Lithops leslei 'Albinica'
14th September 2013
It is easy to fall for the charms of Lithops. I have done it repeatedly but they are not the easiest things
to please without the help of a heated greenhouse. I have killed a number over the years when the frost got to them
but I am having another go.
L. leslei 'Albinica' has a single location in South Africa, near Warrenton in the Northern Cape. It has white flowers
and greenish bodies marked with yellow ochre. It probably experiences occasional frosts in habitat and I have managed to
convince myself that if it is dry in the Agave house, then it might survive. Well, I have convinced myself that there is
enough of a slight possibility to be worth trying one more time. I am also considering placing a large rock behind it to act
as a thermal store. In a climate that was reliably sunny in the winter it would help but if you don't get any sun it is
difficult to store the heat from it.
This is an experiment and it is unlikely to be an unqualified success, but young lithops are easily and cheaply available
and if it dies I might still try another experiment next year.
30th May 2014