Plant care
Olive Living Stonetemperature & humidity
Lithops olivacea
More about olive living stone
Ideal temperature for olive living stone
Olive Living Stone is comfortable in any room a person is comfortable in, roughly 10-30°C (50-86°F). The mistakes are micro-climates: a north-facing window on a frosty night, a south-facing windowsill in a summer heatwave, the standing draught between an opened kitchen door and the radiator behind it. Read the room around the plant, not the thermostat. Below roughly 10°C the damage starts — soft blackened patches, translucent leaves, sometimes overnight.
Cold tolerance & winter care
Olive Living Stone is frost-tender (USDA 10-11 (indoor-only in most climates), RHS H1c). It cannot survive a frost, so in most of the US and UK it lives indoors year-round or summers outside and comes back in well before the first autumn frost — once nights drop toward 10-12°C is the cue, not the first frost warning. Acclimate it over a week when moving between indoors and out so the leaves do not shock.
Humidity for olive living stone
Olive Living Stone sits happiest at around 20-40% relative humidity. Prefers dry indoor air. Normal household humidity levels in a centrally heated home are suitable. Avoid positioning near sources of high humidity. Good ventilation helps prevent the fungal issues that can accompany even brief periods of excess moisture. The usual low-humidity tell is crisp brown leaf tips and edges while the soil moisture is fine — a sign the air, not the watering, is the problem. If you need to raise it, the reliable methods are grouping plants together, standing the pot on a tray of damp pebbles (the pot above the waterline, never in it), or running a small humidifier in winter when indoor heating dries the air most. Misting is the least effective — it raises humidity for minutes, not hours.
Olive Living Stone temperature & humidity — frequently asked questions
What temperature is best for olive living stone?
Olive Living Stone grows best between 10-30°C (50-86°F). Keep it out of cold draughts, off freezing windowsills in winter, and away from the hot dry air directly above radiators — the extremes matter far more than the average room temperature.
How cold can olive living stone tolerate?
Olive Living Stone starts to suffer below roughly 10°C. It is frost-tender and will be damaged or killed by a frost, so bring it indoors once nights fall toward 10-12°C.
What humidity does olive living stone need?
Olive Living Stone prefers about 20-40% relative humidity. Prefers dry indoor air. Normal household humidity levels in a centrally heated home are suitable. Avoid positioning near sources of high humidity. Good ventilation helps prevent the fungal issues that can accompany even brief periods of excess moisture.
How do I raise humidity for olive living stone?
Group it with other plants, stand the pot on a tray of damp pebbles (kept above the waterline), or run a small humidifier in winter. Misting only helps for a few minutes, so it is the weakest option for a plant that genuinely needs more humidity.
Can olive living stone live outside?
Olive Living Stone is rated for USDA zone 10-11 (indoor-only in most climates) and RHS hardiness H1c. Outside that range it must come indoors before the first frost — treat any outdoor stint as a summer holiday, not a permanent home.
More olive living stone care
In the UK? Keeping olive living stone warm in a UK home covers the radiator, single-glazing and heating-season humidity angle. Temperature and humidity are one piece. See the full olive living stone care guide, its cold-hardiness guide, and watering schedule — humidity and watering problems are easy to confuse.