mmmmmmmmm... Daddy like.

Nice one, Howard! I should send you an email-get something going. Think I'll have time soon--finishing up our tax returns. Ha ha...but maybe Ryan beat me to it! :D

BTW, technically I think this goes by H. emelyae v. comptoniana now.

This post was edited by rosemariero on Mon, Mar 18, 13 at 11:56

Don't worry, Ro... I'll get some leaves going for you:)

Okie dokie, Ryan...sounds like a plan!

Ryan, so you can grow these from the leaves only or you need offsets? I know this sounds dumb on my part but I've never attempted it... so information, please.

Howard, it's not as easy as other succulents and it takes longer, but completely possible. First challenge is removing a leaf without tearing it... not always easy. Even a torn leaf can root, though... most will be slightly torn. Mr. Hammer removes a leaf, dips it in rooting hormone and places it in dry soil with just the window exposed... doesn't even wait for it to callus. Pots go under the bench. Even the great expert loses about 1/3 of attempts. I've only been successful with H. emelyae so far, and only with 1 leaf which made 2 plants - but my methods have improved, so...

Mmm, what a beauty.

Loosen up both sides where the leaf is attached to the stem, if necessary use an exacto knife to do this then gently pull down with you finger over the attached end of the leaf and then gently start to loosen up each side the middle or cuticle that is attach is the important part it will have a little bit there attched to that stem it may be necessary use the exacto knife to make a cut so it will come clean. Once you get it done corretly it is a home run. Practice on a cheap plant first, working slowly and gently until you get the feel of it. I do this with Aeoniums I put the leaf face down or standing up agaist the pot until I see roots then poke a hole into the soil and only plant the roots. evenn this is not necessary it will do it all by it's self. I hope I explained this you can understand what I mean. Rosemarier please clean this up and write it correctly so it can be understood, I was doing it as I was writing. I will not have my feelings hurt. Or Pirate Girl step in you are also good with words, but if you haven't done before don't try now, Norma

Very nice, Howard.

So knowledgeable, hanzrobo and Norma! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you Greta, I'm still learning. Still learning to communicate too. Norma has been doing this 10x longer than I. She was one of the first people to cheer on my experiments and give tons of useful advice freely. I would take her words as fact.

What I think Norma was trying to express about Haworthia leaves is: Preserve the leaf as much as possible. The best way to do it is when the plant is removed from soil so you have full access to it and tension is relieved. Slowly and carefully bend the leaf back and ease it away from the stem. Loosen the sides first, use a tool if needed - something flat with soft edges. The cuticle (in the center) is where the leaf is attached and also where you may need to cut with an Exacto knife. I think the closer you can get to the stem, the more of that root-generating material you will preserve.
If you lose most or all of the cuticle when removing the leaf, it becomes very hard for the leaf to regenerate its own cuticle which is where the root starts. It's the same principle as most succulent leaves, really, just a little harder to pull off. Pull off... oh man, that was completely unintended. Well, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and give this the old college try, a little more carefully next time.

Haworthia kann be grown from leaf cuttings? You learn something new every day dont you?

Now we will all be running out and doing leaf cuttings. Thanks for the info! I knew they would root but it is nice to have a complete guide to do it correctly.
That is a cutie. I think we have all bought plants we already have more than once. Sometimes I just can`t resist.
Tally HO!

Rian, I could go back to this greenhouse on a daily basis and purchase lots of Haws.... It is hard to resist.... what a hoarder I am!!!!! Maybe I should post some pics next time I go out there.... some of you may find something you like!!!!! I'm NOT promoting sales, trades or any illusion to the same so no nastiness... or misinterpretation; just FYI.

Just as an example, here is some eye candy....

This post was edited by bikerdoc5968 on Tue, Mar 19, 13 at 12:21

My knee-jerk reaction upon seeing the pic was that this is emelyae. Seeing it IDed as H. emelyae v. comptoniana puts my mind at ease.

Those are some beauties, Howard! I especially like the one on top and on the left. The one on the left looks like my H. pygmaea. That's the one I was successful with (leaves), not H. emelyae... my mistake.

I went ahead and tried out Norma's leaf removal suggestions earlier today and took pictures. I used an offset that I believe was trying to crawl out from under its clump. I think it's a common type of H. mutica. I have a few interesting observations so I'll do a new thread and we can all get surgical with it. That shouldn't be a problem for one guy I know!

Thanks Ryan. So who do we have here... from L to R:
H. emelyae, H. retusa, H. truncata and H. mirabilis var. paradoxa. Having said this, I am not absolutely positive about the first one... I really should post some pictures of this greenhouse!

This post was edited by bikerdoc5968 on Tue, Mar 19, 13 at 23:14