Transcript:
Hey, guys, it’s me. Andrea always sucks for you. And he’s some Texas. I promise yall a video on liftoff skater. And that’s what we’re gonna be talking about today. What are you calling them? Lid pops. Like pops what? I’ll see you guys like the column. But plants split rock flowering stones mimicry plants. There’s there’s probably a lot more. I’m missing, They can be a little tricky, but once you understand their growth cycle and once you understand when not to water them, which is basically what we’re gonna be covering today, a little bit more information about how to pop them up and everything, but the main goal here is to get you guys comfortable with understanding their growing cycles. So you know what’s going on inside them and why you shouldn’t water them when you’re not supposed to, and why you should when it’s cool, so just keep watching by the time you get to the end of this video. I think you’re gonna feel pretty good about understanding life, just a little bit better in flip-flops but plants. Okay, here we go live. Ups are easily one of Earth’s weirdest plants, making them highly popular with second law Gers. They’re also popular for dying a lot. In fact, I bet we’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has never killed a lips unless they’ve just never had one before, and that doesn’t count. I know I took at least three victims before I really got them and learned to respect how little they needed me to survive due to are vastly different climates and growing situations whether endure or al arid or tropical and everything in between it’s virtually impossible to give universal advice on general. Succulent care. Let alone Lithops! Would you believe me if I told you watering them? Once a month can be too much, it’s true, and it can mean the death of a leaf ups if watering at the wrong time, but these little weirdos are great at expressing their needs, and once we understand their body language and grid cycle, it becomes much easier and less stressful to keep them happy natives of the driest areas of South Africa. They live their low-key lives, or should I say low leaved among planes and outcrops where they mimic the rocks common to their location to hide from thirsty critters, and while they’re from the southern hemisphere, most lithop’s adopt to the seasons where they’re being cultivated once you understand their growing patterns, it’s easier to accept why they need so little water. Let’s start with our flowering phase. Most little pups need to be at least three years old before the flower. They usually bloom sometime between late summer through fall. After the flowers fade, they begin growing a new plant beneath Alder leaves. But you can’t see it yet. Through winter and into early spring, the new plant continues to grow while the outer leaves begin to wrinkle and shrink, the new leaves subsist solely on the water and nutrients from the old leaves, and for this time, the roots are basically put out of service when the new growth becomes large enough, the outer leaves begin to split and dry out until the new plant fully emerges roots that dried out or replaced by new roots, depending on the climate, lithops and hot summer settings may go dormant or partially dormant until it’s time to flower again. The cycle repeats each year with new growth bursting through the old. Knowing all of this when you buy a new leaf tops and it looks like it’s not flowering or splitting. If you still aren’t sure of which growth stage it’s in, you can look to the season for it clue. Now let’s get into the care needs for these oddballs. As with most succulents, the most common causes of a lip pop’s demise are over watering and inadequate life in nature, live ups have adapted to their harsh conditions by growing, with only the very top surface visible above the ground, The light needs to be bright in order to reach the chlorophyll safely stored, deep down inside the subterranean leaves. Well, most people don’t put their lips as deeply as they grow in the wild. They will still need at least 3 to 5 hours of bright light, preferably direct and as many more hours of bright indirect light as you can provide. If you don’t have a grow light, you’ll want to find the brightest spot. You can away from the rain, but also protect it from full. Sun, when it’s hot outside, remember morning, Sun is gentler than afternoon, so east facing windows and patios are ideal when the light isn’t blocked by other objects, lift offset EO Late and grow taller when they’re not getting enough light. If this happens to yours, gradually extend its exposure to more light, so we can photosynthesize enough to produce a new plant and keep the next generation true to form before we talk about watering live ups. Let’s cover their container and soil requirements for such small plants, Lithops can put down some pretty long roots, so it’s important to put them in a container deep enough to accommodate them clear. Plastic pots both work as long as they have ample drainage holes and the planting medium is very high draining. I do recommend clay pots for those noodle. If tops as a precaution against moisture retention. I used both as Rasoi lift. Ups really need a potting medium that drives within three days or less most commercial plant retailers so live ups in the same soil used for non succulent plants. But this doesn’t mean we should leave them in that dark organic dirt. I honestly suggest having a really high draining soil ready before purchasing any lithops and the less organic matter in the mix. The I personally use 100% pumice shale, porous ceramic or a mix of all three no brown organic matter whatsoever. My climate is terribly humid most of the year and it takes for longer for dirt dirt to dry. Then my thoughts prefer so if you live in a humid location like me, please believe me when I say investing in a bag of good drainage amendment, it’s probably the best and easiest way to keep your liftoffs alive and reproducing. There are alternatives of humus like shale terrace & bonsai soil. Even a combination of Perak light with a bit of topsoil is better than regular potting soil or whatever the start stuff. Some places sell lithops in is not only this potting. In non organic materials, reduce the odds of over watering or moisture retention, it helps