Lithops Verruculosa 'Rose of Texas'

Finally! Proof of life from this guy as well. #lithops usually start splitting in October or November, but who's counting? 15 May 2020 #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #livingstones #succulents

Little more progress 15 May 2020 #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents

@jameswestly bought! I searched for "pumice fines" and ordered it online. I rinsed it with water before using in my succulent mix because pumice dust becomes like concrete sludge in the bottom of a pot and reduces drainage.

Proof of life from the #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas 2 May 2020 #lithops #livingstones #succulents

5 May 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Slowly slowly reabsorbing old leaves 2 May 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Slowly slowly reabsorbing old leaves 2 May 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Stiiiiiill not done with the old leaves. 4 Apr 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Ewwww, looks like a brain😜

@Honusea61 that's exactly what I thought the first time I saw them.

Stiiiiiill not done with the old leaves. 4 Apr 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

10 Mar 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithopssplitting

Great #texture

Love that... small is sometimes beautiful.♥️👍🏻🙂

Little more golden colored than before 13 Feb 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

7 Feb 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Big crack today 5 Feb 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Matchstick for scale 4 Feb 2019 #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithopssplitting #lithops #livingstones #succulents

Matchstick for scale 4 Feb 2019 #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithopssplitting #lithops #livingstones #succulents

Success! (meaning: I didn't ruin it forever when I underwatered it earlier this year.) 30 Jan 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

This was a *complete* surprise yesterday. When I first got these last May, they weren't at all green. Lithops are always surprising you with something. 28 Jan 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Getting pretty wrinkly... hope you've got some baby leaves in there... 28 Jan 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

This was the more severely dehydrated of the two #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas so I hope he recovered enough to regenerate leaves. Noticed today the sides were puckering / collapsing a bit. Still no split though. 27 Jan 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

I'm so relieved to see that this guy was able to generate new baby leaves after being nearly starved to death of water earlier this summer. (Did this whole split happen in one day? Today's the first I've noticed it.) 27 Jan 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #succulentsunday #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

one spray of rainwater -- just one. I couldn't help myself -- 20 Jan 2019 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #grittymix #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Been giving this wrinkly guy a few sprays of water, and he's firmed up a bit. He survived and came back from severe dehydration this past summer, so I'm not expecting it to behave normally this next season (e.g. produce baby leaves). 20 Dec 2018

#lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents #grittymix

Gaaaaaaahhhh.... to water or not to water??? #lithops #livingstones #succulents #succulentsunday #grittymix #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

You like to collect stones aren't you?? 😁

@jyotu I might be kinda obsessed. (I ordered a bunch more seeds yesterday)

Hehehe nice

Good advice @KelsiBriana

The other of the two #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas who is always plumper then the other one. #lithops #livingstones #succulents #afternoonsun #grittymix 22 Nov 2018

Gave this guy 5-10 squirts of water last night cuz he was feeling a little rubbery. Now it's time to exercise willpower and not water till spring. #lithops #livingstones #succulents #grittymix #afternoonsun #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas 22 Nov 2018

#lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents #grittymix 13 Oct 2018

#lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents #grittymix 13 Oct 2018

Same plant, one month apart. #thepowerofpumice #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #succulent-rescue #recovery #roots #transformation #lithops #livingstones #pumice #succulents #lithops-recovery #lithopsroots

thanks! @cyndi I feel like I've finally turned a corner and I'm starting to understand them a little.

That's a great result

Amazing well done! #pumicetherapy

Mr Plumpy né Wrinkly (foreground right) is now potted back with his brother and roommates. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #grittymix #lithopsbromfieldiivsulphurea #lithops-bromfieldii-mennellii-c44 4 Sept 2018

Hey Mr Plumpy 🤗

Eureka! My super-shriveled mostly-dead #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas has officially recovered! Look at those #roots! #thepowerofpumice #lithops #livingstones #succulents #pumice #succulent-rescue 4 Sept 2018 #learning #alwayslearning #lithops-recovery #lithopsroots

Nice!!! I’m having trouble with my tiny ones :/ out of all 13, 3 are still very very shriveled

@veepaisal keeping the pumice grains moist in a bottle with no drainage hole was the key to success for mine. Don't leave your plant in that kind of container long-term, but it worked great to rehydrate weak plants TWICE.

@sushiwaitress how moist do you have yours??

@veepaisal Pretty wet actually, for this *specific plant.* It had almost zero roots, so I poured water into the bottle so that the single mm of root could touch the wet pumice. I could see the waterline all the way up at the top of the bottle, almost at the top of the pumice (the exact reason I used a clear container). Over time I let the water evaporate.

@veepaisal The moisture stayed at the bottom of the bottle (gravity + no drainage hole), which stimulated the plant to grow roots toward the moisture. No drainage hole will eventually be a death sentence for lithops because they'll burst themselves, but as an emergency room, the bottle worked very well.

