How to Grow and Care for Lithops Living Stone Plants

11.10.2023 - 16:45 / gardenerspath.com / Kristina HicksHamblin

How to Grow and Care for Lithops Living Stone Plants Lithops spp.

Have you ever joked about wanting a pet rock? How about a living stone, instead? And yes, I’m talking about growing lithops succulent plants!

Masters of mimicry, living stones are fascinating succulents, but these quirky little plants also have quirky little care routines.

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You will certainly want to learn what is required of you before you acquire one of these – or as soon as possible after bringing a lithops home!

Ready to find out how to grow and care for living stones? Here’s what we’ll cover:

If you were to ask a child to make a drawing of a plant, you’d likely get an image of a stem with big green leaves.

The subject of our article couldn’t be further away from this verdant vision of planthood – and most living stones are not even green!

There’s a reason for that.

These succulent plants camouflage themselves as stones, appearing in very muted colors to help them blend into their surrounding natural habitat of rocky, gravelly terrain.

Referred to as “mimicry plants,” lithops have evolved this growth habit to hide from hungry animals hunting for leafy green foods.

This low-profile growth habit also allows lithops to protect themselves from their harsh climates, as the bulk of the plant is located underground.

Lithops are unusual plants and describing them requires specialized terms.

To better understand them and to appreciate the appearance of the different living stone species and cultivars, it’s worth taking the time to learn what these terms mean!

Bodies or Heads

The “body” is the fleshy