2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Whoever saw lithops once, is unlikely to be able to forget them or remain indifferent to them. These extraordinary plants are so good and original that it is almost impossible to resist purchasing them. The color of lithops leaves exactly repeats the general background of their places of growth, making them almost invisible among the pebbles. The homeland of these beauties is the rocky and sandy deserts of Botswana, South Africa, Namibia and South Africa
Meet Lithops
Wonderful lithops are representatives of the Aizovy family (a genus of succulents). They are often called "super succulents" - this is due to the fact that they require very little water and a lot of sun. They were first discovered in South Africa about two hundred years ago, and at first the handsome men were mistaken for a clearing with fancifully colored pebbles. The interesting color of lithops is just a disguise: in this way they escape from hungry representatives of the animal world, which in dry seasons are ready to eat anything. So these wonderful plants have to imitate lifeless pebbles with their appearance. And the name of the lithops is formed by two Greek words - "lithos" - stone and "opsis" - to look.
The aerial parts of these extraordinary single-stemmed plants are formed by two thick leaves that have grown together and are separated by small cracks, from which new leaves and peduncles subsequently appear. Outwardly, lithops are similar to semicircular pebbles, tightly pressed against each other. Both in width and height, their size is approximately the same and is a maximum of five centimeters. As lithops grow, they acquire a slightly cone-like shape, gradually expanding upward.
The color of fancy leaves can range from green and gray shades to brownish and sometimes even purple. Sometimes the leaves are still covered with small specks on top.
Luxurious lithops bloom, as a rule, with white or yellow flowers lying on the surface of pebble leaves, the diameter of which is 2, 5 - 3 cm. There are also orange flowers, but much less often. Some flowers can be very fragrant. Under natural conditions, lithops bloom is observed from August to November. Blooming flowers usually hold for ten to fourteen days, opening daily at noon. It is noteworthy that these outlandish succulents begin to bloom only after three years.
Just like the overwhelming majority of succulent plants, lithops are characterized by a period of active growth and a period of dormancy.
The main features of lithops
There are a number of rather interesting features that distinguish lithops from other plants.
Lithops grow mainly in well-lit and rather hot areas, mainly on the southern slopes. The soil intended for them should be well permeable to water and consist of fragments of hard rocks, as well as sandy and clay deposits. But on limestone soils, lithops will not grow at all. In open areas, these handsome ones are able to withstand rather high temperatures - up to fifty degrees.
Another distinctive feature of lithops is that it is absolutely impossible to graft them onto other plants. This is due to the fact that the growth point of these succulents is located in the middle of the neck.
Lithops do not reproduce vegetatively, however, fully grown paired leaves can be divided lengthwise (they are strictly divided into two halves). Seed-grown lithops should not be dived until they have survived their first winter.
If lithops are planted in a separate pot, and there is no other vegetation of the same species in the neighborhood, they will grow very poorly and differ in rather meager flowering, if they bloom at all - for lithops, proximity to other succulents is very important.
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