Thanks Ruth! I shall try your method! @sushiwaitress

Good luck Vanessa! Take lots of photos! @veepaisal

Huge roots 😮

@veepaisal You can achieve a similar thing by watering pure pumice regularly in a container with drainage #pumicetherapy

@MadKatrina thanks for the tip Rachel!

SO HAPPY to report that Mr. Wrinkly needs a new name! He's almost completely recovered from the severe dehydration inflicted by yours truly. The spice bottle of wet #pumice fines was the best hospital. #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-recovery #succulent-rescue #transformation #recovery #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #watertherapy #thepowerofpumice

Mr Plumpy 👍 good work

Omg, so brainy! 😁

Mr. Plumpy omg YES @debs69

👍😃

Good job! =)

The after shot is my brain, the before is my brain with a migraine....

@veepaisal plant yours like this

And them there was ONE. This wrinkly guy's plumper roommate moved out, so he's on his own now. When I checked his roots there was a small improvement -- maybe 2-3mm of root growth. This guy had a lot farther to go, and I think the wrinkles on the sides of the body might be less pronounced. Maybe in a couple more weeks he'll recover like his buddy. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents #succulent-rescue 20 Aug 2018

Looking much improved!!

This guy slurped up so much water in the hospital pot that I knew I had to move him back to his home before he burst himself. When I dumped him out, I saw a full inch of white roots! Which I forgot to take a picture of. I tucked him back in with his friends and I don't know what I was thinking but I bottom-watered the pot the same day I repotted my little patient. WHAT WAS I THINKING?? I always give lithops a week or two in dry substrate so their roots can recover after repotting...

... but last night I totally forgot. Thank goodness for gritty mix and terracotta pots. Hope he dries out soon. For the moment I'm back to close observation. He still might burst, but at least he won't die of dehydration. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤞#lithops #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #succulent-rescue #livingstones #succulents

I'm glad the roots looked so good, #thepowerofpumice ! I think he should be fine with the accidental water, doesn't look near bursting to me.

The one at the bottom of the frame has improved so much that (a) I can see his cute little dots again and (b) he'll clearly need to move out into his own place with drier soil tomorrow or he'll be in danger of bursting. Hope I don't damage his brand-new roots too much during the repotting. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #pumice #succulents 16 Aug 2018

One of my li'l darlin's is almost back to normal. 15 Aug 2018 #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents #pumice #succulent-rescue

A progression of my one #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas that's having a bit of a #succulent-rescue via #watertherapy and a lot of soaked #pumice ---- #lithops #livingstones #succulents #transformation

@MadKatrina look Rachel your pumice and water method totally worked!

I'm so glad

@sushiwaitress. Great save

Mr. Raisin-in-the-Sun is still wrinkly. Not much change. Maybe the top of his leaves are a little bit rounder? Can't really tell. 14 Aug 2018 #lithops #livingstones #pumice #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

😲 oh no! I hope you get him sorted. This is sad to see.

Poor little thing. Looks really dry.

MAYBE the wrinkles aren't as deep as before... the cloudy day diffuses the light but I think there's still some honest to goodness improvement. 14 Aug 2018 #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #pumice

#closeup of the one that might be recovering #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #pumice #succulents 10 Aug 2018

#closeup of my raisiny guy #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents #pumice 10 Aug 2018

I feel like he might be a slightly better shape overall...

The guy on the right miiiiiiight be getting a little better, but I can't tell because I can't see his roots and I know I shouldn't pull him up to look. Guy on the left is still pretty dried up and raisiny. #lithops #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #livingstones #pumice #succulents 10 Aug 2018

@veepaisal plant yours like this

Man mine are so tiny lmao @sushiwaitress

These aren't big -- only about 17mm wide each. @veepaisal

Lol you've zoomed in so much these look huge lmao @sushiwaitress

6 Aug 2018 #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas in moist pumice, hopefully regrowing their roots. I examine them every morning to see if the wrinkles are inflating. Not yet, I don't think... c'mon guys... #lithops #livingstones #pumice #succulents #hospital

4 Aug 2018 after another night in #watertherapy I started to get nervous about leaving them in water much longer. When I looked at them just now I seem to see some little white bumps on the #roots which indicate something's still alive in there. The base is still firm which is another good sign. The roots need air circulation so I took @MadKatrina 's #advice and #reused an empty spice bottle. Filled it with #pumice fines and a glug of rainwater and tucked my babies in.

#lithops #livingstones #pumice #succulents #afternoonsun #recycle #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

The guy on the left seems to be responding. The guy on the right is still mostly dead. I checked the #roots of the guy on the left and I think I see a little root growth! #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #watertherapy 3 Aug 2018

After 48h of #watertherapy with ZERO improvement, I took them out of the water to take a look. I peeled back the cork to better expose the #root tissue to the water, but I gotta say, if these guys come back from this it'll be a miracle. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents 2 Aug 2018

Chuck one in pumice, you've got nothing to lose and I've found it wonderful!

