December, 1 year + 3 months

in december i watered but did not fertilize my living stones on the 3rd, the 15th and on the 30th. i reasoned that since many of the living stones are changing their leaves and since the daylight hours are being reduced the plants would need less fertilizer. i think it was not the right decision for the monilaria plants which were still growing like weeds.

by the end of the month i kept the daylight hours at 9,5 hours a day. i was afraid to keep the grow lights on too long during my vacation because i thought the plants would survive the drought better with less light. the dry period before the last watering at the end of the month was 14 days.

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April 7 to 25

i water and fertilize my living stones on the 7th of april and notice that one of the conphytum plants has dried up and died. i watered the living stones just a week ago but it clearly was not enough. on the other hand both argyroderma plants are changing their leaves the second time. on the 9th i transplant the last living conophytum plant to a smaller pot. i realize it's too early but the plant is too tiny compared to its nursery pot. before i transplant my conphytum i remember to rinse the pumice. at this time my conophytum is also finally changing its leaves for the second time - its second set of true leaves. to me the conophytum calculus seem the most finicky of the bunch. only one out of ten has survived this far. i keep the photoperiod at 12 h/day during this month. as i receive guests this month i fiddle with the timer to keep the lights on during more pleasant hours such as 10 am to 10 pm versus 7 am to 7 pm. my guests sleep in the living room so i do not wish to dist...

October, 1 year + 1 month

during october i water and fertilize my living stones every 10 days: on the 6th, the 16th and on the 26th. at the beginning of the month i still find webbing on the monilaria plants so i also spray with the diy miticide on the 6th and on the 16th. i reduce the daylight hours gradually untill the plant lamps are on only 12 hours a day. i am aiming at 8 hours at winter solstice and at 16 hours at summer solstice but i began to wonder if one is too little and the other too much. i read about the 34th parallel south (about the parallel of cape town) because i believe that the southern tip of africa has the most extreme light levels the living stones could possibly encounter in their habitat. well, their habitat is actually a bit more north from there in the namib desert but i think it's close enough for an approximation of the most extreme light levels. at the 34th parallel south the sun is visible for 14 hours, 28 minutes during the summer solstice (in december) and 9 hours, 50 ...

Useful links to find more information about growing living stones

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...

Growing Living Stones at 63rd Parallel North

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