Does anyone know what's going on here? It's only the plant on the right, and this is the only one that hasn't been transplanted into this pot. I realize the light makes it difficult to see what's going on. Basically looks like dents and some deformation. It looks like somebody was chewing on it.

Also, regarding the Fenestreria and the Mercedes bling--I saw that become more prominent with some slight wrinkling, so now I know when they're on the verge of needing water (still seedlings). I'm very glad to know that now.

Looks like something has been chewing on it. My guess is that’s exactly what’s going on. Looks like the creature is really going to town on the right side. What’s next to the plant on that side? Is it under your lights or outside?

This is under lights. I asked my wife and she said she doesn't even like these plants. (joking) I might have a mystery bug down there right now, but I haven't seen anything like this before. There isn't anything next to it except a Kalanchoe. We have a cat, but she leaves my plants alone and this isn't in a spot she could get to anyway.

When you say “down there” do you mean a basement? If so is a rodent a possibility?

Yes basement, sorry. Rodent free. If there were any, we'd know about it via los gatos, which we've always had.

Move the little Glottis and see what happens. If it stops than you know the critter is not on the actual plant, but coming from somewhere else.

I didn't catch Glottis being plural for a few seconds there. I can try that. There are also two stragglers that recently germinated. They won't stop. It might actually be easier to just pot the big one.

I would say fungus, Jeff. Did the black spots on the Frithia increase?

Nik, After putting the Frithia in the sun more and more as you advised, putting cinnamon on it (doubt that did anything though), and cutting off a bad leaf, it's doing really well. It hasn't been near the Glottiphylum for a long time. So maybe there's a fungus down there (basement) somehow. Maybe I'll adjust the de-humidifier (sp?) again to a little lower humidity.

Maybe I'll pot this, as I mentioned to Kara, to separate it from the others and give this the sun and fan treatment to see what happens. This one looks more malicious though.

Definitely try sun and fan treatment. Glottis are very soft-skinned which will make it look worse

Wish I knew more about Glottiphylum but I haven't found the one I'm quite looking for yet. Hopefully the problem stays with just that leaf only.

The temperatures here are slowly creeping downwards each week and my Mesembs are looking better and more active.

Faucaria tuberculosa 'Super Warty'

Aloinopsis luckhoffi CM232

Aloinopsis rubrolineata

I am in love with this flower! There’s another bud behind it waiting to open. What I wouldn’t give for them to open at the same time;)!

Pleiospilos simulans

Good ol’ Glottiphyllum pygmaeum

I forgot to ask: Does anyone know what variety my Glottiphylum is? It looks like either herrei or platycarpum but I can't tell. Photo posted on Sep. 2 at 4:34PM.

It's hard to say Jeff because they are still seedlings and haven't grown into a mature shape yet.

Looking good, Kevin and Kara

I have started to have lithop success y'all... Pagan was very right in saying you can't treat new lithops like a regular lithop.

I am having a brain fart. South Africa's summers and winters are flip flopped from north America, so when we read about the cycles of lithops, are they referring to south africa's summer and winters?? Does the actual month matter to the lithops, or is it the day length and temperature cycles, so when we grow them in united states they follow north American winter and summer cycles?? o.O

Gabby, day length and temp cycles. Just think summer and winter. I've seen care instructions from people in S. Africa who refer to months instead of seasons. That's when it gets very confusing for us in the N. hemisphere. So, flowering season is upon us up here for the plants that decide to do that.

For my indoor plants, under lights, it more day length then anything, since my room temps dont flucutate that much from month to month. I have my lights set on a smart plug that controls the time my lights are on based on the days sunrise and sunset. At this time of year my light are on for about 2 minutes less then each previous day.

Noyade - Cool use of a smart plug! My smart plugs don't have that nifty feature.

