Haworthia – the Perfect Succulents for your Garden

Ever wanted succulents for your garden that are easy to grow, need minimal care, do not grow into unmanageable clumps, strikingly attractive, can fit a lot (like a lot) of them in smaller spaces? And above all, be the envy of other collectors and your friends? The answer to your question is Haworthia!!!

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When Henri Duval, in 1809, named a new genus of succulents after a celebrated botanist Adrian Hardy Haworth (who also named two species of cacti - Mammillaria and Epiphyllum), little would he have imagined in the wildest of his dreams that this genus of succulents would be a star attraction in most succulent collectors’ collection. Hybridisation (cross pollination between mostly different species of the genus; and rarely between different species of different related genus) has led to the creation of some even more beautiful Haworthia. Today, there are Haworthia that sell for more than USD 200 (INR 17,000) upwards; further lending credibility to the collectability and rarity of Haworthia (and its hybrids) in cultivation. Haworthia today contributes about 20% in value to the annual global succulent sales across the world which is estimated to be about USD 10 Bn (INR 8,5000 Crore).

So, what makes Haworthia a perfect succulent for your garden?

1.Low Maintenance: Haworthia are actually extremely low maintenance xerophytes as long as you meet their basic care needs in terms of light, temperature, media, and watering. Haworthia are quite forgiving of the occasional lapses in their care but like all plants, the growers need to understand their active growth and dormancy seasons to be able to provide balanced environment for them to grow.

a) Light: If you search Google for some habitat pictures of Haworthia and you will realise that even though there are few Haworthia growing in habitat in full and bright sun, but most of them are found in crevices between the rocks or under the bushes or partially buried under the soil where they are protected from direct scorching sunlight. This makes Haworthia genetically wired to lower light conditions found under shades in homes.  One thumb rule to remember is that the Haworthia and its hybrids that have more translucence in its leaves are more attuned to growing in shade than the ones that do not have much or any translucence in their leaves.

b) Temperature: There are some Haworthia that can survive in low ambient temperature or light frost for a short period, but it is still not recommended. Haworthia typically thrive in the temperature range of 25-35°C. On the lower side, they can tolerate temperatures of about 5ºC IF their roots are dry during this period. On the higher side, Haworthia can tolerate temperatures upto 40ºC provided they are NOT in direct sun and have ample air flow around them. In temperatures below 5ºC and above 40ºC, they will tend to go dormant which is akin to some land animals going into hibernation. During this period, they will almost likely stop growing – near zero photosynthesis and the plant will conserve energy for milder or optimal climate to get into growth stage. It is therefore, extremely important to stop watering them and more critical to ensure there is ZERO water stagnation on their rosette or between leaves; else this leads to a situation where the plant will almost certainly not survive.

c) Media: By definition, succulents are plants that store a lot of water within them. As a result, overwatering will most likely cause the plant to hoard a lot of water and lead to the death of the plant due to over-storage of water.  So, the first thumb rule of selecting the best media for Haworthia is to get extremely well draining media. At our premises, we have grown Haworthia in varied media – ranging from gritty gravely media to mixing it with perlite or pumice. We have also cultivated Haworthia in cocopeat successfully for many years now. Choice of media is directly proportional to YOUR WATERING HABITS. If you have a lot of foliage and other plants that need deep watering and you are not able to regulate the amount of water you give to Haworthia, you have to compulsorily go for a very fast draining media. However, if you are not the type of gardener that believes that you need to keep watering plants to ensure they grow, irrespective of climate and the plants’ requirements, then you can look at other type of media as well which are not necessarily very fast draining.

d) Watering: There are a few thumb rules to watering Haworthia optimally:

• absolutely no water stagnation in their rosette or between their leaves

• water them only if they appear shriveled in their growing season

• wet media overnight – the watering should be such that the water mostly dries out by late evening. Prolonged wet media whether in winter months or summer months is a sure-shot recipe for disaster

• remember they are succulents – they STORE a lot of water inside their fleshy leaves which means that even they are not watered for a few days, they wont die but if they are continuously watered, they are more likely to die

• they do not GULP water; they ABSORB moisture through their roots – any water that flows out of the container is a waste – conserve water and water them mildly.

