Haworthia goig reddish-brown

[Urchin1987]

Hello, i have had a Haworthia magnifica notabilis for around 18 months. In recent months most of the leaves have gone a reddish-brown but there is some green deeper inside the plant.

It is on a table around 1 metre away from a southish-facing window in the UK. I have just read that Haworthia sometimes change colour due to too high levels of light - is this the case for mine?

Any suggestions what i should do? Will the brown turn back to green under different conditions or is there something more sinister afoot...?

Two photos attached for reference.


Many thanks

[greenknight]

They turn red due to stress - too much sun can do it, but so can other problems. I would check the roots for rot. If it has root rot, you can save it if you catch it early by cutting off anything that's rotten and re-rooting it.

[DaveW]

In habitat they do take on "sun colours" or "stress colours" which can often be induced by dryness and this is perfectly normal for our plants. In fact the thing that often attracted collectors in habitat to collect them in the first place was their colours they thought would make them commercial, but which were usually unfortunately lost in the sunless climes they were then sent to. Who wants boring green plants anyway, if you do you might as well just grow the normal range of garden plants. We are probably attracted to our plants initially by the colour of their bodies, leaves or spines because they are different to the average house or garden plant.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3030" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=665_dhC9kyw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

See the picture of Haworthia viscosa in habitat here. Even I as a dyed in the wool cactophile admit it looks far more attractive than those green things you see on the show benches:-

https://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_he ... 033321847/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[greenknight]

Yes, it could be perfectly healthy - but if you haven't changed anything like the amount of light or water it's getting, it raises suspicion that there might be a problem. It wouldn't hurt to check.

I agree with DaveW - I grow my succulents on the hard side, so they get that more natural appearance. But if a plant suddenly turns red, I want to know why. Some red color is normal for this species, but yours looks rather shrunken as well. Compare this picture - http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/199985/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;