I want to spread these to roughly 5 separate containers. Should I just pull them apart? I haven't watered since I got in the mail 2 weeks ago, should I pipette spot water the non splitting ones? Please help Also will this substrate work. Mostly Perlite, Grit, volcano rock, little fine peatmoss
by BeachGreens420
9 Comments
hello, i am no expert, but dealing with similar situations i have been able to just pull them apart and try and seperate the roots the best i can. ive had success that way, im not sure if anything special is supposed to happen for lithops.
you can attempt to water the nonsplitting ones but if they arent wrinklin up you should be fine. the substrate is enough inorganic and gritty so it should work well. best of luck, like i said im no expert just been dabblin in the world of lithops
I’ve been meaning to share my process for a while, but this seemed like the perfect opportunity! I recently bought a similar little lithops “patty” from another redditor and decided to separate it into individual plants.
I started by splitting the main cluster into four or five smaller sections, then carefully broke them down even further. Once you get them into smaller pieces, the individual lithops start coming apart pretty easily.
https://preview.redd.it/lhsw9v7iwyie1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c78d1bf659a1329d90156677a6bf0c4f558284aa
Incredible!
where’d you buy?
Thanks! The last thing I wanna do it destroy them all. Is planting in a shallow pot okay? I don’t think the pot really needs a drain hole does it if u water sparingly?
Just separate them how they are doing in the comments and you should be good check my post history and I have some examples there also make sure you use at least 80-90% inorganic soil
That’s going to be a lot of tiny pots! When u do decide to repot make sure to get a non glazed pot with a drain hole. Glazed pots hold water and lithops don’t need that much water ever. Good luck 🍀
I’ve found the easiest way, by far, is to simply put them in water and wiggle them. The roots then untangle much more easily. Biggest issue is you of course can’t let em soak too long.
Oof, you’ll need more than 5 containers. I think the grower here did what I did and tossed in an unknown quantity of mixed lithops seeds. If you’ve never seen it, the seed is like dust and counting is impossible.
They should come apart okay, but I warn you it took me a full weekend to tease them apart and gently repot mine and I had slightly less. Just gently work the edge ones free, it doesn’t matter if you lose some of the fine roots, try and keep the main tap root undamaged. Maybe try using a wooden toothpick or something to work them free?
Your soil mix sounds good. They currently don’t look so bad for water. I’d pot them up, wait a few days for any root damage to heal and then water the non-splitting ones.
I see in another reply you said you might use pots with no drainage hole, I don’t recommend it. You don’t want water sitting in the pot, even in a lean mix, and honestly with plants this size I find it easier to sit the pot in half an inch or so of water to water them. The water wicks up and you don’t get perlite and stuff floating over the baby plants.
You have a really nice and colourful mix of lithops here!