Lithops: rocks or plants?

Lithops - a very mysterious plant. If you look at it, then immediately know where it came from his name: the flower is very similar to the stone. However, during the flowering of these stones like pebbles from the sea coast, transformed: split in half, and from midway appear beautiful bud.

Genus-species affiliation

Lithops is a family aizoaceae. This is an unusual plant came to us from the African desert, where the average temperature in the summer ranges from 20 to 50 C °, and in winter is lowered to 10 C °. There are about 40 species of succulents data (from the Latin «succulentus» - juicy. It plants store water in special fabrics), which is grown in the home.

The name of this plant comes from the merger of two Greek words "litho" - stone and "ops" - similar, but in common Lithops called "living stones."

Features

Many species of plants and offers a variety of colors: green, pink, purple, gray, plain, red, yellow, brown, black spots and stripes. Due to its bizarre colors of this plant is decorative at any time. It is noteworthy that one species Lithops regardless of age are always the same size due to the fact that in the spring of cleft "pebble", two new leaf, and the old is gradually dying out. This is similar to the process of reptiles molt.

It is interesting to consider and observe the process of development of the plant, so it is advisable to arrange a flower garden in the children's room. As pots can pick up the aquarium, and the upper layer of soil can create multi-colored gravel.

Some Lithops quite small: 0.5 cm high and 1 cm in diameter, and some species reach 3.5 cm in height and 4 cm in diameter. live rock sufficiently large flower - 10 cm in diameter and has a delicate flavor. Most often, there are white, yellow or pink. The flower lasts from 7 to 12 days, the duration of flowering - from early August to mid-October.

Care Lithops

In addition to all the other advantages of this wonderful plant needs minimum maintenance:

• sufficiently 4 hours per day of sunshine and moderate temperatures (preferably, of course, 22 C °, but it is well he feels and t 32 C °);

• soil - a mixture of mild turf ground, coarse sand and fine gravel. The upper layer can be filled with pebbles for better drainage of moisture;

• watering 2 times a year: in the period of flowering in the fall and during the growing season in the spring after the death of the leaves. Incidentally, the old leaves must be carefully removed to the folds do not accumulate water when watering, and started rotting trunk of a small plant.