We finally got a cool break in temperature. Indoors we opened the windows the past few days and 'stored up the cold' for this hotter weekend:

And for roughly the same period outdoors:

ewwmayo, I currently use Kasa Smart Plug Mini (HS105) just for that feature. I wasn't really thinking about the plants when I bought it but more what the neighbors might think if the lights stayed on past sundown, since my setup is close to a basement room window with no blinds. Works great!

I use this big huge timer that's not easy to program and I could be using one of those little things? I'll be looking into that.

Off-color Lithops seedling.

Lithops optica 'Rubra'

Yet another Titanopsis seedling photo.

I have been reading climate data on various areas in south africa and I think I got it figure out. I kept reading "summer" or "winter" rainfall but also that they can be "dormant" in summer or winter and I wasn't grasping it but it looks like it rains when the temperatures are more mild, like it doesn't rain much during the hottest summer months. And humidity in general was way higher than I thought it would be, which is good to know that it isn't inherently a problem.

a less stone-y member of family... Sceletium rigidum, I went back and forth on getting this one and I am really happy I did. I am rooting these cuttings so fingers crossed.

Gabby, it depends on where you mean. In summer rainfall areas, it's the rain that brings temperatures down. Basically the shape of the continent and the fact that there is a cold ocean on one side and a warm ocean on the other determines the rain patterns, Western side Atlantic cold ocean=winter rain, Eastern side, warm Indian ocean=summer rain. Central areas get sparse rain pretty much at any time. The pressure cells shift Northwards as the land mass heats up and the ocean fronts bring the rain inland.

Actually, most plants grow in spring and autumn, before it gets too hot or cold and go dormant in the season that it doesn't rain in their habitat but winter for us is only really about 2 months out of the year.

Depending on whether they are from a winter or summer rainfall area will determine whether you will kill them by watering too much in their off-season. Some hate cold wet roots and others hate hot wet roots

Noyade - I actually have two HS105's and one HS110 for checking power consumption around the house (grow lights, fans, and other things). Had no idea they had a sunrise to sunset function, haha. Might try that when I bring my other succulents in for the winter this year.

Right now I only have a few trays of struggling/rooting plants indoors so my lights are just 7hrs per day right now.

Outdoors my Mesembs are starting to enjoy the cooler days and surprisingly haven't had any issues with the high humidity. This Aloinopsis schooneesii was a bit beat up and bare last year but has filled out now:

Today a very small one. Conophytum minutum?

Gibbaeum heathii seedlings. The one on the left is a runt.

These will be good!

My phyllobolus prasinus has woken up

My other Pleiospilos simulans has bloomed. The flower is more yellow on this plant. The flower opens around 4pm and is closed by 7pm, and lasts for about a week.

Fenestreria seedlings are doing well. Outer leaves stressed from potting are still there and new ones are coming in well.

Frithia that pretty much got over some sort of fungus now has white stuff on it. I don't think it's just minerals from tap water. I don't usually get any water on them.

Fenestreria seedlings doing well. Older leaves got stressed when potted, but all the younger ones are really growing well.

Frithia seedlings, after getting over some sort of fungus, now have some white stuff on them. Not mineral deposits I don't think.

Did you spray any fungicide on them at the time? Some of those leave a white residue

Nik, I only used the sun and fan, along with removing a leaf that had the most damage. Could it be powdery mildew? I've had that on a couple of more tropical type plants indoors, but nothing this year.

Powdery mildew is mainly a euphorbia problem. But anything is possible, I guess

I doubt it then. I may have had some on an African Violet that was near it; that's why I was wondering. Only other one I ever had powdery mildew on was a Viola plant that I had overwintering from outdoors last year.

How are your Frithia doing now?

Nights are cool now and this Stomatium is really out of control!

Rabiea difformis going crazy too:

And some Titanopsis calcarea seedling progress:

How are your Frithia doing now?
Nights are cool now and this Stomatium is really out of control!

Rabiea difformis going crazy too:

And some Titanopsis calcarea seedling progress:

Frithia seems to be doing well. New growth is still coming in. I finally got some real fungicide (copper). Mixed it with rain water and after spraying and a fan on it, the white stuff is gone now, whatever it was. I hate buying stuff to make 48 gallons when I only need a tiny amount in a little spray bottle. Same with insecticide, but I'm now armed and dangerous.

