General features of the plant, recommendations for growing Haworthia, advice on transplanting and reproduction, difficulties in cultivation, interesting facts, species. Haworthia (Haworthia) belongs to the genus of succulent plants, which are distinguished by their miniature, literally dwarf height. A succulent plant is a plant that stores moisture in its stems or leaves in order to survive periods of drought. They have a herbaceous growth. They are part of the Asphodeloideae subfamily, which is assigned to the Xanthorrhoeaceae family. This family was previously separate and was called the Asphodelovs. Many representatives of this species are grown precisely as indoor plants. The genus is named after the botanist and entomologist from England, Adrian Hardy Haworth, who lived in the 18th-19th centuries. The scientist was engaged in the study of the flora of tropical and subtropical regions of the African continent. The homeland of this striped cactus is considered to be the southern and southwestern regions of Africa, most of all it grew in the Cape province of South Africa. To date, up to 150 species of striped succulent are known. Basically, the plant is found in areas with arid climatic conditions, but Haworthia prefers to settle in shaded areas, for example, under high shrub thickets, under stones in grass plantings. Some species are so fond of sheltering in soil that from above only the tops of leaves are visible, flat in shape with transparent "windows".
Haworthia is a perennial that is stunted, but sometimes it can have a semi-shrub form of growth. The plant may not have a trunk or it may be very small in size. Even many years after the start of growth, Haworthia rarely exceeds a height of 10–12 cm. This succulent in most of its forms has short stems and excellent branching. The plant has numerous side shoots fluttering, as well as daughter rosettes from leaves.
The leaves of this unusual cactus, gathering into a rosette sometimes reaching almost 30 cm in diameter, in this way it reminds some growers of a giant green starfish, and to others an unusual octopus. The leaf plate of the Haworthia is characterized by deadlift on the upper side - that is, the leaf has a dihedral angle along its entire length along the surface, as in the bottom of a boat, but on the reverse side there is a bulge. The entire surface is leathery, as if covered with wrinkles, hard and dense to the touch, but at the same time quite fleshy. There are varieties with triangular leaf outlines. The top itself can be both narrowed and elongated to varying degrees, and its outline can be blunt, as if cut off with a knife.
The surface is very diverse in appearance - there are completely smooth forms, and with wart, which is formed by numerous hard outgrowths, going in two slender rows from both edges of the edge. The color of the leaf is also very diverse: there can be a reddish undertone, or a brown tint, a pale greenish tint, or a dark emerald with a bluish tint. Such forms of haworthia are called hard-leaved.
There are also so-called "window" varieties of Haworthia, that is, the leaves have areas with a transparent part of the leaf skin (epidermis), under which you can see tissue containing water. In this way, the plant is somewhat reminiscent of scarlet. The plant, to survive the drought, is submerged under the soil layer and "windows" help provide light to other parts of the cactus. The shape of the leaves of these varieties of Haworthia is very diverse and the color varies from light green to greenish brown. In its appearance, such a plant is similar to lithops.
There are herbaceous forms of haworthia, in which the leaves are collected in rosettes and the stem is absent in this form. The leaf plates are covered with cilia.
From the leaves of Haworthia, beautiful-looking rosettes are formed. From these rosettes, real sods are collected, which include root suckers of different ages. The flowering of the striped succulent is not at all attractive in terms of decorativeness. From the flowers are collected inflorescences-brushes, the buds have a cylindrical shape, from 6 petals, spliced at the bottom of the base. They are painted in whitish-green, pale pinkish shades. Inflorescences grow on a long flowering stem. It is recommended to immediately remove the peduncle, since some of the Haworthia species die after flowering.
In care, the plant is not at all fastidious and even a novice florist can handle it.
Recommendations for growing haworthia
- Lighting and location. Haworthia loves good lighting, although it is kept with constant diffuse, it needs 3-4 hours a day of bright sunlight to improve its decorative properties, they begin to accustom the succulent in spring so that the leaves do not burn. Shaded south windows and east or west windows will do. On the northern ones, you will have to arrange supplementary lighting with phytolamps.
- Content temperature for Haworthia, in the warm season, 15-25 degrees Celsius, and with the arrival of autumn and until March, it is recommended to lower the indicators to 10-12 degrees.
- Air humidity for a succulent it does not matter at all, therefore, even in the hottest months of the year, it is not required to spray the bush. With the arrival of constant heat, you can arrange "air" baths, bringing the haworthia to fresh air - a balcony, terrace or garden will do.
- Watering Haworthia. As soon as the soil in the pot is dry enough, water the plant. It is recommended not to allow the soil to become waterlogged. Watering must be carried out with warm, settled water. In winter, only 1-2 times a month.
- Fertilizer for succulent must be applied once a month during the spring-summer period. Apply feeding for cacti or succulents. In the winter and autumn months, the plant does not need fertilization.
- Transplantation and choice of substrate. The change of the pot and the substrate is carried out in the spring and only if the plant has grown a lot. It should be remembered that Haworthia feels better if the container is a little constrained by it. The container is chosen only slightly larger than the previous one; it should be flatter with a good drainage layer at the bottom.
The substrate for the normal growth of Haworthia should be slightly alkaline and poorly nutritious, with an acidity of pH 7–7.5, and have sufficient air and water permeability. You can buy ready-made mixtures for cacti and succulents, but many growers prepare it themselves. The soil for transplanting a succulent must be mixed from leafy, clay-soddy soil and river sand in a one-to-one ratio; you can use soil, humus and sand in the same proportions.
Self-breeding tips for Haworthia
You can get a new striped cactus using cuttings, planting "kids" or seed.
To root the "baby" (a small daughter outlet), it is necessary to remove the mother plant from the container and gently shake off the excess substrate. It is necessary to gradually separate the rosettes from the mother plant, only it is important to ensure that the “baby” has root shoots. Then, for disinfection, the root system of the delenka is treated with crushed activated or charcoal (sulfur can be used) and left to dry for several hours. Further, the delenki are planted in new pots, but it is necessary to fill it with soil so that there are no voids left in the container. To do this, they tap on the walls of the pot, as if tamping the soil. After planting, the haworthia is watered, and the next moistening is performed only after the soil has dried in the container.
Sometimes a daughter rosette appears directly on the flowering stem and a sharpened and disinfected knife is used to separate it. The "baby" is separated from the peduncle, and the place of the cut is powdered with activated charcoal, and left to dry. The young plant is planted in a pot with suitable soil, but watering is not required. Moisturizing is done only after a few days. Watering is carried out along the edge of the pot so that moisture does not get into the leaf outlet. It is necessary to fully water the plant when roots appear and Haworthia shows signs of development.
The seed should be placed in a suitable soil by gently pressing it into the soil. It is not worth moistening the soil and seeds. The first watering is done when several days have passed. In the future, the container with the landing is wrapped in polyethylene to create a mini-greenhouse. The temperature should not drop below 27 degrees, and partial shade is important. The first shoots will appear in 3-4 weeks.
Reproduction using a sheet plate at home is a rather long and laborious process.
Difficulties in cultivating striped succulents
A striped succulent is rarely of interest to pests, but nevertheless, a spider mite, aphid, mealybug or scabbard is affected. All harmful insects lead to the fact that the leaves begin to turn yellow and deform, a sticky or cotton-like bloom appears on the stem or leaf surface, but sometimes the pest is clearly visible to the naked eye (bugs). In this case, it is necessary to carry out the treatment with a soap, oil or alcohol solution. If sparing means did not have the desired result, then insecticides must be used. They can be "Aktellik", "Aktara", "Iskra-bio", "Neoron" and the like. It is then necessary to re-treat for preventive purposes after 10 days.
If the leaf plates of the plant began to fade, then it does not have enough illumination. Sometimes during the dormant period, the root system of Haworthia completely dies off and then, with the arrival of the time for the activation of growth, it is required to transplant the succulent into fresh soil. If the soil was too waterlogged or moisture got into the leaf outlet, the plant may die.
If the leaf plates began to stretch too much, and their tops bend inward, this indicates that the succulent during the winter dormancy is contained at high temperatures, it is necessary to reduce them to 10 degrees.
If the lower leaves began to easily separate and wither, then this provoked the flooding of the soil, it is necessary to dry the soil. And if the foliage has turned black and began to rot, this means that with high soil moisture, the air temperature is very low.
