to me that's FAR from treating you like an idiot.

At least 4 of us really tried to help you.

I won't waste your time any further.

If you read in my post with the new plants that i bought that is where i said it will have to wait for a few days, NOT inn this post.

And i never said no one tried to help me i just said the way it was said by some people wasn't very nice.

Here's a question if some one can answer it without waving a finger at me.

How DO i unpot my lithop now that the roots are very well established, do i rinse it out with water then dry it out for a few days then re-pot? Or repot it with the root ball suck in the dirt that i can't remove without disturbing the roots

If you read in my post with the new plants that i bought that is where i said it will have to wait for a few days, NOT inn this post.

And i never said no one tried to help me i just said the way it was said by some people wasn't very nice.

Here's a question if some one can answer it without waving a finger at me.

How DO i unpot my lithop now that the roots are very well established, do i rinse it out with water then dry it out for a few days then re-pot? Or repot it with the root ball suck in the dirt that i can't remove without disturbing the roots

I had bad luck rinsing lithops roots to get the dirt off. Do you have a small brush you could use to brush the dirt away from the roots? Anyone know if that would be something that might be worth her trying?

I tried but its kinda not really working to well can't get in between the root ball without ripping the roots, That's why I'm asking

Found out that the wrinkles are from the sun, and it needing sum water... put it inside where it used to be to care for it and the wrinkles are still there but fading slowly

Just use pea pebbles if you can't get rock. Mix it 2:1 with any garden soil.

The watering on these guys is the real issue. It's hard where I live cayse It always rains.

Same here in MA of recently, i found out the the wrinkles were due to too much Sun and to little water? Which i thought was weird since i usually NEVER had to water this guy. He's now inside my house recovering under CF lights. Still having trouble trying to get the medium outta the ball of roots without pulling them all apart, Any idea how i can do this?

Same here in MA of recently, i found out the the wrinkles were due to too much Sun and to little water? Which i thought was weird since i usually NEVER had to water this guy. He's now inside my house recovering under CF lights. Still having trouble trying to get the medium outta the ball of roots without pulling them all apart, Any idea how i can do this?

I have read numerous, numerous posts of yours, Kittie, and usually the response to people trying to help you is questions of "but I can't do that..." There's certainly worth in asking for further explanations and, yes, surely we don't all understand your difficulty in obtaining the necessary soil ingredients, but your difficulties don't change what your plants need, and we could be seeing many more sincere and humble thank-yous than we are. Many of the questions you have asked are not those of someone who has grown succulents for many years and done extensive research, and some of your soil mixes show it as well...and that's all fine because we all were new once. But I'd then urge you to come here and ask questions with a humble heart.

The fact that your plants aren't all growing perfectly right now makes me think to myself, golly, you have to be genuinely open to people's responses urging you to do something different. The people here are usually kind, knowledgeable souls. You've heard their answers about your needing more well-draining soil mixes many a time, or needing different light conditions or what have you, and it's almost as though you keep coming back looking for a different response that would better suit your time and means of transportation. Unfortunately, it's just not going to happen. We have to grow according to the plant's needs, not try to get them to meet ours. It's pretty cut-and-dry; there are not a lot of ways to get around what they need to thrive.

Yes, it can be confusing starting out because there are some varied opinions on how to accomplish a well-draining mix, but what you can take from the different recommendations for soil ingredients is that is there there are many ingredient options for you to look into. That's a great thing; one of them is bound to be accessible somehow. But if it's not, I don't know what to say, you just can't expect to grow the plant well, I guess. We all have to buy plants that suit our weather conditions and the soil ingredients we are able to obtain, and if one of the two components isn't going to work out for you, you have to go from there and in many cases not buy the plant. That's the case with me and many others in regards to many a neat plant.

This post was edited by teatree on Sun, May 18, 14 at 17:31

Ummm.... was asking how to get the Roots outta the soil the rocks came out EASY, the soil won't unless i rip the roots apart. As for a fast draining soil other then the top dressing soil i put on the top of my pots no one can see thru the pot. This is what i use. A CS mix with extra perlite