Indoor Haworthia Succulent Care Guide

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The Ultimate Guide to Haworthia Plant Care: Everything You Need to Know!

The Haworthia (pronounce huh·wur·thee·uh) is a small, easy-to-care-for succulent plant.

This popular houseplant is great for beginners or busy plant owners since it doesn’t need a lot of hands-on care.

There are about 150 different haworthia varieties. The most common types found as houseplants are the Haworthia fasciata, Haworthia attenuata, and the Haworthia limifolia.

Most types of haworthia have green upright succulent leaves that grow together in tight rosettes.

Because of the pattern that most Haworthias have on their leaves, they are commonly called zebra plants or zebra cactus (despite the fact that haworthia is not a cactus). The markings vary by type and are often striped or dotted with small white spots.

All haworthia varieties are very low maintenance and perfect to grow in small spaces, offices, dorm rooms, and on window sills.

Indoor Haworthia Care

There’s a printable plant care quick guide at the end of this article. For now, continue reading for all the Haworthia care instructions, or go straight to: 

Need a succulent care refresher? Check out the Indoor Succulent Care Guide. It will tell you all you need to know to take care of all your succulents. 

How Much Light do Haworthia Succulents Need?

Haworthia plants are native to South Africa, where they grow in the shade of rocks or shrubs. So they are used to living in partial shade. This makes them very suitable to grow in low-light homes.

Unlike most other succulents, haworthia doesn’t like full sun all day. It could survive and adjust to bright light, but the leaves will eventually turn a reddish/brown color.

You may notice your haworthia starting to grow to one side, reaching towards the light.

If this happens, move it closer to a window and turn your plant regularly to give it light on all sides evenly.

Read more about why succulents stretch and what to do about it.

How Often Do you Water a Haworthia?

Haworthia plants store water inside their leaves. This means they do not need to be watered very often. These plants can handle the occasional lapse of neglect.

There is no set schedule for when you should water. It depends on factors like time of year, location of your plant, type of soil and pot, etc. The best way to know when it is time to water is to look at your plant and check the soil.

Stick your finger into the top inch of the soil. If it feels moist, don’t water but wait a few days and check again.

Your haworthia is thirsty when the soil has been completely dry for a number of days.

Leaves curling inwards is another way you can see your plant wants water.

Underwatering is better than overwatering. Watering too often will lead to root rot. Too little water could lead to some shriveling but is easily fixed with a thorough watering.

Go ahead and water until it comes out of the drainage holes on the bottom. Throw away any excess water collected on the pot’s saucer, so the roots don’t sit in water too long.

Don’t leave any water sitting in the center of the rosettes as this can cause rot. 

You can give your haworthia some cactus fertilizer in the summer. It won’t need a lot.

Your haworthia will go dormant in winter. When light levels are lower, its growth slows down. So no more fertilizer and reduce watering.

If you are unsure if it is time to water or not, you can purchase a moisture meter to help you out. Or read up on how to water succulents for a quick watering refresher.

When to Repot Haworthia

It is time to repot your haworthia when the roots have filled the pot or growing from the drainage holes on the bottom.

Or when there are so many baby pups growing that they are outgrowing their pot.

Refresh the soil every two to three years, even if your plant still has room to grow.

The soil will have lost its nutrients and will need to be replaced with fresh well-draining succulent soil mix. Pumice or perlite can be added to help with drainage.

Repotting is best done in spring. Your plant will be actively growing, full of energy and in the best condition to handle being repotted.

Make sure the pot has some room for the plant to grow new baby pups around its base.

Choose a pot with drainage holes on the bottom. This is important.

Haworthias don’t like their roots to sit in wet or soggy soil for too long. If there are no drainage holes, excess water has no way to get out and can drown the roots.

Need a repotting refresher? Read the article with all the tips on how to repot your plants.

Haworthia Propagation

Haworthias are one of the easiest to propagate plants.

The simplest way to propagate a haworthia is by removing offsets. Mature haworthias grow baby plants around their base. These can be removed with roots already attached, ready to be potted up and grow into full new plants.

These little baby plants are referred to as pups, offsets, offshoots, or plantlets.

Multiple pups or babies can grow around your plant at the same time.

When they start to grow a bit, you can remove them from the parent plant to create new plants. Or, if they have enough space, you can let them be and grow right where they are.

When to Remove Haworthia Pups for Propagation

Don’t start removing the babies as soon as you see them appear. Be patient and wait long enough for the babies to grow their own root systems and be able to survive on their own.

Wait till they are at least about 2″ tall before removing them from the mother plant.

The longer you leave the baby attached to the mother to grow, the better chance you have of it surviving the transplant to its own pot.

