Water them when the leaves before are shedded and the leaves shrivel; THAT'S when you want to water them.

Hey, Jamie L. Whats your Lithops watering schedule?

Hi Isaac, I was watering every two weeks, the soil here dries out pretty fast, there are days I have to water my ferns twice. The lithops accidentally got wet last Tuesday but I'm 100% sure the soil was dry when I watered them yesterday, and the others are doing fine, it was just this one that shriveled up.

Kwie2011, thanks for sharing! Unfortunately I didn't change their soil or anything, I fear I may never understand lithops...

hm, that's not a normal water schedule.

Also, if a lithops plant splits, you killed it

It's not a type of "Water When Dry" plant. Like I said before, water when the new leaves come and the old leaves have shriveled. This can be 2 times a year.

You've probably already read all the various blogs (some of which contradict others), but here's a short piece from Lithops.net. It's a Lithops nursery. They raise and sell them, so I would think they'd know how to care for them.

http://www.lithops.net/lithop7.htm

LITHOPS should be allowed to go drier in the winter when the new growth is drawing moisture from the old leaves. At this time, water very lightly, just enough to keep the root hairs alive. Some people say it is easiest to judge if you water as though you are trying to get the dust off the leaves. As the old leaves dry up in the spring, give them more water until the long, hot summer days bring the growing period to a standstill. At this time water lightly as stated above, act like you are getting the dust off the leaves. REMEMBER, you never want the soil to become bone dry. ( The root hairs will all die back and when you resume watering there will be no root hairs to begin using the moisture. ) As flower buds appear in late summer and fall, another watering period begins. Tapering off during winter after flowering has ended. Those growing plants under lights will probably need to water a bit more during the winter when the plants show signs of shriveling. No one can tell you exactly how much water your plants need, you must watch them and learn their growing cycle.

At the time mine croaked, I had about decided it was either sunburn or too much heat. Maybe it was water. It was June or July. I've since read that sunburn looks white. They were in red lava stone that absorbed a lot of heat.

I see that yours is sitting much higher above the top dressing than I normally see. Are the others that are doing well also planted this high? The ones I had that croaked were also planted high. Maybe the tissue on the sides of the leaves is more sensitive to heat or radiation because it's normally buried below the surface where it's protected. Only the tops are supposed to get sun (which I didn't know at the time).

Hey guys! All this advice does have me confused, it was a lot higher than the other Lithop I have, but I'm definitely going to cut back on watering, the problem is the soil here does get 'bone dry' after a day and I don't want to kill the root hairs so I guess it will be a very hit and miss experience for me. All the advice I find on the internet is for places that have 4 stations while where I live it's summer all year long so I'm not sure if that advice is applicable here. All your help is very much appreciated though, I just won't water the other one until it loses it's old leaves.

What components go into the soil? I understand they need a very fast draining soil composition that is very low in organic matter. Too much moisture retention can cause them to split.

Jamie, no seasons might be a problem for Lithops. The changing seasons trigger their flowering, dormancy, etc.. Many plants happily adjust to perpetual summer, but I don't think Lithops will. I think they'll stay dormant if your day- and night-lengths don't change significantly enough for them. You might have to provide seasons by using artificial lights.

I am so sorry to make things even more confusing and complicated. They are difficult little plants until you find the right recipe, but then they're said to be very easy and rewarding. I hope you'll find the balance they need. Sorry I'm not more help.

Lithops only need watering about 3 times a year. Every 2 weeks is far too often.

HU-416576633, you do realize that the most recent post prior to yours was more that 4 years ago... right?

I’m guessing that they either figured it out by now or the lithops is long gone...

The date doesn’t matter to those of us still looking for answers

https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/living-stones-lithops/