Aloe Haworthioides Guide: How to Care & Grow for “Haworthia-leaved Aloe”

Is your collection of succulents missing an aloe plant? Get yourself an adorable “polka-dotted” Haworthia-leaved Aloe.

Haworthia-leaved Aloe is a small and fast-growing succulent very similar to the well-known Aloe Vera but with a little bit more personality thanks to its unique appearance. Haworthia-leaved Aloe has plenty of lovely names like zebra cactus, pearl plant, star window plant, and cushion aloe.

It is really easy to care for, even if you are a novice grower, and it makes a delightful houseplant. Aloe Haworthioides has pretty much the same requirements as most aloe succulents, including bright light, adequate moisture in the hot months, and preferably drier conditions in the winter. What’s more, Haworthia-leaved Aloe is also sensitive to overwatering.

Ready to learn more about how to grow and care for Haworthia-leaved Aloe? Read on!

About Haworthia-leaved Aloe

• Haworthia-leaved Aloe belongs to the family of Asphodelaceae.
• Aloe Haworthioides is native to Madagascar, but it is also commonly found in South Africa.
• This Aloe’s botanical name is Aloe Haworthioides, but it is also commonly known as zebra cactus, pearl plant, star window plant, and cushion aloe.
• Haworthia-leaved Aloe can be a great addition to any indoor and outdoor environment. You can plant it in a pot and keep it indoors if your home needs a little bit of greenery, or plant it in your garden, outdoors. Thanks to its evergreen leaves, this Aloe will bring a fresh touch to your home or garden.
• Aloe Haworthioides grows healthy and happy when placed in a bright spot, under direct sunlight. Like most succulents, this Aloe requires a lot of sunlight to thrive. So, whether you grow it indoors or outdoors, remember to place it in a sunny spot.
• Like most succulents, Haworthia-leaved Aloe is sensitive to overwatering as it is prone to root rot. It is very important that this Aloe is never allowed to sit in stagnant water. What’s more, you should carefully monitor your Haworthia-leaved Aloe for signs of overwatering, such as puffy-looking stems or leaves. Overwatering is the sure way to kill this Aloe, so it’s best to forget to water it for short periods of time than to overwater it.
• When it comes to climate preferences, Aloe Haworthioides loves warm temperatures, just like most succulents do. This Aloe prefers temperatures of 70 to 80°F (21 to 27°C). The lowest temperature it can survive is down to 40°F (4.5°C). With this in mind, plant your Haworthia-leaved Aloe in a container, which you can bring indoors if you live in an area that gets subzero temperature during the cold season.
• Another thing to know about Haworthia-leaved Aloe is that it is not toxic for people or pets. However, this Aloe has spines and sharp edges, and it’s best to handle it with extreme caution and place it somewhere outside of your kids’ or pets’ reach.

Haworthia-leaved Aloe Features: An Overview

• As mentioned above, Haworthia-leaved Aloe has a unique appearance that sets it apart from its cousin Aloe Vera. This Aloe is easy to recognize for its pearly warts, which you can think of as polka dots.
• Haworthia-leaved Aloe is a small and stemless perennial plant. It features tiny rosettes of lance-shaped leaves colored dark green that are covered with a lot of bright white soft spines.
• Aloe Haworthioides can grow up to 4 inches (10 cm) tall, making it a perfect decorative houseplant.
• In late summer and autumn, Aloe Haworthioides produces terminal racemes, up to 12 inches (30 cm) long, of tubular pink-orange colored flowers.

Growing Haworthia-leaved Aloe

In general, Aloe is a very forgiving plant that is really easy to care for. This is the case with Haworthia-leaved Aloe as well. This aloe species is not considered difficult to care for, especially since it has most of the typical needs and requirements most succulents have.

So, whether you are an experienced grower or a novice, caring for a Haworthia-leaved Aloe shouldn’t give you a hard time. Let’s find out how to grow your Aloe.

First of all, you need to be considerate of your plant’s lighting requirements. As we’ve mentioned above, Aloe Haworthioides loves sunny spots and needs direct bright sunlight to thrive. If needed, your Haworthia-leaved Aloe can also adapt to partial shade. Yet, we highly recommend finding a sunny spot in your home or garden to keep your Aloe if you want it to look healthy and happy.

