Lithops

Lithops spp.

Succulents & CactiModerate–HardVery slow🐾 pet-safe

Good to know: Native to southern Africa, where looking like a pebble hides them from grazing animals. A translucent window on top lets light into the buried part of the leaf. In fall a daisy-like yellow or white flower pops out of the split, often wider than the plant.

Through the year 🗓️

🍂 Fall now

The main growing and flowering season: soak thoroughly whenever the soil is completely dry.

❄️ Winter

Stop watering. The new pair grows inside the old one and drinks from it; wait for spring.

🌱 Spring

Once the old leaves have shriveled to papery skins, resume a soak whenever the soil is bone dry.

☀️ Summer

Semi-dormant in the heat: a light watering once a month at most, and keep the light bright.

The details

Light & placement

Light: Very bright: 4–6 hrs of direct sun or a strong grow light. In too little light they stretch tall and lose their markings.
Ideal PPFD: 400–700 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
Grow-light distance: 6–10 in below LED

Water & feed

Watering method: Water by the season, not the calendar: a thorough soak when the soil is bone dry, mainly in fall and again in late spring. None at all in winter while the new leaves grow inside the old pair, and very little in midsummer while it rests.
Fertilizer: Rarely: cactus feed at ¼ strength once in fall, if at all. They grow wild in very poor ground.

Home & habit

Soil: Almost pure grit: 70–80% pumice or perlite with a little cactus mix; pH 6.0–7.0
Humidity: Low (20–40%)
Temperature: 65–80 °F while growing; tolerates a cool winter down to 40 °F if kept dry
Mature size: 1–2 in tall, clumping slowly
Repotting: Every 3–4 yrs, in a deep pot for its long taproot
Propagation: Seed, sown in spring or fall (years to mature), or division of clumps with several heads.

When something looks wrong

Overwatering signs: Swollen, split or mushy leaves; a translucent, collapsing body
Underwatering signs: Wrinkled, sunken leaves in the growing season (wrinkling while it sheds an old pair is normal)
Common pests: Mealybugs, including root mealybugs; rot is the bigger danger

Care notes: Each year a new pair of leaves grows inside the old one, which shrivels to feed it. Don't water during that change, usually winter into spring, even when the old pair looks wrinkled and sad: water then makes it stack extra leaves and rot. Treat the reminder as a check-in, and snooze it through winter.

Common problems 🩺

The usual suspects when Lithops looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.

Mushy, collapsing or split leaves

Likely cause
Water at the wrong time, usually during the winter leaf change or the summer rest.

What to do
Stop watering, let it dry out completely, and repot in mostly grit. Water only in fall and late spring.

Growing tall and pale

Likely cause
Not enough light.

What to do
Give it direct sun, or a strong grow light 6–10 in away. The next pair of leaves comes back compact.

Wrinkled, shriveling leaves

Likely cause
Usually the old pair feeding the new one, which is normal. In fall, real thirst.

What to do
Look for a new pair in the split. If it's there, don't water. If not, and it's fall, give it a thorough soak.

More like this 🌿

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Aeonium

African Milk Tree

Bunny Ears Cactus

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