e) Pots: We have grown Haworthia in varied pot material – concrete, plastic, ceramic, wood, terra cotta, etc. Terra cotta pots are considered the best for them since they release soil moisture faster than most other type of material of pots.  Haworthia do not require very deep pots, 5-6 inches depth is ideal for them. Some species have very thick and deep roots and their suckers travel quite a distance away from the mother plant in search of an opening to grow into a new plant. Haworthia limifolia is one such typical example.

f)      Pests & diseases: Haworthia do not attract many pests. Except mealybugs specially in the roots, they remain free of most pests. Mealies can be treated in a lot many ways, but we tend to use the most environment friendly way – just unroot the plant, spray the plant and the root system with a strong current of with extremely diluted neem oil and soap water to get the mealies physically removed. Dry the plant in shade with good air flow and repeat the procedure everyday for 3 days. Remember to wash the roots clean and throw away the media. If you do not want to throw the media, then immerse the media in a container with no holes and add a strong dosage of neem oil and water. Let the media sit in that container for 10-12 days; and dry it in direct sun for another 10-12 days, turning it over everyday. You can then use this media for your next round of transplanting of Haworthia. We do not recommend any synthetic fungicides or insecticides since these tend to harm the environment adversely over the longer period. Instead, basic care and optimal watering will ensure your Haworthia stay healthy.

g)    Repotting: As a practice, Haworthia should be repotted every 2-3 years and the ideal time to repot them is when the ambient temperature is about 20-25ºC. Ideal repotting steps as per our experience involve the following:

• do not pull the plant from the pot. Loosen the media in the pot till becomes quite loose by tapping the pot from the sides. Pulling the plant with media not loose may cause injury to tap roots resulting in longer time for the healing and thereby settling in new pot and then restarting its growth journey. If the injured tap root is not allowed to heal and potted immediately and then watered, the risk of root rot increases many folds.

• after removing the plant from the pot, gently tap the roots to lose the media clinging to roots. At this point, be careful again not to hurt the tap roots.

• inspect the roots and remove the fibrous roots if they are tangled with decayed roots, even back to the stem of the plant. Remove all decayed roots carefully using a tool that will not cause any injury to the plant or other healthy tap roots.

• allow the plant to lie out unpotted for 2-3 days in shade and good air flow to allow for callousing of any injuries

• repot in fresh media – avoid reusing media. From experience, planting in fresh media works the best

• watering extremely carefully until it is apparent that the roots have re-established and the plant has regained its health.

h) Fertilising: We recommend using slow-release low nitrogen fertilisers that contain the essential micronutrients and macronutrients as well. We strongly advocate non-usage of organic feed sourced from unreliable sellers since it would bring in more trouble for you – insect eggs, bacterial and fungal infections, bad odor, etc. Just 5-8 granules of slow-release low nitrogen fertiliser would suffice for a 4 inch diameter pot rendering it extremely cost effective. Remember to feed Haworthia only at the start of their active growth season.

2. Diversity: Unlike most other collectible succulent xerophytic genus, Haworthia is amongst the most diverse in terms of stem length, hardness of leaves, translucence of leaves, shape of leaves and the color changes they go through in various seasons of the year. The diversity in their leaves is probably their most attractive feature – from being plain, to being marked with mostly white lines, having bumps, or stripes, or dots. Moreover, continuous hybridisation has created even more diversity that has rendered Haworthia one of the most attractive xerophytic succulents.

3. Size. With the average Indian household disposable income rising, most earning families residing in multi-storey apartments with small balconies, decreasing green cover in cities, rising pollution – people are striving to get some ‘green’ into their homes. With small size of Haworthia, where you can fit in about 100 plants in a 5X5 feet area makes them ideal along with the fact that they are low maintenance and stunningly attractive. A typical can easily grow about 100 Haworthia of varied forms and types creating a wonderful ‘getaway green zone’ within their homes.  

you can now select some beautiful Haworthia at extremely competitive prices from our offerings here: https://www.theplantstudio.com/haworthiaforsale

Support: If you still have any questions or observations to share with us or get more insights, do reach out to us and we would be happy to share our experiences to help you.

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