Very interesting that one pot of it has pups at the base rather than along the stem, Karen. That's pretty cool.

I thought I'd copy-paste the post Rosemarie made on the original thread right around the time you made this thread, so that everyone sees her insights... I'll clear out the references to the non-plant topic and start fresh if that's alright, Rosemarie, though I agree with all. ;) Knowing that turgida has now been placed within the retusa group is a large help to me because I've never been clear on the difference there.

ROSEMARIE'S POST:

FIRST, I am going to say, Haworthia is a hard genus to get correctly identified. Many times you need to know where the plant originated, and most folks will never know that! So, we're taking educated guesses!

I do not believe Karen's plant is H. mirabilis v paradoxa, as Howard suggested. He may have later withdrawn that, but I'm confused -would have to go back & look.

I do think that Haworthia retusa var. turgida is a possibility (turgida has now been placed within the retusa group). Colleen's plant does look similar to Karen's & in the old days, I would've called that H. turgida v. longibracteata. There is another, like Colleen's, called H. retusa 'Fouchei.' The one in my book looks like hers, but online, do not. Go figure!

Richard's variegated plant, Haworthia retusa 'Grey Ghost,' looks close as well, but I don't think it's a match to Karen's (BTW, acuminata is a variety of pygmaea). Have we determined yet if the leaves have cilia on the edges, Karen?

I'd like to see a closer pic of the plant. For now, I'd say closest match is H. retusa var. turgida.

Oh, and Rosemarie...it's thrilling to have possibly IDed something correctly as H. turgida v. longibracteata, even if it's now a totally outdated ID. Hahaha. :)

H. retusa 'Fouchei' is interesting. I see some images where it's a dead ringer for my plant. One unique marker of my Haw, at least, is that the green is a fairly bright shade. Most Haws are just the wrong green to begin with.

This post was edited by teatree on Fri, Jun 7, 13 at 23:27

I would still be interested in seeing a larger photo of your plant, Karen. =)

Colleen, fine w/me about reposting what I said (minus all the blah, blah stuff). :P

Additional notes on your plant, Colleen...further reading (should've done prior, but...you know)...it seems longibracteata has been classified as a variety of H. retusa now. Besides that, poking around, I found some bright green plants (like yours) under the name of H. mirabilis v. mirabilis as well as H. mirabilis v. triebneriana f. nitida. (a mouthful) Those found are online. In my BOOK, though, these two varieties of mirabilis both have cilia on the leaves (your pix show none--in the other post). SO...I still don't know for sure what you have. I will likely not be sure what Karen has either...even with another, more detailed pic! Ha ha! Isn't this FUN?!?

Yes, we enjoy making you work. ;)

Yes, no cilia on mine. I'll have to look online at those other possibilities! Thanks so much.

So maybe my suggestion of H. mirabilis v paradoxa wasn't too far off.... Oh well, Karen, just enjoy your Haw!

Sorry, Howard...think that name is too far off. Revisited a thread at TGF, with many fabulous Haw examples (yours & others). Worth another look just to see all the great specimens! Ken (Salt Creep) posted a great pic of his H. mirabilis v. paradoxa. Scroll down thread to see it (link below). It has cilia on the leaves, spots on the side, leaves are much smaller. I'm not crossing off a var. of mirabilis completely. Would still like to see a larger, more detailed pic of Karen's plant.

Colleen, good thing this "work" is enjoyable!

Here is a link that might be useful: H. mirabilis v paradoxa

Thx Rosemarie.... so we are at least good for the general species of mirabilis... yes?

No, Howard...I do not believe it is a mirabilis form (Karen's plant). There are only 2 varieties that do not have cilia (that I know of- var. badia & beukmannia. Even so, I could be wrong...but hers does not look like them. Colleen's plant looks somewhat like some of the mirabilis out there ~but I don't know if they are correctly identified.

I still think both (Karen's & Colleen's) are varieties of H. retusa.

Maybe I should stop...as Karen believes she has her name.

Hi Again,

You DO like to explore eh, RoRo? OK, no cilia that I can see & took a magnifyer to it to check.

Let's see what I can show here

{{gwi:575215}}

what else

{{gwi:575216}}

See the stem pups

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As opposed to the pups coming up around the base the plant in the 2nd pot of them.

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more

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Finally, the 2nd pot & the 3rd w/ smallest pups.

{{gwi:575220}}

Back up top for RoRo (& others) to see I've responded.

When the plant is in a healthier more representative state, perhaps it will be easier to identify.

Josh

Hi Josh,

I was specifically asked for more pix of it (maybe larger too); don't think it's necessarily in an UNhealthy state, just maybe a bit thirsty.

Looks pale and dehydrated, which is most likely affecting the appearance of the pattern...not that I have expertise IDing these plants by pattern, of course. I don't know this cultivar, so I'm not sure if it is always this tall or if that is a touch of etoliation. Once it settles its roots in, gets some light, and some nutrients, I imagine it will strike the form much more clearly.

All the pics are the same small-medium size in this Thread, and the same size when followed to the host page.

Josh

Maybe Josh if you don't know or grow Haws, you may not know they can lose their roots in Winter, but quick & crash in almost an instant. So for some of those, it's best to grow 'em a bit thirsty than lose 'em (IMO).

I'm not going to worry abt Photo size for now. I did a quick search recently on photo-sizing & nothing handy came up.

Thanks for all the additional pix, Karen. I appreciate that. I can enlarge them a bit using my cell phone. Good to know there is no cilia. Thanks for checking.

Interesting to see where the babies are growing...and the difference of that on your plants. I, too, thought they look a bit thirsty, but you, as the grower, are smart not to take chances. If it was me, I'd experiment with one of them ~giving more water.

No particular ID jumps out at me, seeing these. I will have a look-see through the day. Have been at the dentist all morning & have to hit My List before anything else.

TTFN ~R

Oh, I have plenty experience with Haw's and their rootlessness ;-)
I've helped a number of my friends rehabilitate plants they were trying to kill. My experience is not with this cultivar, as I mentioned, so I'm not sure about its particular habit or if this stretched look is standard. Some, after all, are taller than others...and I wouldn't want to offend a naturally tall-growing Haw by assuming it should remain as compact as its cohorts.

For IDing, one big pic is often better than a dozen small pics.
Not that I could ID this one, anyway ;-)

Josh

I agree with Josh; it may be better to wait until it's in its best form; after a good drink and some sun, this may look like a completely different animal! Though I have to say I kind of hope it keeps the lighter color, it's beautiful. I had a good look around at a few different websites, following suggestions people here had to offer, and I was stumped! H. mystery. :)

Whether the tall and skinny is what it normally looks like would be a tough call. I have a haw that pups out EVERYWHERE, as Karen's does. As such, it stands about 3" tall, pretty tightly packed. Everyone once in a while I pull a bunch off and try to loosen it up a bit, but more and more just keep coming in. It's currently popping out right in the middle of what I consider its center (but maybe it's a flower? We'll see). I haven't attempted to confirm what it is; no ID seems exactly right for this one.

The pups I pull off tend to be very skinny and etoliated-looking, but once they establish themselves in the soil, they also spread out and fatten up. It's a crazy one, that's for sure.

Photo is of the Momma with four of her offspring, about 5 months after potting ... one of which has just sprouted a grandbaby.