prevent fungi and bacteria and makes the pot virtually uninhabitable to pests like fungal Knox and root. Mealy bugs not going to it. I’ve never had any issues with pests on my liftoff, and I’ve no doubt my choice of potting medium is key if you live in an arid region or grow indoors with a required light. And you can master the growing cycle of lithops well enough to know when to avoid watering. Then you can get away with more organic material in your mix, otherwise stick to non-organic as close as you can. It’s common to see a lot of lithop’s planted together in one container. It looks fantastic, but this potting situation can become problematic if the lithops are at different stages of growth or one is in need of water, but its neighbor is fully hydrated. I’d wait until you’re comfortably familiar with the different species and growth cycles before putting them in the same pot and go for it. Ventilation is also important in stiflingly hot climates, especially when humid, like. Houston, it has been May, and I’ve already activated my oscillating fan on my porch when I start to feel like I’m slowing down from the heat. I assume my plants are feeling it too. I have another for when things really start heating up now. We’re ready to talk about watering lithops. I covered everything else. First, because without the right light, soil and container, any amount of water at any time will probably kill them watering it. The wrong time in their growth cycle can be the kiss of death for your lithops. But the odds decrease if everything else is in place the best way to tell if your lithop’s need water during the time when it’s okay to water is by observing them, they’ll start wrinkling or puckering and maybe even appear to be sinking Deeper into the pot. If you’ve given them a gentle squeeze, they feel softer than when hydrated, the tricky part about all of this. Is they do the same thing. When they’re about to shed their old leaves to allow the new growth to come in, that’s. Why it’s so important to know what stage of growth are in before you water them. All you really need to remember is the only water after the old leaves are dry and stop watering after the flower begins to die. Flowering typically occurs between late summer and then to fall, new growth occurs during fall and spring and old leaves dry out between late spring and early to mid summer. Those are all Wide-open estimates, but a good rough guide. Nonetheless, the main reason you shouldn’t water after flowering and while new growth is forming, comes down to the way live ups utilize water as I mentioned, the old leaves are the source of nutrition and water for the new plant that forms within the roots are basically put on pause for this time if you water them. During this phase, you’re as confusing the plant into using water from the roots, while it is actively absorbing the old leaves, which can engorge the plant beyond repair. You also risk root rot since the root systems activity is suspended and the excess moisture surrounds the plant with nowhere to go again after the old leaves have dried up. You can give your lithops a deep watering. This will probably be around late spring to early summer, but the timing can vary. Put the pot in a saucer and slowly give it at 8 to 16 ounces of water, wait until it runs through the drainage holes, dump the saucer, and that’s it water it again if it shows signs of wrinkling after three to four weeks, but only enough to run through the drainage holes once if a month has passed without your lithops showing signs of wrinkling during the summer months, And you haven’t wanted them, you can moisten the top layer of the pot to help give the roots a bit of moisture. There’s a chance that is becoming dormant from the heat or natural cycle, so too much water can cause it to swell and split and die, giving lithops the right amount of water during the right time will sustain it through its flowering, fruiting and new growth cycles, This means it can sustain its life and reproduce without being watered for six months or more, especially in humid. This is the last photo. I have of this guy. It was taken about a year ago and it has been pretty busy since even though we haven’t seen a lot of action until after this past winter. Look, it made twins. These are splitting the water in the outer leaves is being absorbed by the new growth. Watering these now would interrupt the absorption and the outer leaves will probably run around the new growth rather than dry up once the old leaves are dry. I’ll give them a deep watering and wait until they show signs of needing another drink. Humidity takes care of part of my job and I find myself with nothing to do, but look at them. Most of the time, they’ll probably go dormant at the peak of summer, but we’ll still need a small bit of water to keep the root hairs alive again. Mine haven’t flowered, But they’re a year older now and the chances are that much higher. If I do get flowers, I’ll water sparingly until the bloom begins to fade and wait until the following spring for the new growth to emerge with luck. I’ll get to repeat the process yet. Another year, even in the driest climates watering once or twice a month at most is the norm. If you can respect that facts about this plant and you can give it enough bright light that I know you can keep the Phelps alive. Really, that’s it, just the basic, so we’re going to keep it simple, and I think that’s going to give you enough information to understand what’s going on in your lithops or your life ops and so you’ll you’ll feel better about knowing when to water them when not to water them and all that fun stuff so, please. If you have any questions or ideas for future videos, leave them in the comments below and always read the video descriptions because I put a lot more information in there may be links, other resources and whatnot, and then all of the social media places you can find me online, including our Facebook group, which is a great place to join. If you want to leave some pictures and have not just me. But a lot of other people jump in, and, you know, give you some advice. Maybe you can help them out too. That’s a really great place for all that, so thanks for watching. Please click like and subscribe and all that fun stuff and until the next video you.