How to Grow Lithops from Seed - How and When to Plant Lithops seeds.(includes other Mesembs)
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- čas přidán 23. 01. 2020
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This video is about how to grow Lithops from seed.
Lithops are easy to grow from from seed, can also be grown by division, however growing Lithops from seed produces more plants quickly and also is the way that growers hybridise these wonderful plants. The same techniques is used with other Mesembs.
Sometimes called the "Pebble Plant' or 'Living Stone Plant' they are from South Africa and make wonderful container or pot plants..
In this video we show how to pollinate the flowers, collect the seeds and grow the seeds on to produce new plants.
The best time to sow the seeds is in Fall (Autumn) although they can be sown at other times of the year.
Seeds take around 2 - 3 weeks to germinate with some species being faster than others.
The seeds come from small pods that appear in the middle of the plants after the flower are pollinated. The seed pods need to be left to develop, and they need to harvested before late summer rains.
James Lucus from Succulents Australia shows us his method of growing Lithops and other Mesembs from seed.
1:09 Collecting Lithops seeds
2:27 Lithops seed raising mix.
3:27 Preparing the soil for sowing the seed
4:00 Sowing the Lithops seeds
5:38 Seed germination method
7:07 Watering the young lithops plants.
8:35 Resources, Books on Lithops
Resources :
How to Grow Lithops and Other Living Stone Plants
Book by Piotr Dzieduszyński - lithops-book.com/en/
Cactus and Succulent Society Australia www.cssaustralia.org.au/
Succulents Australia www.succulents-australia-sale...
Succulents Australia / James Lucus Blog www.succulents-australia-sale...
Lithops: Flowering Stones
Book by Desmond T. Cole and Naureen A. Cole
Lithops: Treasures of the Veld (Observations on the genus Lithops N.E.Br.): Steven A. Hammer - Jak na to + styl
This guy is like the father of all lithops bruh... I mean that is a very risky watering methods but yet he succeeded.
Thanks For Sharing!
Beautiful plant
Thank you for the video! I bought a bunch of lithops seed from Mesa Garden years ago and planted them (incorrectly might I add, I used regular soil) and they all came up but didn't last long and died a few weeks later. I'm sure I over watered them and being in the wrong medium didn't help either. I recently bought everything I need to try again, I'm hoping I can still get some of these seeds to germinate even though they are several years old by now. If not I will go on and purchase new seeds. Lithops are my favorite plant & I can't wait to give it another shot (the right way this time, thanks to you)!
i just got 4 different Lithops at a Green Acres store here in California, i was lucky enough that one of them was already flowering and the other 4 heads in the little pot had already bloomed and dried. They were only $5 or $6 each and each pot had 2 or more heads in each one.
Really awesome little plants and the possible variety in each seed pod is exciting to think of.
😄👍
Thank you for sharing
Great explanation and detailed demonstration. Thank you.
More coming on Lithops and other messembs in a few days....
My Lithops arriving Monday ( 80 pieces ) , ordered from Amazon lol and sooo exciting , I can’t wait 🤭
Perfect video! Thanks:)
Glad it helped!
Nice info on growing seeds.
One should watch many times before buying seeds who have not any experience.
Thanks for the info. Just ordered some lithop seeds can't wait to plant them. So happy to hear that they thrive through winter (although winters are pretty mild where I am in Queensland 🇦🇺).
Make sure they get good air flow as they don't like humidity that much. A really good drainage.
Thank you for the information. 😀🌵💚
Thank you!!
Welcome!
Amazing and detailed video! I'm about to buy my first Lithops seeds and I was pretty clueless on how to grow them from seeds (I'm usually growing Nepenthes plants so it's slightly different). Super video, and I'll definitely follow your advice on this :D
how did it turn out?? :)
You got straight to the point and gave educational facts. I followed you step by step today. I didn’t have everything you did but it was close. I used black cold cactus mix, pumice, river rocks, perlite and fine gravel. I also used powder fertilizer to. Happy frog kind. Thanks for the video. Because of you I’m quite confident I’ll succeed at growing lithops from seed.
I just saw your comment about the fertilizer you used. May I ask how it worked out for you and how much you used?
Thank you for this insightful video it has helped me along with sowing my own lithops after many failed attempts. I have replayed this video so often that it probably can be played at my funeral. 😂
Thank you so much for this video! I've just started about 400 lithop seeds this evening. I'm super excited!