You can propagate your haworthia any time of year but is best done in spring or early summer when the plant is actively growing.

How to Separate Haworthia Baby Pups

Take your plant out of its pot. Gently remove some soil around the pup you want to separate.

You want to remove the baby with roots attached. Gently wiggle and twist the baby plant away from the mother. Use a clean, sharp knife to separate if needed.

Let the pups dry out for two or three days before potting. Water lightly, and wait to water again until your see new growth.

Want more baby plants? A few other plants that grow pups are the pineapple plant, spider plants, air plants, the pilea peperomioides, Buddha’s temple succulents, air plants, and the Gasteria little warty.

Haworthia Care Problems

Even though the haworthia is very low maintenance, no plant is problem-free.

Usually, common issues can be easily sorted out by adjusting things like your watering schedule, or by moving your plant to another location with more or less light.

Don’t fertilize when your haworthia is in trouble. It will only stress out an already stressed-out plant. Analyze, adjust, and when your plant recovers and you see new growth, continue your normal care routine.  

If you want to share your Haworthia plant story, leave a comment below!

Why are the Haworthia Leaves Curling?

A little leaf curling on a haworthia is natural and nothing to worry about. When there is obviously a problem and lots of leaves are curling in, it usually is a sign of underwatering.

Check the soil. Is it very dry? Give it a good watering.

Yellow leaves on a Haworthia

Yellow leaves, often in combination with the bases of the leaves turning brown and mushy are most often a sign of the plant being overwatered. The mushiness is root rot spreading through the plant.

Check the soil, is it soggy? When have you last watered your plant? And how long before that. Did the soil have time between watering to dry out? Does your pot have a drainage hole on the bottom? If not, excess water has no way to get out and can drown the roots.

Give the soil some time to dry out, and adjust your watering schedule going forward.

If the overwatering situation is very bad and the soil is drenched, you might need to repot your haworthia in dry soil.

Remove the plant from the pot, gently remove the soil and any weak or rotted roots. Leave the plant outside of the pot for a couple of days before repotting into fresh soil.

Why are the Tips of your Haworthia turning Brown?

Shriveling leaves and brown leaf tips are usually a sign of underwatering.

Check the soil, is it very dry? Give your plant some water to plump up the leaves. Unfortunately, those brown tips won’t go back to green again.

Is Haworthia an Aloe?

Haworthia plants and aloe plants often get confused. It is not surprising, since they look somewhat similar. They are both part of the same Asphodeloideae plant family. Just like Gasteria plants, another similar-looking relative.

You can give your haworthia the same overall care as you would an Aloe or Gasteria.

Why is your Haworthia turning Red?

The leaves of a haworthia can turn red, orange, or purple when they are exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time.

Often you would see the base of the plant turn a red-brown color. If the leaves still feel firm and not mushy, then most likely, this is sun stress.

Your haworthia likes bright light, but not too much direct sun. Move it away from the sun and give it some time. It will return to its original green color.

Is Haworthia Toxic?

Haworthias are non-toxic and safe to have around kids, cats, dogs, and other pets.

Watch out if you have an Aloe. Although they are very similar, the aloe is considered to be toxic. So keep that one out of reach.

Learn more about the risks of toxic houseplants around your pets (and find out which plants are non-toxic and safe!). 

Where to Buy a Haworthia Plant

If possible, start at your local plant nursery or garden store to look for a haworthia plant. It’s best (and most fun!) to pick and choose the perfect plant to take home.

There are so many different types of haworthias, and most plant shops will have at least a few for you to choose from.

Keep in mind the tips on how to plant shop like a pro.

If you can’t find a Haworthia locally, purchase one online on Amazon and Etsy.

Continue below for the printable Haworthia plant care guide! 

How to Care for a Haworthia Succulent

Yield:

1 healthy plant

Active Time:

15 minutes

Total Time:

15 minutes

Difficulty:

easy

Estimated Cost:

Low

Print out this quick guide to Haworthia care.

Keep it near your plant as a handy cheat sheet!

Materials

• Haworthia succulent
• Succulent soil

Instructions

1. BOTANICAL NAME – Haworthia.
2. COMMON NAME – Zebra plant or zebra cactus.
3. SUNLIGHT – Bright, indirect light to partial shade.
4. WATERING – Let the soil completely dry out between waterings.
5. HUMIDITY – Average household humidity.
6. SOIL – Well-draining succulent potting soil.
7. PROPAGATION – Propagate by separating offsets.
8. PESTS – Not very prone to pests but watch out for mealybugs.
9. TOXICITY – Considered non toxic.

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