Lithops salicola

A native of the high-altitude regions of Namibia and South Africa, Lithops salicola is also referred to as ‘Living Stones,’ and for quite obvious reasons! The leaf pairs of this petite plant, which reach only 1-2 inches in height, sport a gray-green coloration with a mottled top surface that contains windowpane-like areas that allow light to penetrate into all parts of the plant – much of which grows underneath the soil surface. Though they are slow growing, as the plant matures it will begin to form appealing clumps of “pebbles” across the surface of the soil, making for a unique addition to any succulent collection.

Having adapted to extremely arid natural environments, the biggest challenge in growing Lithops salicola is avoiding overwatering. During both the winter and summer seasons, refrain from watering this variety entirely, to allow it to draw upon its own moisture stores. This is especially important during the winter months, as this is when the plant will produce a new leaf pair – watering during this time can cause the new leaves to burst, and the parent plant’s long tap root to rot. It is normal, however, for the original pair of leaves to wither away to make room for the newly emerged leaf pair – so do not fear that your plant is dying when this process begins to occur!

Further, this variety requires access to plenty of bright sunlight, and prefers being potted in an extremely porous soil mixture, such as a low organic matter cactus mix supplemented with 50% pumice, perlite, or course sand. A deeper pot of at least 3-4 inches is also ideal to accommodate Lithops salicola’s long taproot.

As a reward for mastering its water requirements, this variety will produce large, daisy-like white flowers of up to two inches in diameter, which will emerge from the cleft between the leaf pair each fall.

NOTE: Every 2" pot contains 1 lithop. Every 2.5" pot may contain 1-3 individual lithops depending on current availability.

***This plant is not available for wholesale***

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All plants are shipped bare-root with the exception of House Plants and Plant Club Subscription Boxes. House plants and succulents will ship from separate locations and may arrive at different times. Orders ship Monday-Friday each week. Please allow 1-3 business days for your order to be processed. We ship within the USA and its outlying territories ONLY. Read our full policy here.

Plant sizing is based on the diameter of the nursery pot (2", 2.5", 3", 4" etc), not the plant itself. Plants may be slightly larger or smaller than the pot they are grow in depending on availability or time of year. While we do our best to ship plants as similar to those pictured as possible, please keep in mind that all plants are unique from one to the next, and display color, shape, and growth variation based on current environment, time of year, and other contributing factors. Please note that we ship our plants as dry as possible in the fall and winter months to prevent root rot or freezing. They will plump back up after planting!