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First flowering!

in february i notice something new. one of my lithops plants which is splitting into two new sets of leaves is also growing flower spikes! one of them seems to be developing faster than the other. i know it's the wrong time of the year for this and especially since the splitting is happening at the same time.

i think the plant is confused because i have treated it like an immature plant and kept watering and fertilizing it regularly after the first year milestone. the plant hasn't absorbed properly its previous leaves either. because splitting time is usually a sign that living stones shouldn't be watered and since my plant seems so confused i decide to stop watering all of the lithops plants and my argyroderma plant which is also splitting. i stop watering right after the first bloom opens.

the first bloom lasts 4-5 days. unfortunately i was away for a night and cannot say for sure how long the flower lasted. it had withered when i returned. however i noticed that the flower opened every day only after my plant lamps had been on for 8 hours and it closed when the lights turned off. i didn't notice any scent from the flower. i have read that the lithops plants cannot self-pollinate so no seeds should develop from the flower.

i water all of my living stones on the 4th and on the 16th of february. i water only the monilaria plants and the conophytum plant on the 28th of february. i spray the monilaria plants and my conophytum plant twice (on the 16th and 28th) because i think the leaves on the monilaria plants have some damage which could be spider mite damage. in the middle of february i increase the daylight hours from 9,5 hours to 10 hours a day to try to give enough light for the flower.

on the 16th of february i notice the ethereal "daisy"


on the 9th of february my lithops plants are splitting: the one in the back is with flower spikes, the one in the front has spider mite damage
both flower spikes in the picture

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