Conophytum & Lithops Update VII (57 Days) Something Wrong?

Above are the Lithops.  As for the Conophytum, the look exactly the same as serveral days ago.

But I'm a little worried about my Lithops.  About a third of them look like their tops are drying out.  Does anyone know if this is normal?  They seem to young to enter dormancy.  I still have the lights on 24 hours a day and mist them once per day.

I've also noticed a bunch of little insects that rest upon the top of each plant.  These are not the seed cases and run all over when I blow on them, then hide in the substrate.  I'd really appreciate if someone tells me that they're just sunning themselves!  Now Larry the *cough* just looks awful.  He seems to be shriveling up.  Does anyone know what's happening?  The one nearby Lithops is completely white on top.  I'm concerned and not sure what to do.  Maybe I should start taking them out of the lights during the night.  I'm thinking I should also stop misting, reduce watering and just soak them a few times a week.  Any thoughts?  *shudder of fear*

On a slightly less concerning note I've finished 2 or my 5 exams.  The remaining three are spread out next week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Then I'll be done!  Now more concerning again:  I desperately need a job so if anyone knows someone looking for a structural engineer-in-training that would be awesome!  Or something not engineering related that a degree might help with.  Hopefully in Vancouver.  No, I'm not picky.  Thanks ahead of time for what I'm sure will be a multitude of leads!  :)

Conophytum & Lithops Update VI (48 Days)

As always, the Lithops are doing much better than the Conophytum.  My mixed 'Lithops' seeds seems to be even more diverse than I thought.  The monster yet to be identified is stealing the show (named Larry the *cough* which was originally Larry the Lithops but he turned out to be in imposter).  He's far larger than any of the others and has lost his original pair of seedleaves.  He is already developing a second set of mature ones.

I've also noticed some recent tiny sprouts that look similar to Conophytum.  Quite the variety of seeds but I'm excited about them nonetheless.  I'm glad the Lithops are showing some colour.  I've noticed three main shades - green, blue and brown.  They haven't grown much taller but are very squat and sturdy now.  I still mist them daily and added a tiny amount of fertilizer to the bottle.  They're also starting to split along their centres into two leaves.

Unfortunately all the seedlings in the Lithops pot have begun worshiping Larry as an idol.  I think I can see the beginnings of a large temple foundation forming around him.  I don't know what they'll do if Larry has to be moved to a bigger pot.  Will the very basis of their society crumble?  Below you can see the Conophytum pot.  Could this be a stark look into the future of the Lithops?  Every time I see the big one I think of that gimmick toothpaste with the shiny things in it.

I also started some castor beans.  There are about three that have reached the "we're just poking our heads out to see what's going on, but still covered with a bunch of dirt" stage.  Does anyone else get a bunch of mould over the surface of their seed starting pots.  It's only when I recycle dry dirt and over soak it.  It never interferes with seedling growth but I'm slightly alarmed and a bit excited every time it happens (which is always a great emotional combination).  So maybe the sprouts are actually entering the "we're just poking our heads out to see what's going on, but still covered with a bunch of dirt - why iz der fuzz everywhere" phase.

Conophytum & Lithops Update V (31 Days)

First the Conophytum update.  They look the same, so no pictures.  Now the Lithops are doing very well.  They've started to develop different colours and there have been continuing new sprouts (the tiny green ones).  Some of them still have their little seed husks attached at the edges.  It's crazy that a month ago these little plants fit in those tiny capsules.  Hopefully they continue to grow this well!  I've reduced watering, but still mist once per day.

Larry the *cough* is also doing very well.  He kind of looks like pac-man's cousin at this point.  Still not sure of the proper species ID.  I am excited that I have a third variety of strange succulent though.

Conophytum & Lithops Update IV (23 Days)

What's up with Larry?  For anyone that doesn't know, Larry is the largest and self-proclaimed king of the Lithops.  You can see him clearly in the upper-centre portion of the picture.  He actually looks smaller in the picture because I took it from an angle.  For some reason he is about 5 times the size of the next largest Lithops.  I also noticed that there may be a new set of leaves coming.  That or he's sticking his tongue out and taunting me because he's not actually a Lithops but some strange imposter!  I was thinking it was just a seed from a large variety but it seems really different and now I'm not sure what's going on.

Now for the awe inspiring Conophytum.  Oh wait, there are only about eight of them and they seem to grow slower than the Lithops.  I'm not sure what went wrong, but this is what I've ended up with and hopefully they stay alive.  At least one of them has damped off but few sprouted to begin with.  The Conophytum are a democratic race.  They understand sustainability and have chosen to sprout only the number of plants that can grow comfortably in the given area (so basically it's not my fault).

