Family: Aloaceae
Habitat: South Africa
Cultivation: The Haworthia are easy to grow, just pay attention especially to the position (best to avoid direct sun) and temperature (which should not drop below 5 ° C.) They are also easy to reproduce, either by seed and by cuttings.
Curiosity: The name of this genus is a tribute to the botanist Adrian Hardy Haworth.

Haworthia: 

The genus Haworthia is very vast and can be traced back to the family Xanthorrhoeaceae or (more rarely) to the Liliacee, according to the updated classification. They are from  southern Africa; they are small plants, without stem, with fleshy leaves that grow in rosettes. The rosettes have a rich variety of forms (more or less rounded, more or less elongated, sometimes very particular as the Haworthia truncata) and colors: from light green of Haworthia cymbiformis  to the white streaks of H. fasciata. They rarely exceed 10-15 cm in height. Flowering takes place during the summer months: from a central stem an inflorescence comes out bearing small flowers almost white (or with pink or brown veins) with six tepals (the union of sepals and petals) arranged on a single axis of symmetry.

Variety and Types

The gender Haworthia includes about 70 species, and we are going to list below the main ones.

• Haworthia attenuata
• H. attenuata forma variegata
• H. attenuata cv. WIDE ZEBRA
• H. baccata
• H. bruynsii
• H. bruynsii variegata
• H. coarctata
• H. cooperi
• H. cooperi var. filifera
• H. cooperi var. obtusa
• H. cymbiformis
• H. cymbiformis var. variegata
• H. emelyae
• H. emelyae var. comptoniana
• H. emelyae var. multifolia
• H. fasciata
• H. fasciata big band
• H. fasciata variegata
• H. fouchei
• H. glabrata
• H. glauca
• H. integra
• H. kinjo
• H. limifolia
• H. longiana
• H. magnifica var. acuminata.
• H. magnifica var. splendens
• H. maraisii
• H. marumiana
• H. mirabilis
• H. nigra
• H. obtusa
• H. papillosa
• H. pygmae
• H. reindwartii
• H. retusa
• H. reticulata
• H. scabra
• H. springbokvlakensis
• H. tortuosa forma variegata
• H. truncata
• H. venosa
• H. viscosa
• H. wide zebra

TIPS FOR GROWING

The genus Hawortia is very easy to grow. Here are our recommendations:

• The ideal exposure is at half sun: in bright location, but not in direct sunlight. The leaves tend otherwise to become reddish.
• The minimum temperature, that this plant tolerates, is of 5 ° C.
• The watering must be limited: especially in spring and summer, please be sure that the soil is dry before watering it again. During the other periods, make sure it only stays  slightly damp.
• You can use a specific soil for cacti, being careful to leave a layer of inert on the bottom of the vessel to facilitate drainage.
• Fertilize once a month in spring and summer with a product rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
• When you repot, consider that the roots are fleshy and they need space: do not use too small pots, even if the plant does not grow in height.

The Haworthia reproduce in several ways:

• By seed: the seeds should be placed on a ground for cacti to be kept warm and humid.
• By leaf or root cuttings : besides the classic  leaf cuttings , in fact, the reproduction of  Haworthia can be made also by  a piece of root.
• By suckers, or by cuttings of flower stem: it may happen that the plant develops the classic suckers. Also: sometimes breaking a still fresh floral stem it is possible that on it a small plant comes out – just like the classic suckers – can be partially buried to make it root.