Hello Michelle, I have just seen seeds James Lucas started about 10 days ago, many are showing good germination, some species slower than others. Good luck with yours...
Can i have one..😭😢
Any updates on them? 😄
@@melissas447 Yes! I wish I could post some photos here, but they're doing great! I lost a few due to fungus gnats, but most of them are doing awesome. They're still small, but super adorable, and their true colors show. I'm getting ready to plant more!
@@michelerenem hi, im planning to germinate 400 seeds too, how many plants did you get?
Muchas gracias por traducirlo para la comunidad latina,,,👍
Very interesting, thank you :)
Yes please do a follow up care video :)
Will do!
Hey Johnny A, as I mentioned before in general great video. Clearly James knows what he is doing. My one quibble is with you saying that Lithops are winter growers. Lithops are summer growers, and in general they grow from mid-Spring to mid-Fall, obviously give or take a few weeks depending upon your climate (assuming you don't live in a tropical climate). Lithops may or may not go dormant for brief periods during the hottest weeks of the summer, in my experience this is largely dependent upon higher nighttime temperatures (when nights are above 20 Celsius). Except for Lithops seedlings, Lithops do not actively grow during the winter (in contrast to winter growing Mesembs like Conophytum). Rather they go dormant and transfer all of their water and nutrients to a new set of leaves.
It depends on what you mean by growing - James would say something like, that over winter they start to form a new body inside the old body so over winter it grows and absorbs the outer skin which slowly shrinks till It's just a fine thin skin remaining.....
Great video to grow seeds. Amazon is selling 2 of those books for $500 and $1000 +/-. Yikes! I plan to sow Lithop seeds soon so I have a clearer understanding of their requirements. Love your videos Johnny A!
Thanks for that, good luck with the Lithops.
They are stunning looking succulents. Great video, wonderful instruction, and valuable tips. Ta, for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
I really like this video! Very very informative. I haven’t tried growing lithops from seed, only cactus. But I am ready to give this a try when I get some lithops seeds. 😃👍🏼
Thanks for that, Lithops and other Mesembs are great plants to grow, some easy, some difficult. More videos coming soon.
Man went from green thumb to black hands! Love the collection💖
I thought it was hair to begin with.
Thank you for the video. I just had a host of seeds sprout and wasn't sure where to go from here. Perfect timing 👌
Thanks for that, Will hopefully do a follow up video with more specific information on how to deal out the young plants for the first 2 years.
@@johnnyAGardening will definitely keep an eye out for that. Keep up the fantastic work.
Very nice video I love Litops and now I have Pleiospilos, did you grow them? please If you show how, cares and propagation
I'm growing from seed for the first time and I find that your video is quite detailed and I'm going to emulate what you are doing. May I ask what type of fertilizer you added with the lime?
Wowwwww. I wish I could have my own baby lithops. Been to succulent planting for a year now but not able to buy lithops in within our province.
Hey Johnny I like the video. The main question I have is regarding when to sow the seeds. You mention sowing in Autumn, but the majority of the literature I've read says to sow in Spring. Honestly sowing in Autumn makes more since to me as I've had problems with seedlings I sowed in March getting scorched in late May, even with partial shade netting (live in Northern hemisphere). Another issue I've run into with the seedlings are thrips, and I think they are less active/dormant for the cooler months. Also, I think the growing season is fairly different for a lithops seedling vs. an adult. It seems lithops seedlings grow throughout the year and shed their leaves twice during the first year. However, as I'm sure you are aware, adult lithops mainly grow during the spring into the early summer. They may go dormant as you say for the height of summer, bloom in late summer/early fall, and then their growth really slows. They essentially just start absorbing their old leaves throughout the fall/winter in preparation for the new leaves that break out the following spring. In most places they are native to they are not really actively growing during the fall/winter as there is no rainfall.
Hello Brent, I talked to James Lucas about this when we made the video. He has tried spring sowing, however finds autumn much better as it fits in with the natural life cycle of Lithops and others.
I think the spring sowing advice comes from people who are used to sowing all seeds in spring. However the experts seem to all say autumn/fall.
We have a follow up video coming very soon which shows the crop from this planting. It also deals with a few other issues including fungas gnats.
And at the end, some VERY interesting Lithops form Japan... stay tuned.
