congratulations on growing lithops! They are perfect. That is what they look like.

Very cute lithops! Do a bit of searching around here, I believe you'll find a lot of info in other threads on this forum ... I can tell you that watering every 3-5 days will kill them. They need very little water, and at times should go several weeks without a drop. I wish you good luck, I've only managed to love those guys to death!

I am a new lithops mom 2! I thought they were dormant in the summer!! Am I wrong? I know they don't need much water anytime of year and I thought I had read now to withhold ALL water! Someone plz advise.

Teisa

While I'm still in the experimental stage with my lithops, after doing some research, I plan on really reducing my watering on my lithops now. From what I understand they should be starting to go dormant in my area so I plan on moving them from their current location to a slightly shadier location and reducing water. I think I'm going to try spritzing them with water a couple of times a week to mimic dew but otherwise I won't water unless they accidentally get rained on. But I have never grown these guys before so I'm still in the trial and error stage ;)

The length of dormancy really depends on how hot it is where you are. Mine are still in full growth, I just did a good watering a few days ago. I water a bit more than I can recommend to beginners but that's only because I'm beginning to understand them better in relation to my conditions. When you say to yourself, "Jeez! It's really getting hot now!", meaning it's been hot (maximum heat) for a couple days and isn't showing any signs of cooling off, that's a red flag. The tricky part is that they're actually in summer growth right up until then and also afterwards. The term "summer dormancy" is misleading in this case. Just watch for the signals. Knowing when dormancy starts, you'll feel it. Knowing when it ends, you'll see it.

Also, you could afford to put a little more soil in there, bury them a bit more. They're about twice as tall as they should be at their leggiest. More light will help. Try adding an extra hour of light if you can.

I went and took a photo to show how compact they can be. They don't have to be, but they can. My light is probably a bit too strong for some of them. You can tell which ones because they pull themselves under the soil line... still ok.

another angle

These are a lot like yours.

These are also like yours but grown in a shadier spot...

...in a spookier pot.

I know that when the top splits open and the new leaves start emerging, that's when you're supposed to just LEAVE THEM. They will absorb the water from the old leaves. This is where I killed all of mine. Seems I just couldn't make my brain believe that the plant didn't need ANY water. So I would water them. And they would rot. :(

Thanks for the advice and pictures hanzrobo. This coming week they are talking 80s plus humid and we typically see 80s-90s for high heat so I figured I'd start to lay off on the watering since I figured growth would be slowing down. I have them in what I figure would be my sunniest spot, I'm on the east side of the building with a balcony above mine so I have them in a window box hanging over the side to hopefully catch a little more sun.

I bet that the reason for Lithops deaths in many cases that I read about has less to do with frequency of watering, and more to do with very poor root conditions.

Rightfully so, in general they go into small pots. But this also means the soil may get too hot due to the pots being exposed to sun and the warm air. The reduced soil volume also means they may dry out too quickly, killing roots.

After a summer period of heat, the roots are cooked. It is no wonder then that even a little bit of watering leads to rot - there are no roots to absorb the moisture! Look at how neatly the pots in hanzrobo's pictures are stacked and protecting the root zones.

Deep and large pots are fine, maybe even preferable. Try and situate them where the pots are protected from direct sun. I have dozens of Lithops, which bloom every year, for almost 20 years. I have no hesitation in watering them more often than you may think. Even in the heat of the summer, a light watering every 10-14 days is harmless in my experience. My soil mix is very dense, and has minimal organics and absolutely no peat whatsoever.

In habitat they get little rain for long periods. But in habitat, the roots are kept cool and protected, and dense fogs can be heavy and regular. And many species are coastal, where temperatures are moderated.

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