Haworthis venosa ssp. venosa

A question has been asked about the differences between Haworthia venosa ssp. venosa and ssp. tesselata. I don't have any ssp. venosa, but I'll post a habitat photo taken by David Martin. The main described difference is in the degree of reticulation.

Where the plants labeled "simplex" fall in this variable species I don't know.

Haworthia pulchella var. globifera

Not very often offered in the trade, this is Haworthia pulchella var. globifera grown from seed (PVB7338). This is not a fast or large growing plant. The pictured plant is about 1 inch across (2.54 cm). It's from the area of Ladismith in South Africa.

Enjoy your plants.

Greenhouse Tour IV

Another bench with mostly haworthias. Not a very exciting view but if you get "down, dirty and personal" with the plants, it can be quite fascinating. Like I say, always keep a magnifying glass handy!

The weather forecasters are all in a tizzy about a windy, late winter storm which should hit us tomorrow. It's already bringing heavy snow to the mountains and tomorrow should bring 80 mph gusts to the coast and 50 mph gusts to us. We can and do get some pretty wicked storms through here every couple of decades (in my lifetime, there have been two, neither of hurricane strength). My guess, however, is that the bluster on the TV news programs will be the strongest gusts we'll get. If I'm wrong, I'll confess tomorrow.

Greenhouse Tour III

And yet another part of the Haworthia growing area, with - as always - a few other things mixed in as well.

Haworthia kingiana variations

These two plants of Haworthia kingiana were grown from the same batch of seed collected at the same site in South Africa. The second one is the "odd ball out". It's part of what makes growing from seed so much fun.

Greenhouse Tour II

Part 2 of the greenhouse tour. This is obviously an area mostly dedicated to haworthias - with a few other things thrown in...

Haworthia semiviva

Another haworthia tonight: Haworthia semiviva, which means the "half alive" haworthia. This picture of a nice healthy and robust specimen doesn't give a hint of why it has that name. However, later in the winter this plant will look more "half dead" than "half alive", sort of like Haworthia lockwoodii. This photo was taken yesterday in the larger greenhouse where it grows all by itself among all the other tables full of haws. I don't think it minds. It gets more attention that way! (My mind slipped a gear when I first posted this as "sempervivi". I had been cataloging the cacti, and there's a Mammillaria sempervivi and it transferred over to my old brain by mistake. Sorry, but thanks for the correction.)

Haworthia arachnoidea var. scabrispina

I was hoping we could get through the winter without any snow but that wasn't to be. We got about 3 or 4 inches (7.5 - 10 cm.) of snow this evening. It'll probably be gone by tomorrow morning.

This is another of my favorite haworthias: Haworthia arachnoidea var. scabrispina. It's quite rare in collections since it's one of those which doesn't produce offsets readily and is a slow grower. This one was grown from seed and is about 5.5 cm diameter.

Haworthia magnifica var. splendens part 2

My apologies. It appeared that I posted photos of two different haws yesterday. Both are magnifica var. splendens, but the second photo is from location GM447. The first doesn't have location data but is clearly from one of the localities where the plants develop the glaze. GM447 also does. Not all do. This is another image of GM447.

And another image of the one without location data:

It was a bit sloppy of me as the differences are readily visible. 

Haworthia magnifica var. splendens

This is a specimen of Haworthia magnifica var. splendens, about 8.5 cm across.  It's developed the nice "porcelain" glaze, like a piece of fine pottery, that is characteristic of some of these plants. Since about 90% of the leaf surface is covered with this glaze, it's a very slow growing plant. It was grown from seed.

Haworthia coarctata

Back with another Haworthia. What can I say; I like haworthias. This one is Haworthia coarctata. I'm prejudiced of course, but I think Lynn-Marie, my marriage partner for the last 41 years, has a special touch when it comes to growing these beauts.

Haworthia chloracantha

Another Haworthia: This one is a small growing plant, Haworthia chloracantha. Almost looks like something from another planet. Of course, not having been to another planet, I can't be sure.

A herd of Haworthia truncata

With this image I'll end my series on Haworthias. These are, of course, H. truncatas - specifically Haworthia truncata from GM313 seed.

I think I'll head on over to the Lithops next, or just something which catches my fancy. We'll see.

Took Ladybug for a walk on the University of Portland campus today - if that's what you want to call it. It's hard to walk when you're constantly being asked for a picture or if it's OK to pet her. I guess we're becoming sort of the unofficial mascot for some of the students...

Haworthia magnifica var. acuminata 'Grey Ghost'

This Haworthia isn't that uncommon. It's known simply as Haworthia 'Grey Ghost'. When it gets to the species name, it's often identified as Haworthia retusa 'Grey Ghost', but retusa has been changed to H. magnifica var. acuminata by Bayer, which would make it H. magnifica var. acuminata 'Grey Ghost'. Confused yet? Don't be. The naming of Haworthias is still very much in transition (as all botanical naming always is), and certainly at this point, they're all synonyms and can all equally be used.

Individual plants can vary a lot depending on the care they've received, especially the amount of light.

It may not be all that uncommon, but it can be a very impressive plant with it's whitish-gray variegation.

Haworthia cymbiformis variegate

This Haworthia cymbiformis isn't quite as lacking in chlorophyll as the one in the last post, but in many ways is just as striking.

Haworthia cymbiformis variegate

Today's Haworthia: a highly variegated Haworthia cymbiformis.. With an adequate supply of green and white leaves around the edges, the yellow part of the plant is able to remain strong and healthy looking, making for one stunning oddity.

Ladybug - University of Portland Fan

We live just three city blocks from the University of Portland (a private university on a bluff overlooking the Willamette River) and the Fall classes just began this past week. U of P is a big soccer (football to the rest of you) school, national contenders every year, but all Ladybug has to wear to celebrate the new school year is a baseball cap.

Oh well, you can't have everything! And they don't have soccer shirts that fit Ladybug.

If you weren't aware, Ladybug is our miniature horse who lives with us in town, along with our two Tervuren dogs, a calico cat and a sometimes overwhelming mass of cacti and succulents.

Unfortunately, we haven't been able to teach Ladybug to transplant succulent plants, but she's a part of the family, so we keep her anyway!

Speaking of plants, how about this lovely...Haworthia truncata var. maughenii:

This is a close-up of a seedling, but I love these little plants.

Haworthia 'Harry Johnson III'

Another cultivar, a classic hybrid developed by Harry Johnson - appropriately named 'Harry Johnson'. (Actually, we have three very different Haworthias which we originally purchased from Johnson's Cactus Nursery many years ago with this name. They're labeled 'Harry Johnson I, II, & III) This one is III and we find it to still be very popular.

A closeup view. The colors, of course, are best with strong light.

Haworthia 'Chocolate'

I hope you don't like chocolate. If you do, this is one tempting plant. Luckily you don't have to eat it to enjoy it. (That's a good thing since I'm supposed to be losing weight, what with my ongoing cardiac condition.)

I'll be finishing off my series on Haworthias this week, especially adding some hybrids. Then maybe next week I'll start on Echeverias?

Haworthia 'Baccata'

Though it was thought to be for a long time, Haworthia baccata isn't really a species at all. But since it's in the trade the species name is now 'Baccata', but it's still worth having in a collection. It can be quite stunning.