Hi there does anyone know what this succulent is? I am not sure if it is a lithop? I went through lots of google pictures but no luck.
I picked this one up and few more from stall outside someones house.


Thanks

Gasteria (a relative of the aloes). Hummingbird magnet in season. They will grow bigger if you separate them from each other and their pups.

Brilliant thanks @Baja_Costero. So much to learn! Will go ahead and separate

Hi Monique,

Personally, I don't separate mine. I like the "crowded all in one pot" look.

To each her own, of course! In all fairness you will probably never have a solitary plant no matter how many times you remove the pups... it's just a matter of time before they return. Which is why I wait until I repot to reduce the head count. It's easier then anyway.

Here's an example of what I mean. I have nursed this seedling along for a few years now and recently repotted it into a 10" (3 gallon) can (removing all the offsets but 1 tiny one). Its already sprouting more. But you only know how big these plants can get when you give them room to grow. This one is way bigger than its mother or father.

Awesome photos @Baja_Costero. What an interesting looking plant. I would have never thought that those two small things of mine would end up looking like that. Really interested to see what they would look like crowded into one pot, so thanks for the tip. I will probably keep them together now but re pot them into something bigger.

I haven't repotted a plant before, and have heard that for succulents you are meant to remove the older roots and let the plant dry out before repotting. Is this right for succulents, and for aloes? Sorry have zero knowledge when it comes to repotting

In the simplest case you can repot by removing the plant with the entire root ball intact, soil and all, and dropping it into a bigger pot with more soil. If there's no root damage (no disruption of the root ball) in the process then you can water right away or whenever it's convenient. I have heard advice to separate and prune roots but never seen the need to do it. The more you manhandle the roots, the longer you should wait until watering. Up to about a week or two.

If you repot regularly (to the next size up but no bigger) then there's no need to prune or mess with the roots. Better left alone really, in the short term anyway.

Leaving succulents out of soil is something you might consider after taking a cutting, or if there's some kind of bugs you want to get rid of down there. As a general rule you can bare-root agaves and leave them out of the soil (in the shade) for a week or two. Most other kinds of succulents would prefer to be in the soil after you separate them or whatever. Regular potting soil is a bit moist (not bone dry anyway) and that's enough to keep the roots from desiccating until you water.

Thanks so much for the help, you have saved me from having to search through the internet or find the right book just to get a fraction of that advice

Glad that I don't have to separate and prune the roots, I would not have known where to start and because i only have a few plants (just started collecting) I don't want to risk losing/damaging any.

Makes sense about the watering now that you explained it. Thanks for clarifying!

I wouldn't have a clue what this is either, picked it up from the same place. Sorry I should stop picking up random plants, just can't help myself

The name escapes me, but it looks like a species of Sempervivum, a hen & chicks variety.... the one that makes "cobwebs."

Yes.

Monique, I'm glad you find the advice helpful. I am just trying to put my experience to work for you (along with others doing the same).

Here is another hybrid Gasteria to compare to the one above. Perhaps a little more like your plants. It is a sibling of the larger plant above (same mother same father) just a different throw of the dice by mother nature.

That's a cutie. An interesting variation in genes. I have one similar to Monique's in a multi-planter. But if that's going to hinder it's growth, I need to separate mine. Thanks for mentioning that.

Nice! I like both variations, I am interested to see what my one turns out like.

I think I have to learn the art of patience when it comes to plants/gardening. I just want everything to grow 10 x quicker than what they are!

Thanks @Hamwild for getting me on the right track with my other unknown plant. There are so many pictures on google to scroll through when trying to get a hint of where to start searching!

Hi @Moniquenz your second plant does look like a Sempervivum and if so they don't like growing inside, they're an alpine succulent meaning mountains, so they like wind, sun and cold. Keep that one outside in a pot large enough to accommodate babies and you'll be rewarded!
Here is one of mine with offsets which is why they are called 'hens and chicks'

Love that hen and chicks, Greg! I'll have to give them another try. I had them planted outside in NM, but they were eaten by the deer and rabbits, which surprised me.

I love that picture @gg5! Thanks for the advice too. We had a long weekend due to a public holiday so I re-potted all my succulents into bigger pots and made outside window-sill extensions for my succulents (out of the reach of my dogs). I wasn't going to put this hens and chicks outside but now I will. I didn't realise that you could get alpine succulents. I am interested to see if they go ok here because we live in a warmer climate.

Monique, often these cold hardy succulents (like semps and other alpine succulents) get mixed in with the tender succulents, and they don't thrive. The needs for these 2 groups of plants are very different, they both like to be watered less than tropical plants, but one wants cool temps, and the other warm.
Personally I no longer plant these together. There are enough varieties of each type of plant to fill containers with what you want.
To answer your question about will they do okay where you live - if your temps get above 24c and it is sunny, I'd provide some shade. They can handle full sun when the temperatures are less. Also they need a cold period to get the pretty colors. In warmer temps that don't get below 8c they probably will be green. But they will produce offsets and could be healthy, just not the interesting color changes that happen when they get colder temps.
@plantmanager I think with your summers they'd need a lot of shade and whatever you could do to provide some cooling. But they'd love your winters!

@plantmanager I think with your summers they'd need a lot of shade and whatever you could do to provide some cooling. But they'd love your winters!
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I don't think they'd do well in my Arizona place at all. I was thinking of trying them in NM where I'm at 6500 ft and we have decent summers and fairly cold winters.

Oh yes they'd probably love that climate! I have noticed that the semps do better for me in one location rather than the other here in Seattle (I have mine in 2 different places) one is right here at my apartment, and because of the buildings and the proximity to the Puget Sound, there is almost like a wind tunnel, and always a breeze, they seem to really like that. Wind is something I've rarely thought about in terms of a plants needs - so it has been interesting to notice this. Of course not everything else is the same so it could easily be other things - but I do think they like lots of airflow.