Haworthia are small succulents native to the southern part of Africa. They can look similar to aloes, but are distinguished by their flowers.

Haworthias can reproduce by seed, or by forming pups.

General Care

I have found the haworthia quite tolerant of my initial unwilling attempts to kill it. As with other succulents, you will want to place your haworthia in a brightly lit spot.

I have one plant in a bright spot, and the other two in an unforgiving, west-facing window. If you plan to place your plant in such a harsh light, I would suggest either gradually moving them there (a few hours each day in the spot, increasing in time each day) or moving it in winter, and allowing the change in seasons to do the work for you.

The most dangerous situation is too much water. Do not allow your plant to sit in a saucer or cache pot of water, and always allow them to fully drain after watering.

Flowering & Pups

The flowers of the haworthia are small and bell-shaped. They emerge as an inflorescence (a long stem with flowers on its length) that can each considerable lengths.

I first noticed the inflorescence on one of my haworthias on 8 October. At this point, it had already come 4cm from the centre of the plant. By 21 October, the inflorescence had reached full length and was blooming along its length. The blooms lower on the stalk were the first to open up, followed by those closer to the tip. By 18 November, all the flowers had finished blooming and had fallen off.

My haworthia that did not flower has produced four pups, one of which I have removed from the parent. A pup is an offset plant that grows off of the parent plant. I will feature a post on transplanting various pups in the coming weeks. Pups can be removed from the parent plant when they have a root system strong enough to support them.

Problems

As is generally the case, watering is where you are most likely to go wrong. Plants can get used to a lot of things, but it does not mean that they will thrive in every condition that they can tolerate. When I first got my original haworthia, three years ago, I thought that a succulent would not require as much watering. Luckily, under watering is a lot easier on a succulent than over watering. Under watering will lead to “crispiness” of the tips of the leaves, and eventually death. The easy fix, obviously, is to just water the plant properly. This will involve thoroughly watering the pot, then allowing excess water to drain away, and not sit in a cache pot or saucer.

Another issue you may come across is the plant turning a dark brown/purple. The markings on the plant may also yellow. This is generally a stress colouring, and is caused by too much sun and/or not enough water. The darker colouring will usually resolve when conditions are bettered, but the yellowing, in my experience, is permanent.

My Plant

Both of the haworthias that I currently own are of the haworthia attenuata variety. This variety grows from a point in the centre and features thin, long, fleshy leaves. New growth comes from the centre of the plant. The distinguishing feature of the attenuata variety is the white markings that form along the leaves.