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Conophytum & Lithops Update III (16 Days)

The Lithops seedlings have been growing very well.  I think germination has just about finished and there are a minimum of 47 sprouts!  Not bad considering I ordered 50 seeds.  There must have been a few extra.  You can see below that Larry is by far the largest of the Lithops.  The seeds I purchased are of mixed variety so I'm thinking Larry is just different from the rest of his kind.  On I side note I'm going to start putting the time since sowing in the updates.  If it doesn't match up with the dates that's because it's from when the photos are taken.

The Conophytum on the other hand are doing resoundingly meh :(.  They're just kind of sitting there.  I think I may have actually lost a seedling because I can only count seven.  Any thoughts?  That's not too bad if they all survive but I would like to have some extra just in case.  I'm still misting every morning and evening as well as placing a plastic bag over the top of their pots so they don't dry out.

Conophytum & Lithops Update II (12 Days)

Pretty much nothing has happened with the Conophytum.  However there are now at least 36 Lithops and probably more on the way (some are too tiny to see in the picture).  Fortunately they don't look lanky any more so I think moving them closer to the light is the secret.  One of them is already a lot bigger than the others.  I think I'll name that one Larry the Lithops.  The 's' really bothers me though.  It seems like the species is always plural...  So Larry likes his last name pronounced like 'Lithop' with the 's' being silent but still present.

Conophytum & Lithops Update I (9 Days)

For their tiny little size, the Conophytum and Lithops have been growing relatively rapidly.  Last time I posted the Lithops had not yet started to germinate.  I've now counted ten little sprouts.  They are actually growing quicker than the Conophytum.  They do however look a bit lanky.  I've heard stories of the plants growing up and out of the soil.  I was scared this might happen so I set them both on top of upside down pots closer to the light (from about 30cm away to around 15 or 20cm). 

The Conophytum still look like little molars.  I've counted about eleven of them.  There are some new really tiny ones from both species so I expect ongoing germination for at least a few more days.  You can see from the pictures below that both sprouts look different.  The Lithops actually have clearly distinct pairs of leaves.  I mist both of them several times a day quite heavily.  I also have ziplock bags over the top to make sure they don't dry out.  They were sowed 9 days ago.

Conophytum (mixed varieties, oldest are 6 days)

Lithops (mixed varieties, oldest are 5 days)

Conophytum & Lithops Sprouts! (5 Days)

I checked the Conophytum and Lithops pots when I got home today and was delighted to see little lime-green specks in one of the pots!  I'm pretty sure they are baby Conophytum.  I didn't label the pots but I put the Lithops are in the one with less substrate.  I barely had enough mixture for the two pots and I figured Lithops spend half the year dormant, so they can have slightly less.

So these are probably little Conophytum sprouts.  I left the under the light during the day and just set them on the concrete floor through the night to emulate their natural heat cycles (supposedly helps to break dormancy).  I planted them on the 17th so it's only been 5 days.  I'm super excited.  They're just these adorable little lime-green blips - *Breathe*.  You can even see that each one has a pair of leaves!  They almost look like little tiny molars.  Yeah!!

And yes.  One picture of tiny little green dots was not enough.  So here are two!  You can see 4 in the first and 3 in the second and there are around 6 total so far.

UPDATE:  The Lithops are now sprouting (about 3)!  They actually look slightly more plant like than the green molar Conophytum.  No pics of them in this post but definitely in a later one.

Lithop & Conophytum Sowing

I finally planted the Lithop and Conophytum seeds today.  The Conophytum are pretty small, but the Lithops are downright tiny.  The bigger things in the bag below are actually capsules with many seeds in them as opposed to these seeds themselves.  I emptied them into a slightly curved Walmart receipt and then sprinkled them on the surface.  I have no idea if they actually landed there or disappeared into another dimension.

Hopefully I'll start to see the first sprouts in a week.  I had trouble finding the stuff I needed for the mixes I mentioned previously so I sort of winged it.  I mixed 1/3 cactus mix with 1/3 fish gravel and 1/3 silica sand and a bit of vermiculite and put it in the bottom of the pot.  I then put about 2cm of mostly gravel and sand with only a small amount of soil on top.  Ventilation is important but I'll cover them with plastic so they don't dry out.  They need a day and night heat cycle so I'll only keep them under the grow lights during the day.

Lithops (Living Stones) & Conophytum Resources

I've ordered some Lithops and Conophytum seeds and I'm hoping they'll arrive next week.  In the mean time I've done a lot of research on their care and germination.  I've found the links below to be very helpful.  Both mention things that the other doesn't, so if you'd like to start some of your own definitely take a look at both.  Here they are:

Strange Plants
Lithops - Cultivation

They grow relatively slowly but I'm super excited!  I ordered mixed varieties so I should get a lot of diversity in colouration and patterning.