How big were the chunks of pumice you used? @MadKatrina

1.5-4mm, although most of it is the smaller end of that scale. I feel any size would probably have the same effect, you can keep the plant in "moisture" without it being wet

@dustinsharber scroll through to see how these guys ended up (recovery). They also started out with very little root left. Keep yours warm (inside). If they get too cool, they'll think it's winter and go dormant and stop growing roots until spring.

I've adjusted my approach re: #watertherapy for my #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas -- I had a big bottle of dried oregano that I'd just finished, so I decided to #reuse it as a way to suspend the #lithops over the water. I covered the extra holes with tape to keep the humidity in.

Both plants' #roots are touching the water for now. I'll check on them again in 4 hours to see if there's any improvement. Once I see some new root growth, I'm going to lower the level of water in the bottle and just suspend them over it to reduce the risk of bursting.

Good idea 👍

31 July 2018 my #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas plants are not doing very well. I got them in early May this year and they were #bare-root shipped, and their #roots have always been puny. Some facebook acquaintances mentioned also having trouble with Rose of Texas, so I'm glad I'm not the only one. The root of one is touching the water, and the other is suspended just above. I'll be checking them every 4 hours to make sure they don't burst.

#lithops #watertherapy #rubberbands #tupperware #rainwater

Thanks @KelsiBriana me too. I've never successfully brought back a lithops from being this dehydrated so time will tell....

Oh wow! Poor babies! I really hope they come good for you. Will be following - beaut of luck Ruth! 💗

🤞. I never had much success with water therapy with mine. My go-to now is pure pumice with regular drenching if they look like this. I hope you have better luck with the water than I did.

Here they are repotted in the new mix. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithopsbromfieldiivsulphurea #lithops-bromfieldii-sulphurea #lithops-bromfieldii-mennellii-c44 16 July 2018

💚💚💚💚

Couldn't help myself. Had to check the roots on these shrinking #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas and it's a good thing I did. Pretty much no root growth. 😭 So once again I peeled off the cork to expose the white root tissue and I replaced the soil with a more moisture-retaining blend (I know, ironic). The prior soil had grains of pumice that were too large and the granite chips weren't absorbent enough.

This new soil blend has tiny grains of pumice and turface in addition to granite chips which don't absorb water at all. I really hope this blend helps the roots develop better. #lithopsbromfieldiivsulphurea #lithops-bromfieldii-sulphurea #lithops-bromfieldii-mennellii-c44 16 July 2018

Hi Ruth! I had the same problem and then I changed my mix to straight out premium soil with no draining and they are flourishing now.

Oh I'm so glad to hear some have recovered from this... that's so encouraging. @Yollymac

Getting concerned now about my Roses of Texas (the two on the right). They're pretty wrinkly... maybe they're just not up to much during the summer. Hope they wake back up in the fall. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents #lithops-bromfieldii-sulphurea #lithopsbromfieldiivsulphurea #lithops-bromfieldii-mennellii-c44 16 July 2018

I don't think so.... When I got them, one had the remains of an old pair of leaves still attached, so I think they already shed this year. @KelsiBriana If they don't get any plumper this week (I gave them a good drink last night) I might have to do a root check.

I peeled away the tough outer cork covering the #roots and sprayed them with water. (I meant to at least... I can't remember actually doing the spraying though) Hopefully this guy'll develop roots now in his new home. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #cactusspecialties

Repotted these #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas today, and found that one plant's #roots had grown and one hadn't. I'd been told recently that the pot they were in was so small they wouldn't grow, so I repotted today to give them more room. #cactusspecialties #lithops

They look like a couple of alien premolar teeth! 😁

These guys (named Rim and Scrum) have had about 11 days to acclimate into their new pot, so today they got their first soak. Drenched in rainwater and then bottom-watered the pot for 15 mins before allowing it to drain. #lithops #livingstones #pumice #succulents #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

Some shots of the roots before trimming and potting. Forgot to take "after" shots of these guys. #lithops #roots #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas

A daylight photo of my new pretties. Potted them in a red solo cup (shot glass size) in a mix of #pumice and poultry grit, which is just chips of granite. There's a little coconut coir in there and some vermiculite but it's mostly small gritty mix. #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas #lithops #livingstones #succulents

Update: 13.5mm and 15.5mm wide. Their names are Rim and Scrum, named after the tech project I was working on when they arrived.

I have wanted a #lithops-verruculosa-roseoftexas for SO LONG, and so to celebrate a big accomplishment at work and my birthday, I bought myself some. 😍 Most lithops bloom only white or yellow, but #lithops-verruculosa can bloom orange or salmon or pink, and the Rose of Texas cultivar always blooms pink. These are only 5/8" across, so it'll be a couple years before they're big enough to bloom, but I'm so delighted to add these lovelies to my collection. #wishlistnomore

🎈🎈🎈🎈🎂💝🎉🎊 Happy Birthday, Ruth! @sushiwaitress