Yes, you should reduce watering as it should absorb the old leaves. Your plant has many heads, so I wouldn't stop watering 100%, otherwise it may absorb the smaller heads too.

Are you keeping them indoors or outside?

Now would probably be an okay time to repot. Important to use a mix with low water retention, preferably gritty.

I'm keeping it indoors in the windowsill of an east facing window. We get a lot of really nice morning and early afternoon light- my succulents are all pretty happy there.

The old leaves still look pretty thick- how long will it take to absorb the old ones?

If I do some light watering to protect the smaller heads- should I do this once a week or less often than that? I don't want to water it too much and make it stop absorbing the old leaves.

And are the small heads new growth from the older head? I'm trying to figure out how these things work!

I'll go ahead and repot it this weekend in some gritty bonsai soil I bought that has made all my other succulents very happy. Not the cheapest route, but it's definitely the easiest for me.

Thanks for your help!

It will take months to absorb the old leaves. Maybe a little water each month. Hard to say - depends on the window and light.

Once a week will be too much indoors, for sure.

When you repot you will see. Usually it is one plant with heads all connected at the tap root. Take photos when you do. =)

Ok- I'll just keep an eye on them and see if I can figure out how much water they want but aim for around once a month.

I'll definitely take pictures!

Thanks again!

Ctnutmegger - Any special tips for multi-headed Lithops? I'm growing around 40 different species of Mesembs (most from different genus). I always find that if I don't water at ALL from fall after they flower to the spring, I can lose one or more of the smaller heads. Especially if I got the plant in a non-ideal state.

And when I say a little water, I mean a very small amount. Mine are grown under high light, so maybe that makes a difference.

Thanks for the detailed guide ctnutmegger. Sounds like it's ok to go ahead and repot now- and I'll be careful with the taproot.

So if it takes all spring for the old leaves to get absorbed, I should just hold off on watering it? Spring wraps up in May in the Mid-Atlantic. The instructions I found at lithops.info said: The new body continues to extract the water and nutrient stored in the old leaves until the old leaves are reduced to nothing more than thin papery shells. These shells can then be easily removed from around the plant. It is spring by the time the plants reach this stage, and it is safe to water again to let the plants increase their growth. Begin by watering lightly, increasing the amount of water gradually, working up to several good drenchings during mid spring. Be sure to let the soil dry between waterings. Reduce watering as the heat and long days of summer approach, allowing the plants to prepare for their dormant period.

Then would I wait until autumn to water again? That would be 2 seasons without water (spring and summer).

And thanks for the id- I've been trying to figure out what it is!

Hello,

@ewwmayo

To prevent losing smaller heads, I would start by keeping lithops turgid year-round. If they enter their division stage with wrinkly leaves, the new leaf pairs would not have as much to absorb as they possibly could.

There are a couple of methods and explanations for how to save smaller heads.

1.) As I stated previously, watering while division is happening is OK as long as you see that the new leaves are wrinkly. If one of the smaller heads is looking wrinkly, you can water a bit just enough to make sure it can make it through.

2.) Another method would be extracting the smaller heads before the division. The smaller heads obviously have less water and nutrients to help their new leaves survive a division than the larger heads do, so I usually just remove all of the smaller ones with a sterilized knife. Be sure to keep a little bit of root. These can be planted immediately, no callousing required. In doing this, you can monitor these separately and water them independently from the larger plants with big heads, mitigating the risk of stacking.

3.) This is not a method, but rather a phenomenon. Sometimes, when lithops divide there is a normally sized head and a smaller than average one. Sometimes, the smaller one is too weak to grow new leaves for the next season, so they just shrivel up. Think of these like flowers; you should enjoy them but know they won't last.

@sd2102

Lithops sometimes split at different times. Some of mine have already completed their division while others are less than half-way through the process. Just know that after they split (which is what I mean when I say spring), it is safe to water them.

I said before:

"Spring and Summer - Only start watering when the new leaves have been completely absorbed. Water sparingly, only enough so that the plants retain their turgidity. The plants are dormant during this period, so too much watering will definitely cause rot."

It is advised to water during this period, maybe a couple of drenchings throughout these two seasons or so depending on pot size, soil, what the pot is made out of, etc.

Then in Autumn, you'd water more often.

Ctnutmegger - Exactly what I was getting at, agreed. #3 is a sad one for me - I always hope the smaller ones can survive too!

You should be watering more regularly in Spring, after the leaves are completely absorbed, and then again near Fall when the plant is coming out of dormancy, to work it up toward flowering.

Be careful with watering during late Winter (when they will start splitting) and through Summer (when they will be dormant). Note, however, that they may still need water during these periods, though a lot of people (wrongly, in my opinion) forgo the water completely, just to be safe.

