Hello. I am a Lithops, often called a "living stone" due to my unique, pebble-like appearance. I hail from the harsh, arid deserts of southern Africa, and my entire being is a masterpiece of water conservation. When you overwater me, you disrupt my very nature. From my perspective, here are the signs that your care is too generous and what you can do to help me recover.
My main body is a pair of succulent leaves designed to hold a precise amount of water. Excess water manifests in several clear ways. First, I may become unusually swollen and bloated. My sides will bulge, and my fissure (the central slit) may gap open unnaturally as internal pressure becomes too great. My typically firm and slightly yielding texture will become mushy and soft to the touch, much like an overripe fruit. This is a sign that my cells are rupturing—a condition you call edema. Furthermore, my normally earthy, muted colors may turn yellow, translucent, or even brown. This translucency is a critical sign of cell death; the parts that turn clear are already dying and cannot be saved.
The damage you see on the outside is a direct result of the catastrophe occurring within my roots and stem. My roots are fine and delicate, evolved to seek out brief moisture and then quickly dry. Constant dampness robs them of oxygen and causes them to rot. This rot is a progressive condition; it starts in the roots and will travel upward into my body. Once this rot sets in, I can no longer absorb water or nutrients, even if I need them. Furthermore, the oversaturated soil creates a perfect environment for harmful fungal pathogens, which will aggressively attack my compromised tissues, accelerating my decline.
If you act quickly, there is hope. You must immediately stop all watering. Gently remove me from my wet soil, carefully brushing it away from my roots. This is a delicate operation. Inspect my roots and body thoroughly. Using a sterile, sharp tool, you must cut away any brown, black, or mushy roots and any soft, discolored parts of my body. This is essential to halt the spread of rot. After this surgery, leave me in a warm, dry, and airy place out of direct sunlight for several days to a week, allowing my wounds to callous over completely.
Once I have formed a good callous, repot me into a completely new, dry, and fast-draining soil mix. A specialized cactus and succulent mix with added perlite or pumice is ideal. The pot must have excellent drainage holes. Do not water me immediately after repotting. Wait for at least a week to allow my roots to settle and to encourage them to seek out moisture. From then on, you must learn my natural cycle. I only need water when my outer leaves have completely withered and been replaced by new ones from within, or when my body shows slight signs of wrinkling and deflation on the sides. In winter, during my dormant period, I require absolutely no water at all.
