Haworthia Succulent Care: Nurturing Your Haworthia Pearl Plant

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Haworthia Limifoia is a charming petite succulent you’d probably wish to adopt as a houseplant. Historically, this plant belongs to the Haworthiopsis genus and is native to South Africa. It was planted around this region back in the 1900s. You’ll also find a few other species of this genus on bordering countries such as Namibia, Swaziland, and Mozambique.

More About Haworthia Limifoia

If the word ‘Haworthia’ sounds a bit strange to you, then chances are, you’re probably wondering why it’s the official botanical name for this stunning houseplant, and how they came about it. Well, it was named after a British entomologist and botanist Adrian Hardy Haworth.

This adorable succulent is also commonly known as Fairly Washboard and resembles the aloe vera plant, but has a texture with quite distinctive details. It features an even pattern of polka dots that make it have a striking personality. As it steps out of its toddler stages, this plant blossoms peachy layers of rosettes that sit right on the topsoil. These densely packed leaves always look fresh, green, and tough—making the foliage more radiant.

It’s also worth noting that this genus has over 50 recognized species and more than 150 varieties, according to tenable sources. These species have garnered their popularity amongst many homeowners with a strong interest in gardening. And it’s no wonder why it’s otherwise referred to as the zebra cactus, cushion aloe, or the pearl plant.

Most of all, this plant, compared to other houseplants such as the African Mask or the Jade plant, has zero toxicity levels, so your kids or pet wouldn’t be exposed to any harm.

Other Common Types of Haworthia

Since there are more than 150 varieties in the Haworthiopsis genus —besides Haworthia Limifoia—that have been identified by scientists, it’s far more practical to give a snapshot of the most sought-after types in the market, so you can optimally settle on one which feels more appealing your eyes.

Classifying these types, however, can be a daunting task especially for a beginner.

Haworthia bolusii: This is a stemless succulent that takes up a small space in, say, your windowsill or office desk since it only grows up to 3 inches in diameter.

Haworthia attenuata: It’s also known as the zebra cactus due to its horizontal stripes and has long been one of the most sought-after types, but you should note that it’s a succulent and not a cacti plant. It has thick and brightly colored leaves that take the shape of a rosette. This breed grows to its optimal potential in sub-tropical areas.

Haworthia fasciata: One distinct feature about this type is its prolonged tolerance for low light—making it a seemly indoor succulent plant. It resembles the aloe plant and has pearly lumps on its thick leaves which tend to curl inwards as they grow older.

Haworthia truncata: This type is also dubbed the “horse’s teeth”, due to its unusual gray-green leaves which are short and have flat tips. The leaves are compressed and grow in rows.

Haworthia cooperi: It’s also known as the “ice lantern.” This type has blue-green leaves that grow in the form of rosettes and produces white flowers during summer. The flowers are, however, of little importance and people grow this variety for its bright and fancy leaves.

Haworthia reinwardtii: Another name for this type is the “Zebra Wart’ and grows thicker than most of its siblings and produces larger leavers that spiral in an almost symmetrical column.

How Big Does The Haworthia Limifoia Variety Grow?

If all you’re looking for is a miniature plant sitting idle on your windowsill, then look no further. Haworthia rarely overgrows a medium-sized growing medium. And if it does, propagating it wouldn’t be much of a hassle. The average mature size of this plant all depends on the species you’re looking to grow.

Typically, how haworthia grows to about 3-5 inches in height, and hardly goes beyond that. Its diameter, on the other side, is usually about 4 inches, or 10 centimeters. Even though haworthias usually have stemless rosettes, you’ll find other species developing stems of up to 20 inches.

Growing & Caring For Your Haworthia

After a deep and wide fact-finding, I learned that taking care of this succulent requires, more or less, the same growing conditions as those of the aloe plant. Here are a few handy tips that help leap into the nurturing and sustaining the wellbeing of your baby haworthia plant:

Watering

If your gardening hacks are somewhat over the intermediate level, you probably know that succulents are quite sensitive if exposed to soggy soil, so you want to be watchful not to overwater your pretty little haworthias.

Another handy thing to note is you need to use well-draining to prevent the roots from getting soaked in water for too long. Ideally, every haworthia variety needs to be watered when the soil is totally dry.

During winter, you want to be so minimalistic with the watering intervals. You just need to water your haworthias once a month when it’s cold and they’ll be fine. When summer kicks in, however, haworthias need frequent watering sessions since this is the exact season when their growth hormones are far more receptive.

Because it’s a succulent, this is also the best time to use cactus-recommended fertilizer, preferably one made of low nitrogen and is water-soluble, to make it more effective way quicker.

When the temperature is extremely low, the rate of nutrient intake halts, so the plant doesn’t need water frequently. The roots don’t absorb water efficiently during this time and if exposed to much more than they can handle, they’ll begin to decay—which causes the plant to die eventually. An extra tip to keep tabs with is to avoid the rosette from getting contact with water since it can hurt its naturally aesthetic and crisp look.

Light & Temperature

To maintain its dark-green foliage, you want to give your haworthia plant moderate exposure to the sun. You can choose to place your growing medium on a shaded patio. Although it can develop well in partial shade, it blossoms vigorously in bright light and dry conditions.

If you want to grow your plant indoors, rest it on a windowsill that faces South, East, or West, in that order.
If grown outdoors, haworthias bloom in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11. While nurturing your haworthia, it’s significant to note that a low light environment is an immense threat to its gleeful potential to sprout and thrive for many years.

To control the temperature levels, grow it indoors especially if you’re living in cooler and humid regions. When the leaves begin to turn yellow or white, it’s a sign that your haworthia is getting exposed to excess light.

When you propagate new and freshly-cut stems, they’re usually tender, so you’ll want to put them under sufficient lighting, to make them sturdy and bushy-tailed when they grow bigger.

Soil & Transplanting

As we’ve described before, Haworthiopsis limifoia needs well-draining soil, especially one that has cactus potting soil mix. Avoid using sand in your soil mix since it clogs the drainage process.

Just in case the cactus mix is not available even for purchase, you can opt to use the usual potting soil with some bits of gravel, perlite, or pumice on the topsoil. Since most haworthia varieties grow up to 4 inches in diameter on average, you’ll hardly need to do any transplanting.

Flowering & Scent

During summer this plant produces small whitish flowers but, they don’t sprout significantly. As soon as the stems grow up to 14” inches, the flowers might begin to show up in clumps at the center of the rosette.

Maintenance & Grooming

Haworthia, unlike other feeble succulents, just need a simple maintenance routine. If you re-pot them after every few years, you don’t really need to add any fertilizer, unless you want them to grow exponentially as if they’re on steroids.

Always inspect the leaves for any signs of pest attacks and trim the rotten parts.

How To Propagate The Haworthia Limifoia Succulent

One of the easiest ways to propagate your haworthia limifoia succulent is by using offsets.

This video also lays out a step-by-step process on how to propagate your plant from an offset.

As we hinted out earlier, you’ll need a cactus mix, ideally one with pumice, alongside well-draining soil.
Ideally, use the soil from the mother plant to repot the new offsets.
You want to carefully pluck the offset from the mother plant and leave it to harden under filtered light for nearly 24 hours.
Remember to re-pot the offsets using a cactus mix that has no peat moss since it holds too much moisture which ruins the growth of the roots.
If you’re propagating using leaf cuttings—which hardly works—use those which are thick to make it a bit more results-yielding.
Repot the mother plant in a larger growing medium so its cells can continue to rejuvenate.

Pests & Diseases Control

Luckily, there are no alarming pests or diseases that hurt the growth of haworthia. If you grow it indoors, however, it might be prone to attacks by aphids and mealybugs.

You can soak a cotton bud in a diluted insecticide and use it to wipe off the pests from your plant if the infestation is quite huge.

Final Thoughts

Haworthia is, for the most part, an indoor plant, so you can ideally place it on a windowsill or your office table. When it’s summer, you can place it outdoors since this is the perfect time to hit its optimal potential. Just remember not to water it too much when it’s cold.

If we left any stone unturned, please hit us up, right in the comment section below.