Haworthia reinwardtii or zebra wart is a tropical succulent plant of the Asphodelaceae family with beautiful white ribbings on its leaves. Though it originates from Africa, the haworthia reinwardtii plant has gained popularity all over the world amongst succulent lovers.
If you feel like changing up the look of your succulent garden or indoor succulent collection, then this Haworthia genus plant is for you! Keep reading to find out valuable information about how to care for it the right way.
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What Is Haworthia Reinwardtii?
Haworthia reinwardtii is a succulent plant that comes from Africa; it is also called African pearls and zebra warts. Moreover, this plant has gained prestige by winning the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.
It has also been getting a lot of attention because of its zebra-striped look and uses that we will discuss later in this article.
Haworthia Reinwardtii Care
Note that haworthia reinwardtii is an African succulent plant, therefore it is tropical. Growing tropical heat-loving plants in cold places where there is frost can be challenging. Don’t worry, since using the tips in our article will help your plant thrive.
– Getting Your Haworthia Reinwardtii
Almost every succulent garden shop has the seeds or seedlings of haworthia reinwardtii.
You can plant haworthia reinwardtii with the seeds, seedlings, cuttings, and offsets. If you are growing zebra warts for the first time, you should plant the seedling or get a plant that is already growing.
As a tip, you should buy the growing plants in the most valued shop that is nearest to you as those plants are guaranteed to grow in your home or garden.
Planting
When preparing your haworthia reinwardtii pot and substrate, you should avoid clay and peat moss. These materials (and other similar ones) hold a lot of moisture and they can suffocate your plants which can lead to rot.
Instead of making the potting mix or substrate with clay and peat moss, you should use sand and gravel. Add a little quantity of compost or sawdust and mix them for potted plants.
Now, how would you plant haworthia reinwardtii? Simply keep the plant standing upright on the substrate and cover the roots with a thin layer of sand or substrate.
Remember that the substrate must be well-drained like porous garden soil and the pot should have holes for water drainage.
Light
You can grow haworthia reinwardtii in partial to full sun. This means that your plants need at least four hours of direct sunlight daily. Some gardeners who grow haworthia reinwardtii in full sun (more than six hours) end up burning the leaves of the plant, so you should keep the plant in a place where it can get four or five hours of direct sunlight daily. Make sure that indoor plants have enough sun.
If you must plant the zebra warts in a place with full sun, you should block some rays of the sun with a tree or any object that goes over them.
Water
Haworthia reinwardtii watering requirements are not so different when compared with other succulents. Water your zebra warts by flooding and draining them or by misting once weekly.
Water the haworthia reinwardtii in the morning so that sunlight can help evaporate excess water from the plant. Note that succulent plants such as haworthia reinwardtii prefer dry soil to a wet one, so resist the urge to water your zebra warts regularly.
Nutrient
If your soil or substrate is fresh, you do not need to add fertilizer for your haworthia reinwardtii. Zebra warts do not need a lot of nutrients in their substrate.
For old substrates, however, you should feed the plant with a succulent or cacti mix. Feed your haworthia once monthly in their growing season (i.e. spring and summer).
Temperature
Giving the right temperature to your zebra warts can be challenging. If you live in a zone with frost, you should consider growing the plants under glass with heat. The minimum temperature the haworthia succulent can be exposed to for a long is 50 F. When winter is approaching, you should take the plants indoors and grow them with a grow light.
Grooming
You should remove dead leaves from the plant as dead leaves can attract harmful microbes. Also, cover exposed roots with a thin layer of sand or substrate.
If you do not want your haworthia reinwardtii to spread, you should remove offsets and plant them in other locations.
– Repotting
You do not need to re-pot your haworthia reinwardtii. You should only re-pot it when the substrate is no longer suitable and does not drain water as quickly as it should. Also, you can re-pot to a larger pot if you want more offsets to grow attached to the mother plant.
When removing the haworthia reinwardtii from its substrate, make sure that you do not damage any roots.
Propagation
If you have one haworthia reinwardtii, you can create more by propagating the original plant. Here are some ways to propagate haworthia reinwardtii:
– Offsets
Propagating your haworthia reinwardtii by offsets is the easiest way to propagate the plant as offsets are already growing and have roots. All you have to do is to remove debris and substrate from the surface to reveal where the offset is attached to the mother. Carefully twist out the offset and plant it in a new location.
