Thanks for that! We just recvd a huge order of bare root Lithops, and it started WWIII in my house. My more experienced gardening husband had plans…but we’ve don’t tropical plants and orchids, getting him to believe in NO WATER is a true battle (which is why we have had to place ANOTHER order of Lithops…lol). I appreciate your video very much-I’ve been enthralled with these weirdos since the first time I saw them, but I’ve always struggled with them. Just have to keep my husband’s loving watering can far, far away.❤
Just bought my first lithop about month ago. Never heard of them but thought it was an interesting looking succulent. Now I want more! I got some seeds ordered and on the way - so see how that goes. Thanks for sharing your techniques.
Hey there, love your videos. I’m binging on them. Definitely better than watching the news. 😆 question: When you put your lithops in the fridge to encourage root growth, you didn’t mention whether you take them out during the day at all during the week you give them the cold treatment. I’d love to know since I’m really trying to understand these little fellas! 🫤😊 Thanks a bunch. ( I’ve been buying mine from Hock, also. Great guy. )
Well thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying the content!!! I tell you what, making the vids is better than watching the news too, just about anything is nowadays!!! 🤣 Well hell, I didn't realize I didn't speak to that point of cold timing!!! I may have to make an updated video! If I'm using cold to get them to root, I'll put them in when I go to bed, and take them out and put them in the sun in the morning, making sure they're shaded in the afternoon. (I have a patio table with an umbrella that does this nicely). We don't just need cold temps at night, we also want a nice big swing from the warmth of the day to the cold of the night, and back. That temperature swing does some work for us as well, so we want to promote that! You're so welcome, and man, Hock grows some nice plants, right? I love that guy, he's become a very good grower friend of mine!
@@AoxTheGardener Thanks so much! Another quick question… I’ve got a couple of small ones that are shriveling and quite wrinkly. I know it’s not the time of year to water them but would recommend a bit of water to tide them over? My hunch is that their roots are not doing well. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Just a simple answer will do. I have mine indoors under led lights with a fan circulating the air above them. All I can do in a NYC apartment that doesn’t face the direction they need. 😫 Thanks again!
Interesting that you provide moisture immediately after cutting the roots. I've always been taught to let the roots callus for at least a week before providing moisture to help avoid infections and rot.
That's definitely a way! It's not my way, but it's a way! I always water lithops after potting or repotting to encourage new hair root growth ASAP. I've done it with hundreds of lithops, and it's my preferred method of rooting! If that works for other folks, then hey now, awesome, I'm not here to criticize other methods, just to demonstrate mine! 💚 Lithops will actually regrow roots from a trimmed plant, as long as you get it down to the pith, and start doing so nearly immediately. Now, I also do this because I grow in 100 percent mineral grit, and by about 30 minutes after watering, there really is no excess water left in the pot, it's either been absorbed by the porous portions of the grit, or has left the pot entirely.
I will add I let just about EVERYTHING besides lithops get the week callous treatment. I would NOT be comfortable doing this with echeveria, sedum, graptos, etc. Lithops, in my experience, are a special case.
Hi! I've been following your channel and realised that you're also on the FB Lithop beginners group! Hope you don't mind my asking - I potted up bare root jellybean size lithops in the correct damp substrate with trimmed roots and all, but forgot to give them the cold treatment. So a couple of weeks later, I watered them again and stuck them in the fridge overnight for a couple of days because the nighttime temps never go below 15 C where I live. Maybe I hadn't noticed they were iffy before, but I lost three of them - all shriveled and mushy. I've stopped the cold treatment, but my question is, when I water them again in three weeks, do I stick them in the fridge again? Do I do that everytime I water them through the year? Thanks, Aox! Your vids are so informative and entertaining!
The cold treatment is really just to get them to root up just after planting. Once they're planted and rooted up, cold treatment isn't necessary. It sounds like what happened is they got planted up, but never rooted out, then when you watered them again later, it was a bit too much water for them, and they couldn't take it. If your night temps don't regularly get down to under 20C, to the 15-18ish mark, you will need to give them the cold for a few days after watering, until the substrate has dried out. We definitely don't want them sitting in moist substrate during heat, that will definitely be bad for them! Thank you so much for watching!!!!
@@AoxTheGardener Thanks, Robert! I lost 5 of them to my mistake, but I'll know better next time. This advice is only for very small bare root lithops, yes? Mature ones with well-developed roots don't have to be trimmed so drastically and given the cold treatment?