I don't forgo water completely either, because some of my lithops get wrinkly during the dormant phase. I just give em a little spray on the surface in the evening to mimic the cold temps/condensation at night in their normal habitats. Or a squick spray at the base... Hence as ctnut said, "water sparingly" lol!

I do have one lithop that has two heads. One of them is splitting again, even though it just finished splitting around Jan-Feb 2017. Any of you experienced this with your lithops? I have another lithop that is doing this exact thing, although it is a single head.

Thanks all! I will keep an eye on them and water after the leaves have been absorbed. So much more complicated than my succulents and cacti!

Ok, the leaves have finally been absorbed and one of the heads is getting wrinkly.

I realized I didn't put up a picture of the tap root as promised above, but it was a single tap root for 4 heads (2 big and 2 small).

I repotted them a bit high to keep the small ones above the soil line.

Here's what they look like now- I assume it's safe to go ahead and give them some water since one of them is wrinkling? Since they're supposed to be dormant this time of year, should I just water them when they wrinkle during the summer and then give them more water in the fall?

Here are some pictures.

Thanks!

sd2102 - my lithops after outer leaves shriveled did the same thing and showed signs of wrinkles. I have always watered my lithops from the bottom up and fill the saucer with water. So, I gave it some water and they are looking so much happier now.

I haven't read the entire thread but I'll tell you how I grow mine. I grow them in a mix of pumice and horticulture charcoal (no organic material) and I mist them about every two weeks. They are several years old. I did leave one of my lithops out in a zone 9b winter last season it was in a catch tray that collected water all season we had an unusually wet winter too. Sometimes it sat in water for several days and the temps often dipped into the mid 30s at night. It didn't crack or rot! I was super impressed! I just completely neglected it that way it it did fine! So it depends on the variety/ spieces of lithop I suppose. It was in the pumice/charcoal mix though which in sure helped. My others have been on a bakers rack on a controlled patio environment and are doing fine. I just bought another over the weekend. I know they go dormant in the summer. Not sure exactly when though. So I've slowed down on the water again.

I actually gave it a healthy sip of water. If it was a succulent I would have drenched the soil but I was nervous about overdoing it during its dormant period. That was almost a week ago and there has been no change. The wrinkles are still there but the plant doesn't look distressed other than that.

Maybe I should try watering it from the bottom up this weekend to see if that helps.

Thanks!

Clearly I need to get out more, because I am sooooo excited over this thread:-) Big thanks to Nutmegger and Ewwmayo. I love all the geeky details. Like Ryan, I have had some surprising success with Lithops left to their own devices out in a wet winter. But mine are looking better now that I've moved them into a bright shady dry shelter, still very much outdoors. They get bright shade all day and then a small bit of evening sun, like soft golden sun from the North/West. I have them in a trough with baby Toes and Pleiospilos nelii. I do sometimes give the baby toes a sip, carefully avoiding the others....are there any plants that are compatible with these? Does my treatment sound OK??

Lisasfbay-

I have mine in the same exact light. They are each in their own pot long enough for their tap root. I found keeping the organic material out of the mix helps. I keep mine next to an Astrophytum asteria, and a lophophora williamsii and so they get watered pretty much the same and have been doing well in the light you described. I used to give mine sips of water with a shot glass but I've moved to a mister. I found both ways work well. I just got my first pleiospilosa at succulent garden in castroville, ca I haven't potted it up yet but I am going to put it right next to my lithop when I do. I wouldn't be surprised if yours bounces back by fall. Just keep on neglecting it.. You will be fine.

Even with the wrinkles (which doesn't look bad) I love your lithops I hope mine get that big someday. I took pictures of my babies. The one in the earth color terra cotta is the one I left in the cold rain all winter and did awesome!

The next picture has my split rock, and I have another lithop but no picture. There is a pic on a thread I just started with pictures of my plants called, "show and tell" I deleted the picture from my device after loading it to the thread though.

i know nothing about many things here and that's why it's difficult to accept and understand "dormancy" in summer? i thought that winter is a dormant season? I guess my lithops are in wrong hands and are going to die, i just bought them yesterday September 25, 2017. i transplanted them the same day and i watered them very well, failure?

Ok so far so good!

I ended up watering them in sips every few weeks this summer and the wrinkles eventually went away. Once September hit I thoroughly watered them a few times and now they are big and plump. The smaller heads have grown some too.

One of them has split and the other 3 don't seem to be doing too much now, but I'm worried about continuing to water them as they seem turgid at this point. I've attached a picture below. Should I keep watering them as we're now in fall and this should be the flowering period, or should I leave them alone now and hold off on watering them until spring? Thanks for the help navigating this tricky plant!

ETA: I can't seem to attach pictures right now so I'll try again this evening.

Here it is: