teatree, thanks so much for your response. I've never heard that the leaves will turn red with sun.

I may be watering too much, - about 1-2x per week but the toothpick in my plant is dried out when I drag it out. And yes the browner leaves are soft.

My soil seems to drain quite well and again, it's a mix lighter soil, rocks and some perlite.

thanks again.

Yes, that sounds like way too much water for the soil mix I am guessing you have. If the brown leaves are soft (or any green leaves, for that matter), that's definitely over-watering and a sign that the plant is developing rot. I'd pluck out the plant and check the root system and stem. Remove the brown leaves and any others that are soft, and feel the lower stem for any soft/mushy areas. The roots may also be rotting away.

If there's an issue with the stem being soft (ie. rotting), you'll need to cut from that area of the stem upward until you hit healthy stem (stem that is green on the inside). Then, place the now-rootless plant in new, completely dry soil (absolutely, completely bone dry, so brand-new dry, well-draining soil to be safe). The plant will grow new roots likely in a few weeks' time, and no watering until the plant has re-rooted. No watering a succulent or cactus that does not have roots, ever.

It's a Haworthia that has a strong will to live, so with the removal of the rotten area, it will re-root with some time and do just fine. And, yes, it can turn red with a lot of continued direct sunlight, but it should be the whole plant that will begin to redden, and again, that'll fade off with time as light lessens. It's also fairly unlikely that, from inside the house, this particular Haworthia would get enough sunlight for it to redden. The Haworthias that have windowed leaves are far more delicate, prefer more shade outside, and are more inclined to redden with direct sunlight, even through a window.

This post was edited by teatree on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 0:22

Thank you teatree for your help and advice. I removed the brown/soft leaves down to what was still green, checked the roots and they were not rotting (phew).

So we shall see...thanks!

vwarner

Is that soil it's now in damp or wet? It looks like it. Even if it weren't, it's not helping your case. It's a really heavy, heavy mix of mostly peat. It is not well-draining soil. You need to majorly cut it with pumice or perlite, so that the mix is more pumice or perlite than it is that dense, dark soil. Your finished mix should not look dark and heavy. You're bound to have the same problem again if you stick with what you've got. A few pieces of perlite is not going to do anything for drainage; it needs to be more than half of the mix to have an effect.

This post was edited by teatree on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 22:57

Help! I've had my zebra haworthia for about 3yrs now. I'm very concerned vwith it because it will not open up. It's bunched up and will not open its leaves up? Any ideas?

Jeremy, perhaps you could start a new thread for your haws problem. That said, does your haws' leaves always close up or is it a recent problem? Posting a photo would be a great help.