In the wild, these plants grow in very harsh conditions and are commonly found buried in sand. Sometimes a knife isn't even needed as the offset will be loose like a wobbly tooth and just come away naturally with a small tug. After all, they want to get away from their parent! Your plant might have accidentally had its tips knocked at some point, or it's placed in an area with very dry air, such as near a heat source like a radiator. They grew on me slowly. Help with Haworthia - no roots, dying from lack of water. Eventually, I caved to the "cuteness" and brought a few that were on sale (see above). Strong sunlight scorches leaves, causing them to turn brown. If the plant is a columnar plant, this can be achieved by lopping off the top, which can be rooted, producing another plant. Some growers plant in very large pots and simply put a bunch of plants in large pots and even in trays, taking up about the same space per plant as smaller pots would. The flowers will normally appear in Summer months on the end of a long stem (inflorescence) if they've been treated well during the year. Leaves Turning Yellow Yellow leaves on haworthia are often a result of too much sun, as are red or white leaves. To create the ideal growing medium for Haworthia succulents, mix potting soil with perlite, pumice, or small pieces of gravel. The best remedy is to repot your cleaned plant and keep it in a shaded area and keep the soil on the dry side. The soil, and its moisture holding capacity, must be considered when watering. Haworthia species like warm temperatures between 70 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and cool temperatures down to 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter. Then pot up in a small container using a standard potting or cactus compost mix. The variety pictured below is Haworthia mirabilis mundula, which Ive got in a teeny tiny pot. This is a very slow growing variety, so these are great in little pots or small repurposed items like teacup planters. I would point out that in most instances some degree of leaf browning is normal. Pale leaves could mean that the plant needs more nitrogen or is getting too much sun. The roots will eventually die from a lack of oxygen Make sure you are watering only when the soil has dried out, and never leave your plant in waterlogged soil. I sift the big sticks and rocks from my regular potting soil and use this finer soil for germination. Undemanding and easy yes, but the pay off is that they don't grow very fast and at times can have an almost artificial and alien look about them. Haworthia succulents grow best in a well-draining cactus potting mix. The trick here is to get a bit of the stem tissue when you remove the leaf. A small unglazed clay container is ideal because it will allow excess soil moisture to escape through its walls. Pot these roots into a slightly moist, very fine vermiculite, leaving the top half centimeter of the root exposed. Haworthia care: Water and soil preferences. After all, they want to get away from their parent! It still makes me sad, because this was such a cool-looking plant! Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: Excessive watering can cause root rot. The only caveat here is to be careful during cold wet winters, as a dead plant from rot can occur in days, while a dead plant from lack of water takes months and months and can be revived until the very end. Shake off excess dirt from the roots and prune off any dead roots. He had devoted to building a comprehensive web database of Haworthia species with photos taken from his greenhouse. Haworthia needs low humidity to grow well. To spot pests that can lurk in the tightly packed, spiky succulent leaves, this is what you should look out for: Use a neem solution or insecticidal soap to get rid of pests from Haworthia succulents. Similar to other succulents, these low-growing plants need plenty of light and little moisture. in Summer. The trick to controlling fungus gnats is to understand their life cycle. I also treat the soil with Malathion Insecticide, which kills the maggots. Youll quickly realize this if you start to research exactly what type of haworthia plant you have and realize that plants that look exactly the same have different names. When your plants are in full bloom, you should have a pollinating instrument ready. Haworthias are free of most pests with one common exception: mealybugs. Many have very interestingly shaped colored or patterned leaves. They also tend to look brilliant in unusual containers or interesting soil mixes. After all, they want to get away from their parent! You want to remove the baby with roots attached. Flowers in their first day will not yield pollen because the pollen hasnt ripened yet. To care properly for your Haworthia succulent, make sure to plant it in a well-draining soil. (Older leaves near the base of the plant dont root as well.) For gardeners, they are easy to grow, preferring a well-draining soil mix. Drainage holes in the container are essential for good drainage. Plant in a small pot with succulent soil. Rooting hormones can help speed this process up especially for pups without roots. Use a sharp knife and cut as close to the parent plant as possible, ensure the offset has some roots. Whilst Haworthias are normally small plants, they can still make a huge impact. As a general rule, a Haworthias growth is always best in bright, warm conditions. Haworthia succulents are a large and diverse genus of plants in the asphodelaceae family, asphodeloideae subfamily, aloeae tribe. Feeding Try to fertilise once every three months when it's growing. Haworthia propagation is straightforward because pups grow around the mother plant. If some of the side roots and bottom parts a leaf are also cut, dont worry, as that is almost unavoidable. Because where you grow your Haworthias will determine how you approach these issues. Don't feed during the fall and winter. In fact, they like being quite snug in their pots. If you have a haworthia plant that is not growing, it could be due to several reasons: It needs more light - if your haworthia houseplant has been grown with insufficient lighting for some time, then it will stop growing. There are around 150 species of Haworthia plants which are in the plant family Asphodelaceae. I don't use a rooting hormone, just mist every now and then, and eventually they start to grow roots. When the temperature is hot or the plants are in strong sunlight, make sure there is plenty of airflow. Haworthia propagation is straightforward because pups grow around the mother plant. They don't need much fuss or care and can even go many weeks without water if required. Remove any flowers or buds that are present on the cutting. For Haworthia to flower regularly indoors, growing conditions must be optimal. my privacy policy. One thing to keep in mind with caring for Haworthia species is that intense sunlightsuch as midday suncan damage the thick, fleshy leaves. Use a terra-cotta clay pot if you live in a colder wet climate and a plastic pot if your area is hot and dry. These plants generally stay small, producing pups or babies as their main growth (as opposed to growing up or out). There are many varying Haworthia types, and it is difficult to describe them in general. guide to propagating succulents from leaves and cuttings. Remember that a succulent growing in dry or slightly damp soil is better than letting it sit in prolonged wet soil. They are very hardy and resilient to pest infestations. Compared to some other species of succulents or cacti, Haworthia fasciata Zebra Plants have a relatively low growth rate. Use a clean, sharp knife to separate if needed. I don't use a rooting hormone, just mist every now and then, and eventually they start to grow roots. If you decide to fertilize these succulents, use a cactus balanced fertilizer thats diluted to at least half-strength. The haworthia genus is not a well-understood genus, though. Common Haworthia species include the Haworthiopsis fasciata (Zebra plant) with striped spiky leaves, the small Haworthia angustifolia, the Haworthia retusa (Star cactus), and the Haworthia bayeri with fleshy leaves and spectacular markings. Water should be applied very lightly, then after waiting from 3 to 12 months you should see 90% of the roots will produce one or more offsets! Check boxes below for what you want to seeI won't send you Haworthia truncata (left) and Haworthia bayeri (right). Move it to a To improve soil drainage, mix the soil with perlite, aquarium gravel, or pumice. Haworthia is a succulent that belongs to the same family as aloe. Dip the cutting into rooting hormone powder and insert it into a moist potting mix. The tip of the cut stem should be kept about 1/2 cm above soil level. If it receives too much sunlight, it will turn a deep red showing it is stressed or turn white and dry up. Haworthia is a relatively slow-grower, and most species remain small. These factors include the following: Related reading: How to water houseplants properly. Haworthia limifolia, also known as the fairy washboard succulent, has more subdued markings and larger leaves. Make sure you try your best to keep water out of the crown or rosette of the plant, in cool temperatures doing this will again encourage rotting. As a Team, we've almost 50 years of hands-on experience and various horticulture skills. Related reading: How to get rid of houseplant bugs naturally. Note that the divisions among these genus are still being debated. Yellow leaves on haworthia are often a result of too much sun, as are red or white leaves. Water with a fine rose until the soil is wet but don't overwater as this will cause rot. To revive a dying Haworthia plant, find the reason for its weak growth. I fertilize with a 1/4 strength solution of 20-20-20 ( nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium). Although these mini succulents are low-maintenance plants, there are a few things you need to get right. Be very careful not to damage the main plant when propagating pups. All thats necessary is to separate the offsets and plant in fresh potting soil. If you keep Haworthia succulents on a bright windowsill, you shouldnt have to worry about the temperature. However, regardless of how hard you try, you will get sick plants. That interest was put on hold for 22 years when the job required him to move and leave the greenhouse behind. This is done because as the capsules ripen they dry and spill their seeds. Gently wiggle and twist the baby plant away from the mother. Water Haworthia plants when the soil dries and keep humidity levels average. Then wait for a week or more before checking to see if the Haworthia needs watering again. Once the pup is dry it can be planted on its own. adelaidensis Soil. Are you overwatering your plants? The haworthia mirabilis variety looks a bit different. Expect slow growth. If you have a haworthia plant that is not growing, it could be due to several reasons: It needs more light - if your haworthia houseplant has been grown with insufficient lighting for some time, then it will stop growing. WebHold the Haworthia with one hand and place soil into the pot around the Haworthia. The exception here is a newly acquired tender plant that needs to harden up. If you have your haworthia plants indoors, bright indirect light will be great. If you divide the plant and remove a number of the offsets to reduce the overall size of the clump you can probably just reuse the existing pot / container. The idea is to create an environment for your Haworthia that will allow the plant to dry out after it has been watered, as remaining wet for too long will cause root rot during periods of dormancy. However, the rule here is to fertilized only with a dilute fertilizer, and only when the Haworthias are in active growth, such as the spring and in the fall. Forced offsetting is a method that you can use to force a solitary plant to produce offsets. The natural cooler temperatures found in an unheated or guest room during Winter are perfect because this plant likes to rest at that time of year. And the horizontal white stripes give the zebra succulent a Basically all that was missing was a sticker summarising everything the sellers had put together by simply saying "I'm cute. I just set mine on a windowsill for a few days. Remove any brown, soft stems and also trim off any dark-colored leaves. For mine, thats about once every 1.5 weeks in the hotter months and about once a month in the winter. The photo below shows what, at first glance, looks like just one plant, but if you look at the base you can see it's actually two individual plants. Then slowly remove a layer at a time at three week intervals to allow the plant to adjust to the hot sun. Move to a shady spot and if the damage isn't too bad these colourings will fade over time. If done at the beginning of the growing season, which is also the best time, the chance of seeing babies coming out from the stem and the tip of any cut roots is around 90%, as long as your are careful with water, thus preventing rot. WebI've taken lots of babies off my haworthia cuspidata with no roots and they're all doing fine. To encourage blooming, keep the plants in the shade during winter and hold off watering. #3: Gently brush the soil from the roots and separate the offsets roots from the parent plants roots. If your Haworthia has a leaf that has died, simply wait for the leaf to dry out completely and pull if off If you are having a fungus gnat problem, your soil is probably too wet, so back off on the watering. It will also form a barrier that discourages fungus gnats from laying their eggs in the wet soil. Wait a day for the offset to dry slightly this reduces the chances of the raw "wound" from rotting when added to compost. Top dressing is a layer of stones or gravel that give the soil a nice appearance. #4: Find where the offset is connected to the parent plant and gently cut them apart. I like this varietyit is so easy, and I like how it grows straight up. Cooperative Extension, which staffs local offices in all 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Haworthia plants thrive in bright, indirect sunlight. Next place the leaf in a warm shady area in a pot whos soil that is kept slightly moist. Haworthias are plants I'd seriously recommend that beginners try and experienced houseplant owners need to own. There is another way, and that is to get seed from your own Haworthias. Jon VanZile was a writer for The Spruce covering houseplants and indoor gardening for almost a decade. We are sorry. WebHaworthia coarctata var. This inspection should check every crack and crevasse to see if you can find and eliminate any mealy bugs, especially in the roots. Just don't be too aggressive! Opaque, stiff, linear leaves with white spots on only the bottoms. This coincided with the last update of The Plant List, which outlined 150 species of haworthia. After a few weeks, give the cutting a gentle tug to see if it has started to root. They should be squished, squashed, and smashed at every opportunity, an activity in which you should take glee! If you look back on how the plant has been watered over the last few months you should be able to judge which is the cause and adjust. It could be easier to think of them as Desert Cacti when it comes to their needs in these areas. I use a toothpick to make a hole for the root, then pick the seedling up with the toothpick and poke its root into the hole, packing the soil around the root with the toothpick. All in all, propagating haworthia is not too difficult. Most varieties of haworthia have striking vertical spiky succulent leaves that are packed together in tight rosettes. Or, a cut leaf will root and grow in soil. Place the soil loosely around the roots and then pack it down by striking on the side and by gently packing around the plant until the soil is firm and the Haworthia is comfortably potted. I never see a healthy, good looking plant with root loss. As well as all the other positive traits about the Haworthia, another bonus is that it's not poisonous to people, cats or dogs. adelaidensis Soil. Haworthia is an easy plant to grow both outdoors in its hardiness zones and indoors in a container. Its not unusual for Haworthia pups to die after a rough re-potting. Too much humidity can cause moisture issues with Haworthia succulents and cause root rot. Water these plants sparingly. For the first few days open the baggie just a little, allowing a bit of dryer air inside. Place the pot under the bench, preferably inside a greenhouse where the humidity is a high. Generally easy to grow, the same best practices that yield healthy aloe and echeveria plants will also produce beautiful haworthia plants. In winter, you only need to water these succulent plants every other month. Rather than water these succulent plants on a regular schedule, only water when the soil is dry. neither direct sunlight or deep shade. To rid your plants of a nasty infestation, it is often necessary to drench the soil with Malathion weekly for 3 to 5 weeks. Fungus Gnats grow and breed in moist organic soil. Choose a healthy, young leaf. It needs more water - haworthia plants grown in soil will not tolerate dry soil for very long. I have had mine in a variety of lighting conditions; some conditions even get bright direct sunlight through a window for a portion of the day. WebWhen you repot your Haworthia you can separate the offsets from the parent. Thank you for your feedback! The roots will eventually die from a lack of oxygen Make sure you are watering only when the soil has dried out, and never leave your plant in waterlogged soil. After about 10 days, these maggots pupate and then emerge as gnats. Markings and coloring depends heavily on the variety, but all varieties are very easy to care for! This gives Haworthia time to rest and get ready for growing again in the spring. Direct sunlight will make the leaves of all Haworthia's go an ugly red, purple or brown colour. Gently shake the plant to see if any pups fall off by themselves. In fact, they do quite well in dry indoor air. Usually caused by overwatering, or when water is allowed to pool in the crown or between the leaf voids. Haworthia species are slow-growing houseplants that rarely need repotting. A successful Leaf cutting will result in growing a new plant (sometimes several plants) from a single leaf. Water and keep warm. The seeds are quite small, and you need to handle them carefully. WebExcessive watering can cause root rot. This works if I am careful not to water when I expect an extended cold or cloudy period. Too much water will lead to root rot and will kill them. When I find even one mealy bug in my collection, I assume there are many more, and I treat the entire collection with a systemic insecticide. When watering a zebra Haworthia or other succulent species, dont be afraid to soak the soil. Haworthias are small plants (usually remaining between 3 and 5 inches tall), and they are relatively slow-growing. Cutting and Rooting Haworthia Leaves The ideal time to utilize this method of haworthia propagation is at the end of the dormancy period or the beginning of the growing season. Haworthia fasciata (zebra succulents) dont survive in soggy, overly-moist soil. The Little Zebra Plant is a slow growing succulent, but has a long life span of up to 50 years. Looking for haworthia care tips? They can be damaged when temperatures fall to 40 degrees Fahrenheit and lower. But in all likelihood, the damage in most cases is confined to the very tips of the leaves and it could just be a case of not needing to do anything other than snipping the brown ends off. It took me posting it to Tiktok a few months ago asking for plant ID help to figure out it was a coarctata. Haworthia, on the other hand, tend to have translucent epidermal windows on the tops of the leaves. Haworthia is a succulent that belongs to the same family as aloe. WebStep 5: Optional: Dip the pup in rooting hormone before planting. One method used by Joseph Cheng on retused and truncata species involves a process that will give good results. In general, the best advice is to buy the most attractive variety that appeals to you based on leaf form and markings, as they all have similar cultural requirements. Much like the current Air Plant trend, I felt it was all very unnatural. I usually prefer a succulent soil mix for rooting purposes. Use a sharp knife and cut as close to the parent plant as possible, ensure the offset has some roots. Feeding two or three times a year is probably plenty. You will have to use your own judgment here. However, as your healthy plant produces new baby plants over the years, it will begin to outgrow its pot. If you have a haworthia plant that is not growing, it could be due to several reasons: It needs more light - if your haworthia houseplant has been grown with insufficient lighting for some time, then it will stop growing.