– Cuttings
You can propagate your haworthia reinwardtii by cutting off the large part of the rosette with enough stem and planting it in a new location. To increase the chances of the plant surviving, dip it in a rooting hormone before planting it.
– Seeds
After successful pollination, haworthia reinwardtii will produce seeds. You should wait for the seeds to fall off the plant and become dry before planting. Keep the seeds of your zebra warts on a substrate and then cover them with sand.
Mist the haworthia reinwardtii seeds with water and in less than three weeks, you should see that you have new haworthia reinwardtii seedlings.
Problems
Haworthia reinwardtii is not difficult to raise, but that does not mean that you will not face any challenge. Watch out for the following when growing haworthia reinwardtii and prevent them:
– Etiolated Plant
If your plant appears longer or stretched than normal, it needs more light. Give your plant at least four hours of direct sunlight daily.
– Sunburn
If the tips of the leaves of your haworthia reinwardtii are red or appear burnt, it is a sign of too much sunlight. Haworthia reinwardtii plants need partial to full sun, so four to six hours of sunlight daily. If you give them too much, they will appear burnt and unattractive.
Make sure that you do not give your plant too much sun by filtering the light or changing the location of the plant to a place where it can receive less sun.
– Black Spots on Leaves
Black spots on leaves are a sign of wilting and it is caused by over-exposure to love temperatures. You should move your plant indoors during the winter or grow it under glass with a heater.
Remember that if your plant is dying, you can easily propagate it to have more plants.
Important Details to Know
– Name Origin and Name Change
“Haworthia reinwardtii” is an old term for the recently called “Haworthiopsis reinwardtii”. Even though its botanical name has changed, “Haworthia reinwardtii” is still very popular and the most used name to refer to the plant.
– Identifying
Here are some easy-to-recognize features of haworthia reinwardtii:
- Plant physiology: Haworthia reinwardtii has a stem with leaves arranged in a rosette pattern. The stem can grow eight inches tall.
- Leaves: The leaves of this plant are green with a lot of white markings which are tubercles. Each leaf grows to become long and narrow.
- Flowers: Haworthia reinwardtii produces flowers in spring. The flowers are pinkish white.
If you are a fan of succulents, you may notice that haworthia reinwardtii has almost the same features as haworthia coarctata. Both plants are in the same taxonomic genus and look very similar.
Their difference is that haworthia reinwardtii (zebra wart) have flatter and larger white tubercles in their leaves (i.e. the white markings) and also have narrower and thinner leaves.
Both plants have similar uses, so choosing which one to buy is entirely up to you.
– Uses
Some uses of haworthia reinwardtii include:
- Ornamental plant: Would you not love to have zebra warts in your home or succulent garden? The white markings in the leaves that give the plant a zebra look are bound to be a topic of discussion with your visitors.
- Medicinal plant: In some parts of Africa, especially southern Africa, people prepare medicine using haworthia reinwardtii.
- Filler Plant: If there are multiple spaces in your succulent garden that you’d love to fill, as most succulents have a slow growth rate, you can fill them with zebra warts since these plants do not spread quickly.
Clearly, haworthia reinwardtii is a beautiful plant that would make a great addition to your garden for many reasons. All you need now is to find out how to take care of it, so keep reading.
FAQ
Does Haworthia Reinwardtii purify air?
Haworthia Reinwardtii can help purify indoor air by absorbing toxins and releasing oxygen.
Can Haworthia Reinwardtii regrow roots?
Haworthia Reinwardtii has the ability to regrow roots if provided with proper care and conditions.
Why is my Haworthia Reinwardtii spreading out?
Haworthia Reinwardtii spreads out to optimize sunlight absorption and ensure its survival.
Conclusion
Haworthia reinwardtii or zebra wart is a great addition to your succulent garden. Here are some points discussed in this article:
- When planting zebra warts, you should not use clay and peat moss in the potting mix. Use sand and gravel instead
- Haworthia reinwardtii cannot survive below 50 F for long, so take it indoors in winter
- Remember to water your haworthia reinwardtii in the growing season once weekly
- There’s no need to water the zebra warts in autumn and winter
- Too much water, light, and a very low temperature can cause problems for your haworthia reinwardtii
Haworthia renwardtii is a succulent that should not miss from any succulent lover’s garden. So if you are one of them or just starting out your plant journey with the haworthia, use our guide to make sure that the plant has a healthy life.
