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My lithops are usually quick to show flower buds but there's still nothing, not even a hint. I doubt I'll see any flowers this year, there has been very little sunlight and warmth for that. But at least some of the other plants don't mind. There have been several conophytum flowers and there are new buds visible. Conophytum fulleri  Conophytum pellucidum ssp. cupreatum v. terrestre Conophytum angelicae ssp. tetragonum Conophytum uviforme ssp. decoratum Avonia albissima multiramosa has been flowering, or rather producing seed pods as I'm pretty sure the flowers do not open. I might have missed them but, really, I've never ever seen them open in my life. It always goes from bud to seed pod. Funny thing is that the branches are normally lying flat on the ground, but when the seed pods are almost ripe they get pushed up and the branches suddenly lift into upright position, just for a day or so. I wonder what is happening there chemically that makes them do that. The see...

This is the first year I am growing several adult Anacampseros of all different kinds and can watch and compare how they grow throughout the year. For a plant nerd this is really fascinating. In my last "observations" I was talking about new growth coming from underneath and this one will continue this thought. It looks to me that these plants tend to abandon the branches that have extensively flowered. As if producing the flower stalk is sucking all the juices out of it. Well, considering the size of those flower stalks, no wonder! What I have seen in the multi-branched plants that flowered this year is that the flowering branches drop leaves one by one until they look like bald twigs with only a couple of leaves at the top and no signs of new growth. If I think back to last winter when I got the majority of my adult plants, some of them have arrived with such "towers", meaning the towers have not grown any new leaves or branches of their own to cover the baldness...

I've been transplanting some plants that probably didn't need any transplanting. What started as "these seedlings are kinda small for their age, better check the roots" ended up as "let's check them all!" I have ordered pumice from ebay lately and it was a bad idea. Now I'm back to my usual supplier . How great his stuff is in comparison! Transplanting is so much more fun when you are using good quality pumice.  I'm generally proud of my seedlings, all of them. No matter how well-grown the plants are we buy from someone, plants grown from seeds always seem to be the prettiest of all to me. Not partial at all! ;D But, to be honest, the plants that have germinated and grown under the same conditions all their lives, really do appreciate it. You also have good control over their shape if you watch them closely and treat them accordingly. You know how big a fan I am of plants that are small and really flat to the ground. It is not easy to get such pl...

Not only older lithops seedlings but actually 6 years old lithops seedlings. Can you believe that? These are the guys from the so-called " pumice experiment " back in 2010 which is now my standard procedure (oh my, they are so tiny there). I was disappointed for a very long time that they didn't look like "mariae" I wanted them to be - all dotty. Instead they looked like regular lesliei. However, now, 6 years later, the proper looks are apparent. The fine dotty lines and the sandy color. I remember reading that "mariae" are the largest among lesliei but mine are rather compact. L. lesliei ssp. lesliei v. mariae (C141)

I've been trying to germinate some old lithops seeds quite unsuccessfully over the last year. I barely have something to show for it. I even thought I lost some key skill until I tried sowing fresh seeds from my own plants that germinated perfectly.  The only real success among the 2015 lithops seedlings are the L. lesliei ssp. lesliei var. rubrobrunnea that hatched last October. They are developing nicely in size and in color. The new leaves are actually quite red and very attractive. In my experience L. lesliei and L. bromfieldii rarely disappoint when grown from seed.  The next seedlings, from around the same time, are nameless at the moment. I do have records of what was sown but these guys were transplanted due to bugs and I didn't care enough for them to label them properly. I was pretty sure they won't survive. Told you before, I was neglecting my seedlings badly. Well, now I can't connect their looks to any of the species I was sowing back then. The good news i...