@@johnnyAGardening Hey John. The literature I've read about sowing in the spring comes from lithops experts such as Desmond and Naureen Cole, Michel Etienne (lithops-passion.com/living-stones/sowing/), Terry Smale (www.smale-conophytum.co.uk/grow_lithops.htm) etc. However, sowing in Autumn makes more sense to me, especially if you live in a hotter climate (I live in Spain,) but then again I have very limited experience. When you say it fits in with the natural life cycle of lithops, could you explain a bit better what you mean? Most lithops receive the majority of rainfull during the late spring/summer/early autumn months (apart from a few species) in their native habitat and are considered summer growers, while they reabsorb old leaves/prepare new leaves during the fall and winter.
I'm looking forward to the upcoming videos. If you could deal with the thrips issue I would be very much obliged. I think a lot of the other pests can be prevented by using 100% mineral soil such as pumice as per the practice of Uwe Beyer (www.conos-paradise.com/en/cultivation.html). Thanks again!
Temperature is important for the seeds, so in the UK and colder parts of Europe it is different to places with very hot summers, so in Australia, and with many growers in South Africa, they find its better to sow in late summer to autumn. Smalle does mention maintaining temperatures at around 20 C during germination, thats difficult in hot climates. You can see the results of this sowing at czcams.com/video/suzPDaZXONw/video.html - So it works well in warmer climates.
😍🍃
Thank you for sharing your method. I want to give small lithops pots as gifts at my wedding in 12 months. Can you suggest some varieties that will grow fast and look nice in a year from now?
How are they looking?
Hi thank you for your video , could you tell,e the best time to start my seedlings please
Hermosos que belleza los amo quiero aprender a cuidarlos maceta? Debe ser chica?
Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic video. I did try to grow lithops from seeds this autumn. Right after the seeds started to grow there were some very tiny transparent worms came out from the soil and ate the babies. I guess they are the larvae of fungus gnats from the potting mix.Really heart broken😢 Did James put any pesticides into the soil before sowing seeds?
I will ask him that, in the meantime two things to consider,
1. you can pour hot (boiling) water over the potting mix to sterilise it first.
2. If you use a very gritty sand or pumice on top of the mix, the fungus gnats tend not to lay their eggs in the soil.
What rocks do you use for planting them??!
What is the temperature inside your glass covered trays?(5:36)and what light do you use on them in germination stage or are they standing in greenhouse(sunlight)?
What size containers and trays do you use for your lithops ?
Thank you for a great video. Is it ok to use a seed starter box with plastic lid instead of the glass cover?
That should be OK.
Thanks for this informative video johnny A. What type of fertiliser did you use?
Hello Gabor, the fertiliser used is called Osmocote Plus, this is a controlled release granular fertiliser with added trace elements. With this is some lime and some very high nitrogen fertiliser. And it's really just a pinch of this mixture, NEVER a lot, and only once a year.
Cheers johnny A, appreciate your reply. 👍🏻
Hi, may I know how long does it takes for germination and what kind of feriliser do you use for the base
Hi, I just to ask if how often should I mist/spray the newly sprouted lithops? Like 1week old lithops.
He leaves them in cover until 2-3 months then uncover with mist
He leaves them in cover until 2-3 months then uncover with mist
Congratulations from Braxil. Whats your city?
Silvan.
Hi Johnny.
What months do you generally classify as Autumn? Would October be too late? I'm northern hemisphere, so I assume October is the equivelant of April where you are.
I ask because I might just wait until I get to university in October to sow my seeds, rather than do it now. I don't know what you think would be best?
It depends on the climate, autumn in South Africa, where they come from and countries like Australia is different to autumn in many parts of Europe and the USA. So you may need a little more temperature control....
Excellent video Sir. Do you sell seeds too, i need them in India
Do you have a page to buy seeds? Or linck?to place an order
Wow, what an amazing looking plant. Your method is very clear and this is a great video. I can only hope to be so organised. I would love to give this a try. Where is a good place to buy lithop seeds online?
Most likely Mesa Garden in the US, However I will get back to you on that.
what soil need for seeds germinate
Just looked up that book by Desmond cole, $1089 on Amazon!
Interesting book from China, see that one here ... www.succulents-australia-sales.com/collections/books
Does the Lithops Treasures of the veld book have care instructions or is it just mainly types of Lithops? Trying to decide which book would be best for growth, care & disease info, beside the Desmond Cole book, that one is too pricey for me.
Will ask around to as what is the best book.
Will it work well if I use a plastic bag to cover the pot
Do you sow the seeds under how many hours of sun per day?
When you mentioned that it's best to sow them in autumn-do you mean autumn in Australia as in spring on the North hemisphere?
