Xanthorrhoea family. Homeland South Africa. There are about 150 species in nature. It is a fairly common succulent plant, unpretentious and easily propagated. Haworthia grow on sandy and rocky slopes, under the easy cover of taller plants from the scorching rays of the hot sun. These plants have practically no stem, with the exception of Rainwardt's haworthia. The leaves form a dense basal rosette. Long peduncles, from 40 cm long and above, do not have any decorative value and it is better to cut them off so as not to deplete the plant.
Hawortia pearl-bearing Haworthia margaritifera - fleshy leaves about 7-8 cm long and up to 3 cm wide, collected in a basal rosette, covered on both sides with pearl-white warts that do not form clear rows. During flowering, a long peduncle with a racemose inflorescence is thrown out of the axils of the upper leaves. The flowers are small, nondescript greenish in color.
Haworthia fasciata is very similar to the pearl-bearing haworthia, but its leaves are longer and more pointed at the end. The warts are somewhat smaller but thicker, and cover the underside of the leaves brighter than the upperparts, forming slender rows.
Haworthia reinwardtii - fleshy leaves, triangular elongated, form a rosette elongated to 15-20 cm, so the stem is first erect, then lying down. There are numerous light-colored warts on the outside of the triangular leaf, forming transverse or longitudinal rows. The racemose inflorescence is very long up to 1 m with nondescript yellowish-green flowers.
Haworthia limifolia - low rare rosettes of fleshy leaves, 4-5 cm long, 2-3 cm wide, on the back of the leaf numerous warts merge into a solid line, from which the leaf seems to be relief-striped. Long inflorescence with white small flowers.
Haworthia tesselata - very thick and slightly numbered triangular leaves, finely toothed along the edge, form small rosettes. The reverse side of the leaf is warty, and the upper side has a pattern of light longitudinal and transverse stripes, similar to a thin mesh.
There are many other species in the culture besides those listed here. They, for the most part, have warty growths on the leaves (tubercles, bulges), in some species so small and not expressive that the leaf to the touch seems simply rough. Some species of haworthia are often confused, for example, Haworthia margaritifera (pearl-bearing) and Haworthia reinwardtii (Reinwardta), but pearl-bearing haworthia has the largest warts of all haworthia, some shiny and convex. In addition, the shape of the plant itself matters in determining the species - the pearl-bearing haworthia forms a wide rosette, the leaves sit loosely, their tips stick out in all directions like hedgehogs. In Rainwardt's haworthia, the leaves sit tightly, the plant does not form a rosette, but long shoots, each leaf is covered almost to the middle by an overlying one. If there is no collectible need to determine the type of havortia, then this is not important, because the conditions of detention are still the same for all representatives of this genus.
Haworthia care
Temperature: Moderate in summer, in winter hafortia is kept at a temperature of 10-12 ° C, with dry content (i.e. watering about once a month). Winter minimum 5 ° С. In summer, it is better to keep in the fresh air (on the balcony, veranda ).
Lighting: Haworthia loves a bright spot, with some direct sunlight, on the south window, needing shading in the midday hours. In winter, the brightest place, full sunlight, without shading.
Watering: Moderate in spring and summer, the soil should dry well for the next watering. Since autumn, watering is reduced, and in winter watered limited, but depending on the temperature .
Fertilizer: From late spring to mid-summer, they are fed with special fertilizer for cacti and other succulents once a month.
Air humidity: Haworthia are resistant to dry air, do not need spraying, but in winter they suffer if the room is too warm and dry air, in some species the tips of the leaves begin to dry out.
Transplant: Annually in the spring. The soil is the 1 part of the sod earth, the 1 part of the leaf, the 1 part of the coarse sand and the brick crumb. The container should be wide, but not deep, good drainage to the bottom.
Reproduction: Daughter rosettes that can be separated both with roots when transplanted and cut from the mother plant. It can be propagated with a leaf, which, after cutting, is dried for 3 days, and then planted in loose soil or sand, and watered no earlier than in three to four weeks, when young roots are formed.
The Challenges of Growing Haworthia
The leaves are elongated, the rosette is loose and elongated - a lack of light, haworthia grow well on the east and west windows .
The leaves are elongated, with curving edges, the warts are dull - if it is too warm and dry in winter - it is better to keep plants at temperatures from 10 to 15 ° C.
The ends of the leaves dry, the leaves curl from the edges - if too warm and dry, often near a central heating battery. If in winter it is not possible to keep the flower in a cool place, then you need to protect it from the hot air of the battery, for example, with glass. You can even put it on a tray with wet pebbles.
The plant stretches, the leaves acquire a reddish tint, the ends dry - in the absence of transplantation, from a lack of nutrients. Do not forget to transplant hafortia annually and periodically separate the children.
Leaves turn red, brown spots appear or ends dry - when kept in direct sun for a long time, for example, on a southern, not shaded window in summer. In fact, haworthia is enough 3-4 hours of direct sun, better in the morning or in the evening. In spring, they are accustomed to the sun gradually to avoid burns.
The leaves, especially the lower ones, become sluggish, easily come off - if the plant is flooded. In summer, havortia are watered so that the soil has time to dry out, but water should not remain on the pallet. In winter, watering depends on the temperature - at 10-12 ° C about once a month, if 13-15 ° C, then about once every three weeks, at a temperature of about 18-20 ° C once every 10-14 days.
Leaves pale, turn yellow or turn red - with an excess of fertilizers. Haworthia is rarely fed - 1 once a month, do not use fertilizers with a high nitrogen content.
Leaves turn black and rot - if too cold, moist soil and/or air. This can happen if you leave the plant overnight during a cold snap.