This is Pepper and this is exactly what I was needing, but one question what do you do if one falls off and has no root and I have 4 that are just stubborn how long can they stay in fridge I'm so afraid of over watering until they are established, Thanks
If one falls off and has no roots, that's a goner. They stay in the fridge overnight only! You have to get them into warmth and light the next day. You can do that overnight cycle for as long as you'd like, but I do recommend you give them a summer rest. 👍🏻
Hey new sub here, I've got a Lithops that grew to be almost 3 inches tall and then it split all around the base, it is now leaning over hard core.. the plant is real healthy but I am wondering how to bring it back. If it dies my fiancee will have my ...
I have some small bare root Lithops coming in soon. I have expanded shale and have been looking everywhere to see if I can add that to my soil mix for the Lithops but haven't found any advice for shale. Is expanded shale okay?
You can definitely add some expanded shale to the mix, as long as it's the right 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch size. I wouldn't use the fines, and I wouldn't use it as a majority of a mix, as it's more moisture retentive than pumice, but some in your mix definitely won't hurt, especially for the little guys, who need a bit more moisture than fully mature plants! Good luck with the new boys!!!
@@AoxTheGardener Hello, I'm new and I don't speak much English! I already followed your steps and cut the roots until I saw the white, but I have a doubt, should they be in the refrigerator for a whole week without seeing the sun, or just at night? Thanks!
@@carmenmosquera6255 We spoke on insta, but for anyone else asking this questions, the fridge is only for night time, during the day, we want to get them as much bright light as we can, and let them warm up for the day.
That's correct! Whenever doing cold treatment, only at night, to get the temp swing from day to night as extreme as possible. We want them to warm up during the day! It's the temp swing that's doing a lot of the work for us, not just the cold.
Thanks for that! We just recvd a huge order of bare root Lithops, and it started WWIII in my house. My more experienced gardening husband had plans…but we’ve don’t tropical plants and orchids, getting him to believe in NO WATER is a true battle (which is why we have had to place ANOTHER order of Lithops…lol). I appreciate your video very much-I’ve been enthralled with these weirdos since the first time I saw them, but I’ve always struggled with them. Just have to keep my husband’s loving watering can far, far away.❤
Hahahaha I love it. They need SOME water! Like 10-25 waterings a year, but only at the right times, in the right seasons!!!
Just bought my first lithop about month ago. Never heard of them but thought it was an interesting looking succulent. Now I want more! I got some seeds ordered and on the way - so see how that goes. Thanks for sharing your techniques.
That is fantastic!!! Absolutely my pleasure and welcome to this crazy rabbit-hole!! 💚
Hey there, love your videos. I’m binging on them. Definitely better than watching the news. 😆 question: When you put your lithops in the fridge to encourage root growth, you didn’t mention whether you take them out during the day at all during the week you give them the cold treatment. I’d love to know since I’m really trying to understand these little fellas! 🫤😊 Thanks a bunch. ( I’ve been buying mine from Hock, also. Great guy. )
Well thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying the content!!! I tell you what, making the vids is better than watching the news too, just about anything is nowadays!!! 🤣 Well hell, I didn't realize I didn't speak to that point of cold timing!!! I may have to make an updated video! If I'm using cold to get them to root, I'll put them in when I go to bed, and take them out and put them in the sun in the morning, making sure they're shaded in the afternoon. (I have a patio table with an umbrella that does this nicely). We don't just need cold temps at night, we also want a nice big swing from the warmth of the day to the cold of the night, and back. That temperature swing does some work for us as well, so we want to promote that! You're so welcome, and man, Hock grows some nice plants, right? I love that guy, he's become a very good grower friend of mine!
@@AoxTheGardener Thanks so much! Another quick question… I’ve got a couple of small ones that are shriveling and quite wrinkly. I know it’s not the time of year to water them but would recommend a bit of water to tide them over? My hunch is that their roots are not doing well. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. Just a simple answer will do. I have mine indoors under led lights with a fan circulating the air above them. All I can do in a NYC apartment that doesn’t face the direction they need. 😫 Thanks again!
Interesting that you provide moisture immediately after cutting the roots. I've always been taught to let the roots callus for at least a week before providing moisture to help avoid infections and rot.
