극도의 건조 기후에도 잘 견디는 다육품종이며 편마암대지의 바위틈이나 자갈에 묻혀 자생한다.
가정에서도 리톱스를 기를 수 있다.
햇빛을 받는 곳에 놓고 물은 성장기때 2주에 1번씩 주며, 휴면기간(1월~3월)에는 물을 주지 않는다.
참고로 리톱스에 관심이 있는 분들을 위해 상세한 설명(영어)을 게재한다.
Care Lithops Location(장소) In the desert a lot of sun and no shade. "Living Stones" to keep the whole year in the bright sun. Best place - the sill on the south window. It is advisable not to turn the pot, constant orientation relative to the sun is important in the period of the appearance of buds.
Temperature(온도) Jaru well tolerated, the optimal temperature in summer is 22-25 ° C, in a period of rest kept at a temperature of 12-15 ° C, but not less than 5-7 ° C. Sometimes in the heat of summer on the southern window Lithops suffer from overheating.This is because the nature of their roots go deeply into the soil, even where intense heat is not too high temperature. In a small pot, the hot sun, the roots can not withstand heat.
Watering(급수) Watering Lithops during growth 1 time in 2 weeks. In the rest period (January-March) is not watered at all. If the room is too warm and dry you can pour a little one once a month. When buds appear recommend watering to stop completely."Living Stones" is not usually suffer from lack of moisture, and overflow. If the ground is wet, the plant simply rots. It is some time seems quite normal, then shrinks and withers. Watering too, need to correct - it is rare, but abundant, to wet the entire soil with roots. But the water should immediately flow out of the pot. Of the moisture that remains on the rocks and the sand is quite enough. It is believed that Lithops not tolerate water on their surfaces. You can not just sprinkle them in the sun to avoid burns. In nature, Lithops found on the rocks by the seashore, where there are often nocturnal mists plants it does not harm.
Soil(흙) For the "living stones" suited soil is well permeable moisture and air. Usually take hardwood land, for it added looseness broken brick (red), small pebbles, coarse sand, granite chips. The soil should be fertile, add more sand in it. On the surface and at the bottom of the pot must be a layer of pebbles. On the day you need it to excess water flowed freely, and on the surface of the stones provide proper ventilation while protecting from rotting the root neck.
Humidity(습도) Lithops well tolerate dry air, do not require spraying the leaves. But the lack of airing them harm - there rotting.
Fertilizer(비료) The first year after planting the plants do not fertilize, soil nutrients is quite enough for the slow-growing Lithops. In subsequent years, unless the transplant, from June to September you can feed 1 time a month fertilizer for cacti in half dose.
The rest period(휴면기간) After flowering, the end of the autumn, a period of rest, which lasts until spring. Watering is not necessary at this time.Wintering must be dry and sunny. Signaled the end find the signs of growth, and then resume watering gradually. Growth starts from the leaf replacement. Older leaves turn yellow, lose turgor, "slide" down, giving way to younger leaves. Even if the old leaves vysohdi to a thin film, it is not recommended to delete.
Transplantation(이식) Transplant do when the plants are not placed in a pot. Lithops roots quickly fill the space of the pot. Thin suction roots grow quickly, but large roots, it is desirable not to damage during transplanting, so the transplanted Lithops or else to disturb the root system without the actual need is not necessary. The pot should be at least 10 cm deep. Wide shallow bowls should be avoided - in the wild roots grow to a great depth, and do not travel along the surface.
Reproduction(생식) "Living Stones" is propagated by seeds - planting small fruits, appearing after flowers, at 22-25 ° C. Seeds can be purchased over the Internet from an exotic plant lovers. You can also try to separate the young shoots from the old Lithops. To get the seeds, fruit is left on the plant until sprouting young leaves. Then he collected, but not immediately seeded and kept 4-6 months in a dark, dry place. Before sowing, seeds are soaked for 3-6 hours, and seeded with wet and covered with glass. Crops annually moisturize from the sprayer and aerate. For germination require daytime temperatures of 25-28 degrees. The seedlings in the first year of life, do not touch, dive after hibernation.
Pests(해충) During the winter Lithops scale insects may be affected, so the beginning of the growth process the plant protection products.
