Hello Everyone, Thank you for your replies, they are all very helpful! Lukki, Thank you for posting that most helpful link to backsplashes, and for your suggestions and encouragement! The granite did look nice in the store, it's just shocking to see it installed, it seems to overwhelm the kitchen. I have convinced my husband to have the backsplash removed, that will go a ways toward reducing the green impact. We're going to hold off on the backsplash a bit. We went to quite a few places looking for tiles and actually purchased very pale green subway tiles, on the advice of a designer in a tile store. Fortunately, we found the exact tiles at a much more reasonable place, so it's not too disasterous to have to search for new tiles. But the granite will have to remain for years, as we're over budget right now. Positano, thank you for your encouragement! I will try to post pics this week. Arlene, Katmandu, Kara, Jim, thanks for your encouragement also!!!! The granite is growing on me a tiny bit, phew! (though I'm still not wild about it). Probably with the backsplash removed, it will improve. I keep trying to analyze what's wrong with it. One additional problem is it seems to be on the cool end of the color spectrum, whereas I was hoping for a warm shade. Arrrgggghhhh!

Westes, Hello, my name is Aline and I live in Brazil. I love CC. Did you get a new copy of CC? Did it work? I think this plant is rare and expensive anywhere in the world. I understand why there are few producers of this succulent. She is very sensitive to water and light. I know that the post is over three years old and I really hope you got a CC, but if I help in any way, I believe that the problem with the CC of the post was the mix of excess water with excess sun. See, I live in Brazil, here the climate is hot and I will tell you that this plant does not recover from any excess. It is better to wet less and put less light than committing an excess, as the CC never recovers. I received my copies by mail and the first one I bought I watered too much ... I lost 20 sheets! She was 17 cm and was 10. My luck was a large specimen. She melted the leaves, became translucent of the excess water and gradually dried (the symptoms of excess water seem very much like excess sun because the leaves dry). Here I don't leave my CC in the sun. It's very strong! All plants that come with variegation are more sensitive to light, because they have less pugging. The light I supply to my CC is filtered. They stay at the window but never receive direct sunlight, only good lighting. I water when the soil is completely dry, I stick a toothpick into the soil and if it comes out dry, I can water it. I use clay pots without waterproofing and dip them in the water until they follow what is necessary (I water only from below, I do not let the water in over the pot). I have other Echeverias and tropical plants and without a doubt the CC is the most demanding and difficult to cultivate.

I know this isn't my convo, but oh well;). Aloebot, I just wanted to say it's funny you said leave the nice looking common ones and go for the rare that you only come across every 5 years. When standing in line waiting to pay I always make new friends and check out what people are buying. I do see lots of people buy common plants, and I always want to say something like "Are you sure you want to buy that;)?Have you seen the other plants." I'm not knocking common plants because some of my fav plants are very common, but a show is where a person can go to find some really cool stuff. But I guess I should be happy people buy the more common because that leaves the less common for me to buy;). Also there's always a vendor or two that I swear go to Home Depot and Lowes a couple weeks prior so they can buy gallon pots for $6 and then split those gallon pots up into thirds and sell those bits for $6;). I wish I lived down there so I could meet up with some very cool people;).

It's cool that you're local :) SF, South bay, etc? I'm south bay WARNING: ESSAY-LENGTH RESPONSE AHEAD: Indeed, it does sound like too much sun & heat. Although it's true that C&S can withstand difficult climates, it seems to me that the common misconception is people often think they can bring home a C&S that has been sitting in a shady area and just plop it in their sunny front yard or window, thinking it'll be fine (I've been guilty of this :p). The key here is that you have to acclimatize the C&S to the weather- get it used to taking that much sun and heat. A sudden change in weather for any C&S won't be a good thing. I have had some tough ones survive though. They just didn't look too pretty with sun burn scars. Brown and clearish sounds like they skipped the sun burn part and turned straight to dead mush. I've had that happen too.... they looked very creepy. Very zombie-colored... Not all lithops species (C&S in general) are not all created equal. Some may be tougher than other in terms of survival or prefer certain climates (coastal lithops vs. desert lithops). I also have not had the best luck with big box store lithops. I feel that they are too pumped full of fertilizer and whatnot (to get them to grow faster) that they don't do well for too long after you bring them home. I like to visit this nursery called Dry Garden in Oakland for lithops and conos. They do not get their lithops from big box stores. Not usually anyway. I also like to buy lithops from Mesa Garden & Arid Lands In my experiences for the last few years of growing lithops, is that you're always bound to kill at least one per yr. LOL. You can't be too harsh on yourself. Since you live in the same climate, I would actually suggest C&S soil for lithops & not 100% pumice. Definitely do not buy garden soil or whatever other "normal" soil. That contains too much organic and water retentive matter. The reason I don't suggest pumice for you is that I've tried it, and my lithops didn't enjoy it. 100% pumice means ZERO moisture.... so my lithops looked very sad and wrinkly when it was warm. I've talked to others in similar climates and I've heard similar experiences as well. I think it may be too hot and dry here to use 100% pumice. HOWEVER.... If you live in the city (SF), you may want to try 100% pumice, as it is much colder up there. :) Steven Hammer (famous mesemb grower) refuses to use 100% pumice, so I'm also determined to try growing without pumice. For watering, the lithops do have a cycle of growth (read me) you must align your watering regime to. However, don't try to follow this cycle like a rigid schedule. All lithops will have some variation. Some might start absorbing old leaves later or earlier in the year than others. Rather than following a schedule, you should observe the lithops for signs of change. Also, I've learned that it's not good practice to withhold water from your lithops for months - except when it's producing new leaves of course. That should be the only time you withhold water. IF you buy any lithops that are already producing a new set of leaves, definitely don't water, no matter what season it may be. Resume watering when the old leaves have dried to a thin sheath (see pic). After 1st watering: See how it is perking up and breaking the sheath? Yum, water! Anyway, I try not to be afraid of watering my lithops, because if you get the lithop used to light waterings, such as spraying, the lithops will not grown extensive, strong roots as they are meant to. I even water during "dormancy" season, if I see that my lithops are getting wrinkly. But, if I am not feeling confident about watering my lithops but I also feel that it does need some water, I will spray downwards near the base with a spray bottle. feel free to ask me to elaborate on anything or ask more questions.... But note that what I am telling you are only my own experiences in a specific climate. :) Here are some interesting links: http://www.lithops.info/en/gallery/images.html https://lithops-stories.blogspot.com/ https://lithopsblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/06/growing-lithops-from-seed/ http://www.smale-conophytum.co.uk/grow_lithops.htm