I’ve had my new lighting setup in place for a while now, and last week I finally got around to sowing the lithops seeds I purchased almost a year ago. Here they are this morning, a few days after they first started to emerge from the soil.

Based on the size of the vermiculite, you can see just how tiny they are. So adorable.

Sowing Lithops

I sowed these seeds in pots of sandy/gritty cactus soil with a layer of vermiculite on top. To be honest, it was the seed packet that suggested vermiculite. I would have used fine grit, but I don’t have any on hand. I’m a little bit wary of the vermiculite as it holds so much water. I’m worried that I’m going to pay for this later in a pot of rotted seedlings. Seed packets aren’t always right!

I then put the pots inside clear plastic sandwich bags and tied them closed to lock moisture inside. I could have used a humidity dome to this effect, but the tray I had them in was shared by a disparate group of plants that were all germinating at different rates. However, I have since removed them from the bags (no air) and have them underneath a dome that I can prop and close to provide air circulation.

Unlike their parents, lithops seedlings need consistent moisture. I’m pretty confident in their care, it’s the mature lithops that continue to baffle me after years of trying and failing. I understand what they need in theory, but I’ve found that for me, gardening isn’t just about an intellectual understanding, it is also about knowing what to do intuitively. There is a lot of trying and failing until I “get it” on that level. With some plants it has been easy, but lithops has been a trial. I will not give up!