Sowing Lithops Seeds — Tyler Thrasher

The heat is coming down and the sun is mellowing out. This means its baby making’ time.

Specifically babies that look like anuses (Molly says buttcracks, but buttcrack babies don’t roll quite like the other option).

If you have seed ready for sowin, this blog will help you do just that.

As with all plant blogs here, it begins with the soil! All succulents enjoy and even PREFER a well draining soil mixture. There are several options to utilize to enhance the drainage of your soil such as pumice, perlite, grit, crushed granite etc. I mix BlackGold Cactus mix with any combination of the ingredients listed above (1:1) ratio.

Once you have your soil mixed, you’ll want to fill your pot except for the top inch.

The next thing you will need, and is VERY vital to safely sowing succulent seed and mesemb seed specifically is a sieve or a fine sifter. You’ll want to sift your soil mixture on the surface another 1/2 in or so. This helped separate out large particles so seedlings don’t accidentally land on a pumice boulder or try to press its delicate roots through half a gram of SOLID IMPENETRABLE CRUSHED GRANIIITTTEEE!!!! AHHHHH!

You’ll want to make the journey to adulthood as comfortable and easy as possible. Its also best you don’t dwell on that thought for too long and start projecting and having flashbacks and you do that thing where you stare off into the void dreaming of a similar life while your actual healthy and wonderful family begs for your attention.

So anyways-

Yeah, you want the fine stuff up top where the tiny tiny roots can easily find their home. Larger particles won’t become too much a problem once the plant matters and begins producing larger and more robust root systems.

I call this one “And there goes half of my dirt”. Every fucking time.

Once you have your pot full and ready, you’ll want to collect and sow your Lithops seeds. You will either have a seed capsule or a packet of already separated seed. If you have a seed packet you’ll want to carefully open it and sprinkle them across the surface of your pot. Make sure to spread them out as best as you can.

If you have a seed capsule you’ll need to crush open the locules to release the seeds. You can either do this in your fingers and hand while sifting out the chaff or you can soak the seed pod to trick it into opening. The seed pods expand and open with moisture to ensure that seed is sown during the appropriate season. If you decide to crush the capsule in your hands, gently sprinkle the seed onto the surface of the pot. I you decide to soak the pod, do so in a clear cup. Pinch the capsule in the water and watch the seeds sprinkle down to the bottom. Afterwards you can drain the cup through a coffee filter and collect the seeds once they dry! That will be the best time to sow.

Once you have sprinkled the seed, you’ll need to water them. For the first year of their life I never water from above with a watering can.

To start, you’ll want to rest the pot in a bowl of rain or distilled water. Let the water rise up in the pot until the surface is saturated. If you water from above, you will disrupt the surface and lose your seeds. After the pot is soaked, I place it inside of a baggie. The moisture and humidity help with good germination rates.

You should see germination within 7 days. Once you see your first signs of germination, open the baggie and leave it open for 2 days. After that, they should be acclimated to a lower humidity. From this point onward you’ll want to mist the seedlings with rain or distilled water once or twice a day for the first 8 months to a year. You can also occasionally soak the pot in another bowl of water once every two weeks or once a month. Once you can begin to see the first signs of markings and patterns, its safe to throw in an occasional above watering if the pot is allowed to dry out beforehand. Typically Lithops will hit maturity around 3-4 years and begin flowering. Its at this point that you will want to treat them like any other mature Lithops!

It also wouldn’t hurt to use a very dilute all purpose fertilizer when you decide to soak the pot!

Other tips……

Its best to sow Lithops during fall and early spring. I prefer fall to provide enough time to beef up before the summer heat however. There aren’t many pests that bother with Lithops, but you might run into fungus gnats. If you start to notice Fungus gnats in your succulent pots, you’re watering too much! Remember, seedlings are very delicate, so treat for pests with care!

Thanks for your support and happy growing!

Tyler Thrasher