Thanks for the photos. Titanopsis looks great. I want to buy more seeds of more species.

Does anyone recognize the one on the right? It's a real mystery. I don't think it's a Cheiridopsis. I realize I'll probably just have to wait until it's bigger. I didn't realize the translucence of the one on the left (Lithops probably) until just now.

They really do get going once it cools down. Looking good, Kevin.

Jeff, that probably is a lithops.

I sowed some Cheiridopsis glomerata seeds a few weeks ago. Completely the wrong season in the Southern hemisphere but they have germinated nicely. I have noticed that mesemb seeds that germinate out of season will develop the first set of leaves and then not do much more than that but it is possible to get them through summer and they will get growing again once the weather cools. The Conophytum bilobum seeds didn't germinate at all. This is the first time I bought seed from this particular seller and the only seeds that were any good were the glomeratas. I think I have an Adromischus marianae coming up although it's still too early to tell what it is. I am not likely to use this seller again, though. He has a minimum order policy and most of the seeds were not viable or too old.

Faucaria tigrina

Jeff - I have a big container of sulphur and have only used it a few times. Most unpleasant was the day I spilled it on my shorts, which I brushed off with my hands, which ended up smelling bad all day even after washing!

Kara - Nice Lithops with the speckles. Is it a fulviceps?

Jealous for your Cheiridopsis peculiaris. Mine died!

I found that my Rabiea can be a bit finicky when flowering and is quick to abandon buds. It's flowered for me a few times this year. Good luck with yours and hopefully mine will continue to bloom.

My Cheiridopsis peculiaris seedling is slowing down, so I'm going to cut back more on water. C. glomeratas are still growing a lot. I believe they're spring/winter growers. ?

Ugly little beast.

I find that my mesembs abandon buds if they aren't getting enough sun at the right time of day. Quite a few of them want direct midday sun or they wont develop fully, or they develop but won't open.

Aloinopsis malherbii, this one is doing ok with me. Finally repotted it a few weeks ago.

See what you started, Kara: I bought a Cheiridopsis peculiaris at the JSS and almost killed it getting it home because I didn't pack the box well and the plants in gravelly mixes vibrated loose and there were things bouncing around all over the place. Peculiaris didn't bounce out but I was worried that it had been bruised but it seems ok. I was reading this which explains the summer/winter leaf arrangement https://janemming.com/2017/12/02/south-african-oddity-cheiridopsis-peculiaris/ so mine is already into it's summer leaves although it's still officially spring

Also, this one is long, should I start a new thread or are we done with it?

Please start a new thread as part 2 with the same title. We're (I'm) not done by any means.

I just put in an order to Mesa Garden for Lithops, Faucaria, Titanopsis, Cactus and Euphorbia horrida seeds. No more seed mixes.

It's great to see a photo of a young peculiaris. Mine is just starting to look like that. And thanks for the link. Edit: what a fantastic web site.

Nice plant Nik;)! I’ve roughed up a few plants on the drive home.

Start a new thread please. I think there are plenty of mesembs lovers to keep this thing goin. I’m lovin all the pics!

The link you gave looks good. I haven’t read the article yet, but the pictures are beautiful. In some of the pics you can really see how these plants are perfectly mimicking their environment. It would fun to go searching for them in their natural habitat because they blend in so well. It’d be a Where’s Waldo but the mesemb version.

I always say cactus are #1, but mesembs are definitely #2.

It is fun and difficult finding them in habitat if they aren't flowering.

Ok page 2 is [here[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/lets-talk-mesembs-part-2-dsvw-vd~5513792)

I have to confess that I've been spending some time on some Facebook pages devoted to mesembs and not enough here. Each has its own strengths. The one devoted only to Lithops fills in some gaps. I'll try to converse here a little more. I've learned a whole lot from this thread.