Haworthia Viscosa

Three columns, and it keeps them

Haworthia viscosa — Pagoda Succulent or Tower Haworthia in local nurseries, now filed botanically as Haworthiopsis viscosa — stacks its short, stiff, dark green leaves in three neat vertical ranks. Looked at from above it is a triangle; from the side it is a small tower. The leaves are rough to the touch and pointed, and the plant keeps that shape without any trimming.

It is slow. A tower gains height over years, not months, and it spreads by sending up new columns from the base. That slowness is the appeal on a desk or a bookshelf: it looks the same next year as it does the day it arrives.

Light

Bright indirect light, with some gentle morning sun if you have it. It is tougher in the sun than the windowed Haworthias, but full afternoon sun through glass in June will still bronze the leaves and dry the tips. In too little light the columns loosen and lean toward the window, and the gaps between leaves open up — turn the pot every couple of weeks so it grows straight. The summer care guide covers pulling plants back from the glass once the afternoons pass 38°C.

Water

Every two to three weeks, and only when the soil is dry all the way through. Water the soil, not the plant: water trapped between those tightly stacked leaves sits there and rots the column from inside. During the July and August monsoon, when nothing indoors dries properly, wait longer between waterings than you think you need to. Lower leaves turning yellow and soft is the warning sign; read how to save a dying succulent before it reaches the stem.

Soil and potting

A gritty, fast-draining mix in a pot with a drainage hole — the soil mix guide has the ratio. It likes a snug pot and rarely needs repotting. New columns that form at the base can be separated once they have their own roots.

Winter

From November to February it barely grows. Water sparingly, keep it off cold glass at night, and keep it out of the direct blast of a heater.

Good to know

Haworthias are non-toxic to cats and dogs. The leaf tips are pointed enough to notice, but not sharp enough to be a hazard.