That's definitely a way! It's not my way, but it's a way! I always water lithops after potting or repotting to encourage new hair root growth ASAP. I've done it with hundreds of lithops, and it's my preferred method of rooting! If that works for other folks, then hey now, awesome, I'm not here to criticize other methods, just to demonstrate mine! 💚 Lithops will actually regrow roots from a trimmed plant, as long as you get it down to the pith, and start doing so nearly immediately. Now, I also do this because I grow in 100 percent mineral grit, and by about 30 minutes after watering, there really is no excess water left in the pot, it's either been absorbed by the porous portions of the grit, or has left the pot entirely.
I will add I let just about EVERYTHING besides lithops get the week callous treatment. I would NOT be comfortable doing this with echeveria, sedum, graptos, etc. Lithops, in my experience, are a special case.
I found you it's Lisa from the love Lithops group
HIHI!!! Nice to see you here!
Enjoyed your video! Not a lot of lithoes videos out there. Will enjoy the different cultivars talk if you do them.
Thank you so much! I definitely plan on making more info content about the lithops!! Stay tuned!!! 💚
Hi! I've been following your channel and realised that you're also on the FB Lithop beginners group! Hope you don't mind my asking - I potted up bare root jellybean size lithops in the correct damp substrate with trimmed roots and all, but forgot to give them the cold treatment. So a couple of weeks later, I watered them again and stuck them in the fridge overnight for a couple of days because the nighttime temps never go below 15 C where I live. Maybe I hadn't noticed they were iffy before, but I lost three of them - all shriveled and mushy. I've stopped the cold treatment, but my question is, when I water them again in three weeks, do I stick them in the fridge again? Do I do that everytime I water them through the year? Thanks, Aox! Your vids are so informative and entertaining!
The cold treatment is really just to get them to root up just after planting. Once they're planted and rooted up, cold treatment isn't necessary. It sounds like what happened is they got planted up, but never rooted out, then when you watered them again later, it was a bit too much water for them, and they couldn't take it. If your night temps don't regularly get down to under 20C, to the 15-18ish mark, you will need to give them the cold for a few days after watering, until the substrate has dried out. We definitely don't want them sitting in moist substrate during heat, that will definitely be bad for them! Thank you so much for watching!!!!
@@AoxTheGardener Thanks, Robert! I lost 5 of them to my mistake, but I'll know better next time. This advice is only for very small bare root lithops, yes? Mature ones with well-developed roots don't have to be trimmed so drastically and given the cold treatment?
This is Pepper and this is exactly what I was needing, but one question what do you do if one falls off and has no root and I have 4 that are just stubborn how long can they stay in fridge I'm so afraid of over watering until they are established, Thanks
If one falls off and has no roots, that's a goner. They stay in the fridge overnight only! You have to get them into warmth and light the next day. You can do that overnight cycle for as long as you'd like, but I do recommend you give them a summer rest. 👍🏻
Hey new sub here, I've got a Lithops that grew to be almost 3 inches tall and then it split all around the base, it is now leaning over hard core.. the plant is real healthy but I am wondering how to bring it back. If it dies my fiancee will have my ...
Do you have to trim the root or will it be fine if planted with current root?
Where do you get your plants from?
Anywhere and everywhere. Etsy, Ebay, and fellow growers. Whomever has what I want!
I have some small bare root Lithops coming in soon. I have expanded shale and have been looking everywhere to see if I can add that to my soil mix for the Lithops but haven't found any advice for shale. Is expanded shale okay?
You can definitely add some expanded shale to the mix, as long as it's the right 1/4 inch to 1/8 inch size. I wouldn't use the fines, and I wouldn't use it as a majority of a mix, as it's more moisture retentive than pumice, but some in your mix definitely won't hurt, especially for the little guys, who need a bit more moisture than fully mature plants! Good luck with the new boys!!!
@@AoxTheGardener thank you! That was so helpful!
@@AoxTheGardener Hello, I'm new and I don't speak much English! I already followed your steps and cut the roots until I saw the white, but I have a doubt, should they be in the refrigerator for a whole week without seeing the sun, or just at night? Thanks!
@@carmenmosquera6255 We spoke on insta, but for anyone else asking this questions, the fridge is only for night time, during the day, we want to get them as much bright light as we can, and let them warm up for the day.
Thank you very much!
You keep them on the fridge only at night?
That's correct! Whenever doing cold treatment, only at night, to get the temp swing from day to night as extreme as possible. We want them to warm up during the day! It's the temp swing that's doing a lot of the work for us, not just the cold.
But mine are kept inside, I don't know if that changes anything about doing the cold treatment
may I asked please, if I use akadama soil full for 1 pot is it possible
You cut a square of what?
It's cheap air conditioner filter from Home Depot. I recommend just using window screen nowadays.