A sought after succulent and one of the crystal plants, Haworthia comptoniana comes in many forms and is easy too grow as an indoor plant. This is a plant that should be named Haworthia emelyae var. comptoniana. It comes from the Southwestern Cape Provinces of southern Africa and although rare, it is available from specialist nurseries.
Over the years this is a plant that has been much hybridised, so we have varieties such as haworthia comptoniana cv ‘Karakusa’, the variegated Haworthia comptoniana cv ‘Hagiwara’ and others.
Care
Being a large genus, Haworthia do require different care according to species. Haworthia comptoniana is fairly easy to grow and is a great indoor plant.
The container you choose to grow this succulent in is important. Good drainage is essential and therefore we are looking for containers with large drainage holes.
The growing medium is also important, a free draining cactus and succulent potting mix is a good start, a little extra drainage material such as medium gravel will improve the drainage even more.
- Light
This is a species that can be grown in good filtered light, in fact this is the preferred light. - Watering
Watering should only be carried out once the soil has dried. In summer, every two weeks is adequate, always checking to make sure the soil is dry before watering.
In winter, water once a month, again checking the soil for moisture. - Fertiliser
Every second year the plant should be repotted, and this is the time to fertilise. Add some slow release 12 month fertiliser to the growing medium around 1/3 of the way up the pot. No more that a teaspoon full. A pinch of lime can also be beneficial.