Hello Wendy, Sow the seeds in Autumn/Fall no matter where you are. (even very late summer can be OK)
The natural growing season is from Autumn/Fall through winter to spring. Summer is dormancy. If you are in a cooler northern zone then definitely indoors.
@@johnnyAGardening Thank you so much! Just one more question-how much light do I need to provide for germination? The more the better?
@@wenzhaoemilyzhang1629 Jame Lucas, who is the real expert, uses fairly strong filtered light, however not direct sun. So I guess a 20% to 40% shade cloth. I will ask him and get back to you.
What kind of fertilizer do you use in this video? Thanks.
"the fertiliser used is called Osmocote Plus, this is a controlled release granular fertiliser with added trace elements" - he said
Podrás hacer nose cómo traducción de tu vídeo al español soy de Uruguay clima templado inviernos frios
Hi thanks for the video. This year I’ve tried to grow lithops and conophytoms from seed, which I got from the meseb society. I’m in the U.K. and when I sowed the seed I put them in propagator. The results have been very poor and I wandered should I not of put them in the propagator. What temperature do they need to propagate. I put them in in mid august was I too late, I haven’t given up on them they are indoors under not very good light if I’m honest any advice would be appreciated thanks.
Around 20C daytime 10C night. ALSO - Old seed can take a lot longer to germinate, so you might be waiting until January/Feb.
They are still in the propagator so I think I’ll turn it off at night let the temp drop a bit, thanks again.
Hi there, I love your videos! I have a question in regards to pollination. I have a few Lithops but they are all different species, will pollination only work if done on the same species or can I cross pollinate? I'm guessing that I might have to wait until they grow and divide into another plant and then use those two? I hope I am making sense. Thanks :)
If your 2 plants do not flower at exactly the same time, you cannot pollinate them for they might not have ripe pollen at the same time..!
.
Whais lithops potting mixes names pls tell me
Excellent video - thank you… Can you please tell me what type of fertiliser you have used ? Cheers
I planted lithop seeds April 24 it’s May 4 now and I have about 16 seedlings, I keep them in a baggie right underneath my Barrinas, how long do I keep them in the baggie for? a substantial amount of time or take them out once they’ve come up, I’m really confused at this part of growing.
Remove them about two weeks after germination.
Moist them untill it grow how big?
johnny A 님 영상 잘 보았습니다.
on mine there no sprout yet but there growing in seed i need advice
Difficult to tell without seeing them. Have you planted the seed close to the surface and do you keep them moist ? Also how old are the seeds ?
Thanks for the video. I´m just a little bit sad because there are no good videos in german language. Could you please try to explain which soil/substrate you use/mix? Thank you and greetings from northern germany. :-)
He used a mix of pumice (like a crushed stone), fast draining potting mix that is mostly fine ground bark & sand, and fine gravel.
Can they germinate in 10mm horticultural gravel instead of 5mm?
Yes but maybe add a little washed river sand. If its to coarse the seeds can drop down....
Hello nice video good stuff what light cycle do you use please and thanks
Hello Bill, Really good question. Usually 16hours light 8 dark, HOWEVER some growers are using 24 hours of light with very good results, some say better than a dark cycle over the first 6 - 8 months
What size is the pumice? Fine 1-3mm, standard 3-6mm or coarse 6-12mm? Thanks in advance. Will be waiting for reply so I can order.
1-3 mm
How do I get these seeds in Algeria, thanks
I know I am late to the party but is perlite and ok sub for pumice?
Perlite is OK as is Biochar. Anything that does do decompose or hold much water.
What's the gravel and sand for?
To improve drainage and help prevent root problems.
Sir, pls explain whats composite of gravel and drainage. And whats the name of fertilizer? 2:44
Im from indonesia, and i need my lithops become more🤣🙏🏻
The pots are placed in lattice trays covered with glass. If the pots are placed in trays without drainage should they be removed 2 weeks after germination instead of 1-2 months?
The drainage is important to prevent damping off and rot, so if they have no drainage, then either remove gently, or make sure the growing medium is not wet. Better if drianage could be provided.
Hi im now germinating my lithops seeds, i sowed them 3 days ago and when i check from outside without opening the cover, looks like they have white small bugs inside, im too afraid to open the cover or spray some pesticide on them.. what do i do? Please help
They could be White Fly OR Mealybugs, so hard to tell without seeing them. A spray with horticultural soap / garlic or chilli spray should fix it. SEE www.sgaonline.org.au/whitefly/#:~:text=Whitefly%20are%20sap%20sucking%20insects,leaf%2C%20bud%20and%20stem%20sap. for more information.
Hi Johnny were can i buy your Lithops?
At present, only in Australia from 'Succulents Australia'. Where are you located.?
@@johnnyAGardening From Sydney NSW
@@jessicayim7122 Succulents Australia will send to Sydney.
You can get 'Lithops Treasures of the Veld' 2nd edition from the British Cactus & Succulent Society website (they sent mine to NZ no issues)
Great Demonstration btw ☺
Good Information, and thats a good website for info as well. Must add it to the references. Thanks.
Please could you write down the ingredients for the potting mix 🙏🏻 Thanks
You can use one part cactus/succulent soil to one part perlite with a small layer of gravel and sand on top
If i could just buy seeds from you..
Is it necessary to use a grow light?
Not if you have bright filtered light during the day. However depends a little on your latitude...very short days you may need some light.
Thank you very much..I live in south africa..I think our weather is quite similar in terms of temperatures in the summer/winter.Its deep into winter here now..is it a good time to germinate lithops seeds now?
My spot for my greenhouse tray has quite good ambient sunlight for 8-10hours..but I have a 30W full spectrum led light already setup 50cm above the tray (adjustable) if needed.
@@johnnyAGardening my temp inside the tray MIN 14'C MAX 16'C...humidity 85%-95%...but today was a really cold day..(14'C)..we have many winter days 25'C-30'C.
@@johnnyAGardening I'm very sorry for all the comments and questions...just trying to get this right the first time.
Sorry to bother you, Sir! I have tried twice to germinate lithops seeds, but I haven't got any result, May I know : how many days did your lithops seeds begin to sprout? Thanks before for your reply, I'm a beginner in lithops
Generally between 14 and 21 days if the seeds are fresh and you have the right conditions. Let us know how you are doing this.
@@johnnyAGardening Hi Johnny, can you recommend an online store where I can buy Lithop and Spilt rock seed. I'm contemplating on EBAY but the comments aren't that good. Thanks in advance
@@herbertsumadchat9006 Hello Herbert, the only place we have heard about that has been OK is Mesasucculents. Ebay can be hit and miss.
@@johnnyAGardening Thank you for the site, i'll probably try some lithops seed if I can grow it.
I've been trying to grow them by seeds since 2011 and can't ever get them to grow properly! They either become super tall or rot suddenly. So frustrating :(
We will have a video on potting and basic care of up new lithops plants very soon that may help.
they grow tall when they don't have enough light, seeking it out, so that means you need more lighting. If they rot, try a looser, faster draining soil mix (more gravel/pumice, less soul/organics). After the first year don't water while they are replacing old leaves with new leaves until the old leaves are dried out.
Great video. I've got some tiny Lithop seedlings growing already along with some mixed Conophytum in another pot. What I am having trouble getting to even germinate are 3 differnt varieties of Cheiridopsis. They are under grow lights and on a heated mat with the pot in a zip top clear plastic bag and it's been 5 weeks now and nothing. They are seeds from a reliable seller (unusualseeds.com) is there something I'm doing wrong?
Cheiridopsis are usually easy, and it sounds like you are doing all the right things.
I guess you are mist spraying every few days. SO here are some possibilities.
Check to see no fungus has formed.
Remove the bags for an hour or two each day. Drop the light level a little if possible or give them an 8 hour dark cycle each day.
OR maybe the seeds are old (it happens) - I will talk to James Lucus and get his thoughts.
I wanted to grow lithops. I tried 8times no success.
Hello Amie, that is a pity, however it is worth trying again. If you do, make sure the seeds are fresh, sow them in late summer, keep moist and don't let them get too cold.
If you follow this guy, you would fail again
Traducir al español acá ni saben de ellas!!!!
How many viewers from Poland?
Only a small percentage, considering doing subtitles (closed captions) in Polish as we know these plants are of interest in Poland.
sound is so low. I hear so hard you.
nem lehetne magyar magyarázat
Megpróbálok hamarosan készíteni néhány zárt feliratot
get√
You show us how to kill most of the seeds.
A slow way to germinate.
You fail
Actually the germination rate is exceptionally good and fast, will do a follow up and show some images of the seeds after germination.
And Kong what is your expert opinion of a better way to germinate and what makes you such an expert? From everything I've read this is the accurate way to grow lithops from seed