How to Grow Lithops from Seeds

Lithops and other Living Stones Succulents are propagated by seed. It is fun to raise your own Lithops plants from seeds. Lithops seeds are tiny. For this reason we ship our Succulent seeds in a little paper bag inside a zip-lock bag. Each bag is labeled. You do not have to sow your seeds immediately. You can store Lithops seeds for several years on a dark, dry and cool place within the zip-lock bag.

Lithops Seed Germination Substrate

To germinate Lithops seeds you need a fine soil mix with good drainage. A good Lithops germination soil would be 50% regular potting soil (remove big chunks of peat) and 50% fine (1-3 mm) gravel or pumice.

Lithops Sowing Containers

It is important that your seed sowing containers have small drainage holes. You can use containers or seed germination trays. I use 6.5 cm deep trays. You need enough depth for proper root formation. You also want the soil to dry quickly after waterings.

Sowing Lithops

Fill your container or tray with seed germination substrate. Spread out the seeds on top of the soil. Then add a very thin layer of fine gravel (1-3 mm) on top of the seeds. Use a spray bottle or something else to spray the seed tray with water. Make sure the soil is wet and let excess water drip out below through the drainage holes.

Lithops Germination

Your Lithops seeds need indirect bright light, warmth (20C-24C) and high air humidity to germinate. The top layer of gravel will provide for a good micro-climate for the seeds to germinate. They will also support the young seedlings after germination. You can cover the seed tray with a clear lid increase air humidity. Do this if the air humidity of the room where you are germinating the seeds is very low. Remove the lid after a week. The Lithops seeds should germinate after approximately 2 weeks.

Watering Lithops Seedlings

At first your Lithops seedlings will be very small. You will see tiny green or yellow dots between the gravel. Make sure you maintain high air humidity by spraying with water daily. Give the seedlings plenty of fresh air. When the seedlings get bigger you can slowly reduce air humidity and waterings. This helps the plants to form a strong root structure. Keeping the plant tray wet for too long may induce rot and mold formation.

Growing Succulents from seeds is a game of trial and error. Do not give up when you are not successful immediately. You can always contact me if you have any further questions or if you need some help. Good luck!