Lithops karasmontana - Living Stones
Sprouts of BristolThe Living Stones just might be the weirdest-looking plants you'll ever see. True to their name, they look more like pebbles than living plants, but these incredible succulents are really alive and kicking! This plant achieves its unique appearance by growing two wide, fleshy leaves which are flattened on top, creating its stony appearance. This variety's patterns on the top of each leaf are a bright reddish-brown. In the wild, they grow on stony ground, blending in with normal, non-living rocks, in arid conditions where their thick leaves help retain water. In ideal conditions, the Lithops will flower, with the bloom growing between the two leaves and adding to this incredible plant's unique appearance. Each year the old leaves will dry out, giving way to the new pair, and should drop off in late spring or early summer, at which point the plant will be ready to drink its first water of the year! These plants grow in the driest conditions so the key is really making sure not to overwater.
Scientific Name
Lithops karasmontana (stonefaced plant from the Karas Mountains)
Common Name
Living Stone, Flowering Stone, Stone Face
Origin
Originates in South Africa
Light
Needs plenty of light; choose a sunny windowsill that gets a couple of hours of morning or evening sun year-round
Water
Lithops do not need much water at all; how much they use will also depend on climate, so in a cooler climate like the UK's they don't need much at all. Don't water over winter; when the old leaves have dried up, which could be as late as May or June, water the plant. One suggested regime is a small water to wake up the soil, followed a few days later by a big water, and then another big water a few weeks later. After this, water when it starts to flower (younger plants won't flower; look for a slight widening between the leaves as a sign they are a bit thirsty). Aside from this, only water if it has been exceptionally dry and the soil has completely dried out- lithops react badly to being drowned.
Humidity
Humidity is not important for the Lithops; a hose down every so often will help keep it free of dusts and pests.
Soil
Make sure the soil drains well as Lithops roots really don't like sitting wet. Use a Cactus and succulent mix, and add extra grit for drainage if possible. Repot every 3-4 years in spring as the plant grows.
Food
Feed every two months in the growing season, reduce to every three in autumn and winter.
Temperature
Comfortable in temperatures of 5-32°C.
Pet-safe
Yes, but too much nibbling won't be good for pets, small humans or the plant!
Sprouts Top Tips
Once your Lithops is three years old, it may start to flower. Most likely to flower at the end of summer or in autumn, you can give it the best chance by ensuring it gets a couple of hours or morning or evening sun each day; when flowering it will appreciate a bit of water.
Extra watering advice would be to also take into account pot size; a small pot will dry out quicker than a big one, and a larger plant will need more water than a small one. When you do water, drench the pot (think monsoon) but allow it to totally dry out afterwards (i.e. don't have it sat in a puddle).
Important Information
If you have any questions, please check out the below or get in touch via our contact formWe're devoted to sending our customers quality plants with the best service around. Every plant is backed by our 7-day guarantee, so they arrive in good health.
Our team takes extra steps when prepping plants for transportation, but they're still sensitive to changes, so there may be minor cosmetic issues. We always aim to photograph and disclose any flaws before shipping, but a living creature travelling across the country in a box can take a hot minute to adjust to its new life.
If you have any issues within 7 days of receiving your order, holler at our customer support team on our contact form with your order details and some pics of the issue. After the guarantee has expired, though, we can't refund as we can't guarantee care and environmental factors. If you repot the plant during the 7 days, the guarantee is void.
We have been sending plants up and down the country for many year now and we like to think we have our way down to an art.
We protect the plant from falling out of the soil with tissue paper and tape if needed, then we wrap the plant in corrugated cardboard, and sometimes we protect the leaves with extra tissue paper if required. This is then placed into a box and if there is any empty space, we fill this with void fill to stop the plants moving around inside the box. Sometimes we will write a note on your packing slip to water the plant on arrival, so please look out for this. This is due a freshly watered plant going in a box will not only be soggy, but as the plant is in darkness this can sometimes make the plant unhappy when just freshly watered.
If your plant arrives to you unhappy, please send us a photo of the plant and packaging if relevant straight away, so we can advise you.
Online orders are packed and dispatched within a few days. Usually depending on volumes, we aim to get your order dispatched within 1 working day. We have collections from Royal Mail 6 days a week so deliveries tend to be speedy.
Our standard parcel delivery service is £4.99 for Royal Mail Tracked48, you can upgrade to Tracked24 for £2.50.
We do offer a Tracked48 Large Letter option for £2.99, and Tracked24 for £1 extra, but this only applies to products less than 2.5cm thick.
*Deliveries 7 days a week only included Tracked24 parcels.
Link to your shipping policy
We get a lot of boxes, packaging and whatnot at Sprouts from all our various supplier's deliveries. We re-use this packaging material where possible, plus we take in donations from local businesses and customers to our shop to avoid excess packaging going to landfill. Sometimes your delivery might look a little different, or come in a branded box from another company, but rest assured the items inside are carefully packed with love and attention inside. We use paper tape and all our branded materials included are fully recyclable. Sometimes we use polystyrene, bubble wrap or plastic wrap in the packaging, all these items are not new and where possible, please use them again.
We have partnered with Zedify to offer low-carbon deliveries in Central Bristol for £6.99.
Zedify collect and deliver orders from us Monday - Friday and will usually deliver your order the same day its collected. If you place your order before 11am, we will aim to get it collected the same day but this isnt always possible. When you have received your dispatch email, Zedify should be delivering your order the same day, anytime before 6pm.
We cannot give an idea of time, but if you would prefer delivery on a certain date (Monday - Friday) please get in touch or leave a note at check out with your preferred delivery date and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Zedify deliver to the following postcodes BS1, BS2, BS3, BS4, BS5, BS6, BS7, BS8 (1, 2, 3A - 3N, 4), BS9 (1,3,4).
Select click and collect at checkout to collect your order from our Bristol shop.
You will get an email when your order is ready to collect, where possible please come and collect your order the same day as we have limited space. If you are going to collect your order at a later date, please let us know in the message box at check out so we know when to expect you. Some items such as gift sets, kits and pre-order items may not be ready to collect the same day, again please let us know what day you would like to collect and we will let you know if there's any issues.
We do not offer free returns, but if you are unhappy with your delivery, please get in touch. If your parcel or order has been damaged, please take photos and send these over to our team so we can look into this for you.
If you have ordered an item and you would like to exchange it, we should be able to do this for you. There may be an extra charge for delivery, but get in touch to discuss. For plants there is a 7 day return policy and 30 days for everything else, apart from sale items which are none returnable.
You can return or exchange in our Bristol shop for free.
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