A cultivar with white flowers selected by
Ed Storms, derived by two white plants crossed together. Red brown top
of L. aucampiae .
Remarks: Lithops are partly
subterranean, with only the clear 'window'
in each leaf tip exposed above soil. A type of optical system exists
whereby a layer of apical tissue rich in calcium oxalate crystals acts
as a filter to intense sunlight before it reaches the thin
chlorophyllous layer below. They are also called
mimicry plants as they show a striking similarity to their
background rocks and are difficult to detect when not in flower. These
are the commonly known as pebble plants or living stones; each species
is associated with one particular type of rock formation and occurs
nowhere else. Its soil-embedded, subterranean growth form also reduces
the need for chemical defences against herbivores.
Cultivation: L. aucampiae is a summer growing species with dry rest
period over winter. Easy to grow it tolerates a degree more excess water
than some particular hydrophobic species, even so it must have a very
open mineral, fast draining mix with little compost and a high degree of
grit, coarse sand, small lava gravel or pebbles. Give them the maximum
amount of light you are able to give them, but care should be taken
about exposing them to the full blast of the sun rays in summer. Such
tiny plants can easily get scorched or broiled and their appearance
spoiled (this may not matter in the wild, where the Lithops have
probably shrunk into the ground and becomes covered with sands).
The basic cultivation routine is: Stop watering after flowering. Start
watering after the old leaves completely dry. (Usually late March or
Early April) Water freely during the growing season, soak the compost
fully but allow it to dry out between waterings, no water when
cold. Some growers fertilize frequently, some hardly
ever. Keep them dry during the winter. Nearly all problems occur as a
result of overwatering and poor ventilation especially when weather
conditions are dull and cool or very humid. If too much water is
supplied the plants will grow out of character, bloat, split and rot.
Keep them in small pots as solitary clumps or as colonies in large,
shallow terracotta seed pans.
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