Growing Living Stones at 63rd Parallel North

the temperature, the moisture in the containers and the amount of light are at the previous levels.  at least 6 monilaria seeds have sprouted and also 2 of the argyroderma seeds and 1 lithops seed! the project is at day 3.

the temperature is + 26  °C.  the plant lamps have been on from 7 am to 9 pm (14 h). the lids have kept moist and it's  hard to see anything yet through the lids but 4 of the monilaria seeds seem to have sprouted! only 2 days since sowing - go monilaria, go!

nothing to see yet. the containers have retained their moisture, the lids have mist and water droplets on them. the temperature is + 25  °C. some sources claim that the best sprouting temperature is between + 18 to + 20  °C. the plant lamps have been on from 7 am to 9 pm (14 h).

i watched several youtube videos before i compiled my own technique to sow the seeds. i decided not to sterilize the pumice i had bought. i don't know if sterilizing would have helped with mold or algae, the sowing conditions are anyway in favor of them (moist). apparently serious growers swear by the use of a mild fungicide. i also didn't rinse the pumice which was a mistake. it turned out to have quite a lot of dust on it. i had washed with soap some plastic containers (former food packages). i used what i had at hand and one container was black, the others see-through. all of them had original see-through lids but i needed to remove large stickers from them. unfortunately some of the glue from the stickers remained on the lids. i used about 1,2 l pumice to fill my containers about 3/4 full. i used medical swabs to cover the holes on the bottom of the containers except with the black container. i had to cut the holes myself on the black one and i made them more like s...

i ordered the seeds and the potting medium from a dutch seller called sunny plants. (all links on this post are non-affiliated) argyroderma delaetii 20 seeds conophytum calculus 10 seeds lithops mix 20 seeds monilaria moniliforme 20 seeds pumice 1 liter x 2 the shipping cost approx. the same as all the products together. = altogether the order was 50 euros things i already had at home: i potted the seeds in pure pumice in empty plastic containers with see-through lids. the containers were leftovers from different food packages. i used medical, sterile, non-woven swabs to cover the drainage holes in the bottom of the containers. i used the swabs already in my medicine cabinet. i used two plates i already owned under the containers. i used cocktail sticks from my pantry to help me sow the seeds. i used extension cord we already had for the plant lights. i had at home a bottle of cactus fertilizer so i didn't need to buy one. i bought: two small reading lamps...

as stated in the description of my blog i live at the 63rd parallel north and the sun is visible here "for 20 hours, 19 minutes during the summer solstice and 4 hours, 43 minutes during the winter solstice". wikipedia i live in a  temperate climate , in a  subarctic climate to be exact although we don't experience permafrost here. the winter temperatures are generally subzero (degrees celsius) and the summer temperatures at least over + 10 °C. however i am growing my plants indoors and the temperature is therefore at least + 20 °C all year round. i don't know how humid it is in our apartment but during summer time my laundry takes longer to dry and the doors seem tight in their frames. during winter time the central heating keeps the indoor air very dry. e.g. the need for more moisturizing skin care products is evident during winter time. my growing conditions affect a lot what plants i grow and what equipment i need for growing them.

i found useful information about these plants on the websites listed below although some of the information is contradictory. many also seem to agree that the care depends on your climate so general guidelines are difficult to give. e.g. southern africa (the origin of all the species i grow) has a different climate and their summer is when northern hemisphere experiences winter hence i decided to document my journey of growing living stones.  websites growlithops denmark includes info about the genera lithops and monilaria moniliforme   lithops-stories germany includes info about everything i grow except info about argyroderma and pleiospilos  lithops blog south africa includes info about the genus lithops terry smale uk includes info about the genera conophytum and lithops world of succulents includes info about all of the species i grow (see previous post ) youtube channels lithops canada includes info mostly about lithops not updating any...

according to wikipedia i am growing plants from the family   aizoaceae . they are sometimes also called ice plants or mesembs. according to wikipedia they belong to the subfamily ruschioideae and the tribe ruschiae. my plants belong to the genera  argyroderma ,  conophytum ,  lithops  and monilaria. the exact species are argyroderma delaetii,  conophytum calculus , lithops (mix of unknown species) and monilaria moniliforme.