Growing Haworthia - the expensive ones
Haworthia bayeri
My aim is to start cultivating these types of haworthia as they sell for relatively high prices and are small so you don't need huge amounts of growing space although is does take about two years to grow them to a saleable size.
Haworthia picta
The interesting thing about haworthia is that they can be hybridised relatively easily, that is: different species can be crossed to create unique looking plants. As you can see, a couple of the plants pictured are about to flower so I will definitely be doing some cross-pollination.
Haworthia argenteo-maculosa "white clouds"
Haworthias are not self-fertile which means that one plant will not produce seed by itself and you need two genetically different plants in order to produce seed. Since I only have one of the plants pictured, I will be doing some cross-pollinating in order to get seed to sow. That will be another adventure in itself: pollinating to produce seed, and then sowing that seed and raising little plants. I will post updates as these projects progress.
various haworthia hybrids
What a lot of such amazing colors. It seems like this sea and there are sea stars.
I must tell you that the other day when we went to the garden store, succulents have become a big seller here. Really unusual as Florida is not exactly a dry place a lot of the year. The specimens we saw were quite pretty and I am sure if this trend continues, you could makes a few extra bucks. 🐓🐓
Succulents are popular at the moment and pretty cheap in their native country but some kinds will always be collector's items
Woah good luck with the cross pollination!
Thanks. It's not that difficult to pollinate. It can be more difficult to raise young plants from seed
It will be interesting to see what they turn out like. I look forward to the updates.
Oh that is gonna be interesting to watch! I did some cross-pollinating on my Streprocarpus plants and the results are so amazing! Every single plant blooms differently.
I am just curious... what is the price for them?
the starting price for the more expensive ones is around 10 or 12 euros but some plants easily go for hundreds
gorgeous specimens! i find it so interesting that what is rare to you there might be really common to me here in Cali and vice versa! So cool that you do your own cross-pollinations. Have you heard of Dick Wright? I guess he started hybridizing echeverias a long ass time ago and is pretty well known for it. He lives in my town, but I cant seem to pin down when his nursery is open!
I haven't heard of him, echeveria breeding is not so big here, people mainly breed aloes and Haworthia. My uncle is an aloe breeder.
I grow echeveria in my garden but I find the sun here can be pretty harsh for many of them. What is common to you in Cali?
I'm still learning all the names, but it seems like echeverias are very common here. Haworthias are pretty easy to come by in all types of varieties and colors. Aloes, too. Although they get ridiculously huge here and people pay a fortune to use them in landscaping. We get some cool agaves, as well. I picked up a quadricolor agave in a 4" pot for $7.
Most of these succulents I find regularly in the nurseries. Ive got a ton of nurseries in my area though, so Im really lucky. Plus they hook me up with wholesale discounts since I'm there so often. I think this tray cost around $40 which is on the high side for me.
I wonder if we can figure out how to do a plant swap between countries without getting in trouble?
Nice echies! I see also anacampseros and albuca spiralis.
Plant swops aren't that easy, if only because the length of time in the post can be bad for the plants health. I know people who post internationally although you are supposed to have phytosanitary certificates, which don't prove anything. If parcels are opened and you don't have one, the plants will be destroyed. The best way to send plants is by posting seeds although it takes a while to actually have plants that way
yes! sunsets and sizzle frizzle. That one is from your part of the world, right?
The certificate is only if they end up opening your box mid-transit I think. I've been reading you can bring up to 12 plants if they're bare-rooted or cuttings, but you're right - the time in boxes is risky. There has been a huge boom of Korean succulents here though, so they've got to be doing it somehow!
Both of them are, although sunset is a cultivar, they aren't naturally pink like that.
As far as I know, any plant that crosses borders must have phytosanitary certification and any plant with it is always bare-rooted. A lot of people bringing in Korean plants are clubbing together on orders and then they pay together for a single phytosanitary certificate to bring costs down. The plants are then locally propagated
That sounds about right - that neon pink/magenta that sometimes comes up does not look like mother nature intended. I need a plant club!!
What about leaves? Would the same hold true for just the leaves? I've had great luck with leaf propagation here. Definitely faster than in NY.
Improved propagation times will be due to warmer weather and possibly better humidity. I don't know how well leaves will fare inside boxes for long periods.
Make a plant club by talking to people at your local succulent shows.
What is that? It looks like an alien plant from somewhere planet! It looks creepy that anytime it would eat me alive!
These Haworthia especially the hybrid will be a star in any garden it is found.
It will cost a fortune here in Nigeria when marketed to a target audience.
I did not see the first flower in the first place
Have a red rose wishes for you @nikv