Simple cultivation tips for Haworthia

DO:

LIGHT – Grow your plants in as much light as possible without causing leaf tip burn. We grow most plants
in 20% shade year round which brings out the best colouration and keeps the leaves tight and compact.

GROWING MEDIUMS – Use a well- aerated mix that drains easily but will still hold some water.
We use 90% medium/coarse pumice and 10% composted pine bark fines.

WATERING – Water freely during the two main growing periods of spring and autumn. Care must be taken not
to overwater when plants are dormant or resting (winter and midsummer). A light spray occasionally is all that
is required during these periods. We only use rainwater and not the highly alkaline town supply.

FERTILISER – Keep to a minimum – an occasional half- strength liquid feed during the main
growing periods is fine.

POT SIZE – Keep the plants in as small a pot as possible to contain the plant without having
the leaves overlap the pot edges.

ROOT LOSS – If this occurs, clean all brown or rotting material off the plant (by scraping if necessary) and allow the exposed areas to dry off for a couple of weeks. After this, repot into a very aerated mix with no organic matter if possible and set in a warm shady spot for the roots to re-grow. Once roots have been re-established, the plant can be repotted back into the standard growing media. We use pure 1-4mm pumice for plant recovery.

BUGS – keep a vigilant eye out for the main pest: mealy bugs. They love the crevices between leaves and can be hard to spot until already well established. We use Permethryn (Barricade) as the main defence against them. Permethryn is a longer term knock- down insecticide with relatively low toxicity to humans if used carefully and will not mark the plants. Scale can be a problem at times as well and is often associated with overwatering. This can be very difficult to control without marking plants during the cleanup.

DON'T:

LIGHT – Do not grow your plants in heavy shade – They will “stretch” and lose their compact form
as well as all remain the same dark green colour.

GROWING MEDIUMS – Do not use soggy and constantly wet mixes unless you are prepared to
regularly deal with the problem of root loss.

WATERING – Do not water heavily during the plants' rest periods described above.

FERTILISER – Do not over fertilise hoping to grow the plant faster. It will inevitably result in
bloated, misshapen  and ugly plants.

POT SIZE – Do not overpot - Over-potting in large pots makes watering difficult to control
which can easily lead to root loss.

BUGS – Do not ignore pests if you spot them. In the right conditions they can spread rapidly
and will eventually mark the plant.