Interesting facts about Haworthia
Haworthia is considered a protective plant, it can distribute its positive energy to the environment. The striped succulent not only protects and multiplies positive waves in the room, but its actions are aimed at enhancing them and Haworthia does not allow these vibrations to be diffused.
If the owner notices that the plant has begun to grow poorly, it means that the succulent has given a lot of its own strength to fight against negative influences. And, alas, these negative emanations can be radiated by the person himself, such vibrations usually include hostility towards others, silent envy or fear. The same negativism tends to accumulate in a room if there are processes of open struggle, frequent conflicts and quarrels that can fill relationships in a family or a team.
Therefore, after neutralizing negative emotional vibrations, Haworthia already lacks its own strength for its growth. This plant, as a selfless Samaritan, sacrifices itself in the name of his neighbors, demonstrating a vivid example of self-sacrifice.
It is better to place a striped cactus in the kitchen or on the desktop, it helps to increase mental activity, and gives others strength, fills with positive energy. It is easy and joyful for a person to work. It is not advisable to install a havortia pot in a bedroom or children's room.
The antiseptic properties of the plant are considered more prosaic. If a cut occurs, it is recommended to peel the haworthia leaf from the upper skin and apply it to the wound, after which it will quickly heal and heal.
Types of Haworthia
- Haworthia striped (Haworthia fasciata). The plant has a rosette with a diameter of about 15 cm. The leaf plates are fleshy and elongated, painted in a dark emerald color. From the bottom of the sheet, the surface is covered with pimples, which are very densely located and from them transverse rows are formed. The length of the leaf is measured in the range from 5 cm to 10 cm. This variety is very similar to scarlet, although its size is smaller.
- Haworthia pearl (Haworthia margaritifera). A succulent plant that forms a rosette from leaf plates. The surface of the leaves is dense and fleshy, their length can reach 10 cm in length with a width of 3 cm, warty growths are formed on the upper and lower sides, painted in a pearly white color, their location is completely chaotic. There are medium-sized thorns along the edge of the sheet. Flowering occurs with small, inconspicuous flowers of a greenish hue, from which a racemose inflorescence is collected, located on a meter-long peduncle. This type of haworthia has the largest growths.
- Haworthia reinwardtii. This plant reaches a height of 15–20 cm, not counting the basal rosette. The stem, in this variety, is shortened and at the very beginning of growth it is erect, and then slightly adjoins the surface of the soil. The shape of the leaf plates is elongated in the form of triangles, there is a slight bend inward, the top is pointed. The upper surface of the leaf is smooth, and the back is covered with multiple whitish tubercles, from which longitudinal or transverse rows are assembled. Flowering occurs in yellow-greenish buds. As always, the inflorescence has the shape of a brush and the flower-bearing stem is also quite long and can reach the meter mark.
- Haworthia limifolia Marl. South Africa is considered the homeland of the plant, and it loves to settle on rocky and rocky surfaces, it is a lithophyte. Rosettes up to 10 cm in diameter are assembled from sheet plates. This species has a distinctive feature - on both surfaces, warty growths on the leaves merge into wavy narrow transverse ribs. Blooming with whitish buds.
- Haworthia grater (Haworthia radula Haw.). This rubbish is similar to the Pearl Hawortia. A distinctive feature is the sheet plates, which are more elongated and sharpened at the very top. Warty outgrowths are smaller, but they cover the entire surface of the leaf very densely, especially their strong coverage on the reverse side. The plant has been grown as a pot culture since the beginning of the 19th century.
- Haworthia chess (Haworthia tesselata Haw.). Rosettes, made up of small leaf plates, varying from 6 to 10 cm. There are not too many leaves, they have a triangular-ovoid shape. They are distinguished by extraordinary fleshiness and thickness, but to the touch they are soft only from the bottom there is a little roughness, which is created by small whitish warts. The upper surface of the leaf is decorated with light stripes, from which a mesh-like pattern is formed; small teeth run along the edge. From whitish flowers, racemose inflorescences are collected, reaching 40 cm in height. The homeland of the plant is considered the southern and southwestern regions of Africa, namely the Karoo desert territories and the Cape province in South Africa.
About caring for haworthia at home in this video:
