Featured Plant of the Week (Haworthia Glauca)

Haworthia Glauca

Previously we took a look at Blushing Bride, a type of Protea native to the mountains of South Africa. This week we are returning to the scrublands of that country to talk about the genus Haworthia, a large family of succulents related to theAloe and Gasteria genera. Its various species are grown for their interesting shapes and unique markings, such asHaworthia attenuata, who’s many pointy and dark green leaves have fascinating white dots arranged in concentric rings around them. Or perhaps Haworthia cymbiformis, which to the casual observer might at first glance look like an echeveria, but is betrayed by the surprising fact that the tips of its leaves are transparent!

The exact number of species in Haworthia varies between 70 and 90, depending on which taxonomist you ask. The genus was never very well defined when it was established in 1809, and according to some experts is little contrived in its organization. Several taxonomists have taken to the task of better organizing of Haworthia, mostly by breaking it down into sub-genera based on the differences in their flowers. As a result there is still some debate about which species belong where.

Haworthia comes in many different varieties, but all of them grow in the shape of a rosette. Even the varieties that look like a seemingly random group of thick, fleshy leaves have a rosette pattern at their core. Since they’re succulents, the other thing they all have in common is that they store water in the aforementioned leaves. This helps them endure harsh hot summers with little rainfall. Most Haworthia is also quite small, ranging from just one inch to a little under a foot in diameter. Some species have a floral stem, which can grow to about 20 inches in height depending on the variety. Its flowers are also usually very small and white.

With only a few exceptions Haworthia is a hardy and forgiving group of plants. The dry heat doesn’t bother them, nor does the cold very much. They don’t need very much watering, and most types of soil are suitable so long as they drain very well. Oddly enough Haworthia doesn’t handle direct sunshine well. This seems very counter intuitive given the environment it thrives in, but in the wild most species grow in the crevasses between rocks or under the cover of a larger plant. In fact, a number of species grow submerged in sand, with only the tips of their leaves emerging from the ground to absorb light! So unlike many of the house plants Haworthia actually prefers a shady place.

At BloomRite® Gardens we mostly carry Haworthia in the form of small succulents that grow in 2”, 4”, and 6” grower’s pots with an assortment of other succulents and cactus. They can also be found planted up in our beautiful clay cactus and succulent gardens as well, which come in 4”, 6”, 8”, and even 10” decorative ceramics. These gardens are planted up in the department by our talented staff, and you can see them at work throughout the day in the manufacturing area of the store. In fact, if there’s not enough of the succulent gardens on the tables or they don’t use a style of succulent or pot you need, we can make them to order! Of course the choice of components is subject to availability; if the components are not available on the store floor, considerable time may be needed to order them in, or they may not be available at all.