Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Haworthia viscosa dwarf form

I picked up this Haworthia at a society plant show/sale last year.  Before I paid for it, several people approached me asking if they could buy it off me!!  Such a cool plant!

Shortly after I brought it home, the color of this Haworthia changed from deep green to reddish brown.  It also has shown very little, if any, growth.  I thought I killed it!  The roots were sparse but didn't look diseased or rotted, so I left it alone.  Over the past few months (summer), it has bloomed consistently.  A good sign!

This is how the plant looked a year ago.  Beautiful dark green.

Growing point. You can also see remnants of old flower stalks.

8 comments:

  1. Great looking plant & the colour change is quite astonishing! A result of some positive stress as well? I wonder how tall the columns grow to? Quite magnificent really. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks LL! I don't believe they grow very tall. I've seen many photos of these in clumps, although the smaller plant in my photo is completely separate, at the roots, from the larger plant.

    ReplyDelete
  3. The red is a result of sun, most Haworthia prefer shade and strong light, and lose roots mid to late summer to regenerate fall. Not sure if this all pertains to the viscosa. That is a nice tower and they seem to be slow growing (very).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to know LT. I've noticed many of my plants lose their green coloration in my garden. Makes for an interesting plant...but definitely indicative of stress. I'll place this Haworthia in a little more shade.

      Delete
  4. Several of my succulents turned variegated, or red-tipped, or pink-tipped in the case of an aloe, when I brought them home from the nursery. I gave them more light than they had had before, and after a few weeks, their natural, funky coloring appeared. Looks like that happened with the Haworthia, very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Marla! I probably did the same thing with this plant...exposed to more light. A tendency of mine.

      Delete
  5. It is a beautiful plant. No wonder others are coveting them. Lucky you to have spotted it earlier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Stiletto! I hope to propagate this one day.

      Delete