Henry's Haworthia

Henry's Haworthis News - Spring 2024 - Spring is right around the corner, and we are excited about some changes that are taking place with our growing operation this year. Last summer, we sold more Haworthia plants than ever, which was a great blessing! Because of space restrictions indoors (our climate does not allow for keeping Haworthia plants outdoors year-round), we unfortunately had to sell 2/3 of our propagation stock last fall as well. Our collection is still around 200 varieties, but we had no choice but to reduce our quantity of each. Last fall, we finished construction of our greenhouse, which will extend our outdoor growing season by several months. We are also expanding our indoor growing space so that a much larger number of plants can be overwintered safely each year. What does that mean for Henry's Haworthia this year? Unfortunately, we expect to have much fewer varieties and total plants for sale this year compared to last year. We need to rebuild our propagati...

Containers and Growing Media A Detailed Guide Written by Miles Ridgway - Henry's Haworthia (owner) When it comes to growing media for Haworthia collectors, it seems that every expert has a different blend to recommend. Our own experience has shown that Haworthia plants are highly adaptable and will thrive in virtually any kind of soil or gritty mix, given proper care. The most important part is not the medium or container itself, but rather that you, as the caretaker, carefully choose what works best for you, your climate, and your watering habits !   The purpose of this guide is not to go into detail about each medium (there are plenty of other online resources that do this) or prescribe one as being better than another, but rather to briefly discuss their properties and how they relate to various environmental conditions. Growing Media Types The most important factor to consider when choosing a growing medium is water retention. Every ingredient behaves slightly differently. Be...

    Fixing Etiolation and Light Acclimation A Detailed Guide Written by Miles Ridgway - Henrys Haworthia (owner) Etiolation is a natural stress response that is common to all plants (Etiolation, 2009). When a plant is not receiving all of the light it needs, it will grow toward the light (called phototropism), and the stems will elongate. More specifically, internode (stem between leaves) length will increase. Since Haworthia stems are very short and generally not visible, the most common early symptom of Haworthia etiolation is an unnatural lengthening or flattening of the leaves (see photos below). In extreme cases, Haworthia will grow a long, brittle stem out of the center of the rosettes, like many other succulents will. Etiolated H. cooperi var. truncata Image credit: reddit.com u/mong_gei_ta Severely etiolated H. cooperi Image credit: reddit.com u/mong_gei_ta Perhaps you have noticed etiolation in your own Haworthia plants and want to know what you can do about it. The p...

Transplanting, Salvaging, and Rerooting Haworthia Written by Miles Ridgway - Henrys Haworthia (owner) (Photos coming soon!)   Whether you received a mail order plant that has no roots, took cuttings from or separated a plant that you already had, had a plant suffer root rot, or simply want to transplant a Haworthia that has grown too large for its container, this guide will help ensure your success. This also applies to bare-root Haworthia plants that you have received in the mail! (Skip to Re-rooting a Haworthia section)   Contents: Transplanting Dealing with root rot      Recognizing root rot      Assess the damage and clean the plant Physical damage Re-rooting a Haworthia plant Transplanting You may want to transplant your Haworthia for a variety of reasons. We recommend only doing so if: a) Your plant has outgrown it's current container and needs to be separated or potted up. b) Its current container and/or growing medium makes it difficul...