It’s best to also help your Haworthia-leaved Aloe with some feeding during the summer growing season. We recommend using a cactus fertilizer to provide your Aloe with the necessary nutrients to bloom. Yet, keep in mind that you must not feed your plant during the cold season, as this is the time of the year when this Aloe goes dormant.

How to Plant Haworthia-leaved Aloe

Planting Haworthia-leaved Aloe is as easy as caring for it. All you have to do when planning this Aloe is to take its minimal needs into consideration, including the need for a lot of sunlight, warm temperatures, a well-draining soil.

First, it’s highly important to plant your Haworthia-leaved Aloe in soil that provides good drainage. Like most succulents, this Aloe hates wet feet and is susceptible to root rot if overwatered. So, you must do everything to protect your Aloe from overwatering, starting with providing it with well-draining soil. We recommend using a fast-draining potting soil mix combined with sand or pebbles to improve water drainage.

Next, remember that this Aloe loves warm temperatures, meaning that you need to protect it from cold weather or temperatures lower than 40°F (4.5°C), which is the minimum it can survive. With this in mind, if you live in an area that tends to get colder than that during the cold season, we recommend planting your Haworthia-leaved Aloe in a container that you can bring indoors during winter.

Besides providing your Aloe with well-draining soil and a warm place, make sure you also provide it with a lot of bright, direct sunlight. Whether you choose to plant your Haworthia-leaved Aloe indoors or outdoors, place it in a sunny spot where it will get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day.

Aloe Haworthioides, From Amazon

Watering Haworthia-leaved Aloe

We’ve already mentioned it, but it’s absolutely worth mentioning again: overwatering is the biggest threat to Haworthia-leaved Aloe and a sure way to kill it.

Haworthia-leaved Aloe has the typical watering needs as most succulents:

• Doesn’t like wet feet.
• Is susceptible to root rot.
• Needs well-draining soil.
• Can die if overwatered.

How do you make sure you don’t overwater your Haworthia-leaved Aloe to death? The best way to make sure of that is to use the “soak and dry” watering method. In other words, you need to allow the top few inches of the soil to dry out completely between waterings. During the cold season, you need to cut back on the water almost completely, reducing watering to every other month.

To avoid overwatering, you must also make sure that you never leave the plant sit in stagnant water. If, by mistake, you pour too much water into your Aloe’s container, allow it to sit for a few minutes so that the plant gets as much water as it needs, and make sure you pour any excess water off.

An important thing to keep in mind: do not allow water to collect in the rosettes of your Haworthia-leaved plant.

Propagating Haworthia-leaved Aloe

The good news is that propagating your Haworthia-leaved Aloe is not difficult at all. This Aloe can be propagated using offsets from the mother plant at repotting time.

How do you propagate your Haworthia-leaved Aloe? Use a sharp knife to cut an offset as close to the mother stem as possible. Make sure you include as many roots as possible as well. Next, allow the offset to dry for a couple of days before replanting, a process similar to cuttings from other succulents. After the offset has dried briefly, place it in a small container and use the same soil you used for the mother Haworthia-leaved Aloe to plant it.

Place the container in a warm place where it gets a lot of bright, direct sunlight, and make sure to water the offset in the same way you water the mature plant.

In early spring, we recommend repotting the mother Haworthia-leaved Aloe in a slightly larger container so that it can continue to grow.

In Conclusion

Haworthia-leaved Aloe is a great houseplant that can bring a fresh touch to any indoor or outdoor environment, thanks to its evergreen leaves.

This Aloe is really easy to care for. Whether you are an experienced or a novice grower, you shouldn’t find caring for this Aloe difficult as long as you respect its basic and minimal growing needs such as bright light, warm temperatures, well-draining soil, and adequate watering.

If you are a fan of aloe plants, you need to get yourself this polka-dotted, unique looking aloe species. Haworthia-leaved Aloe is a must-have in every collection of succulents, cacti, and Aloe plants.

What type of Aloe are your growing? Share your experience with us in the comments!