I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

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softestpants
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I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by softestpants »

yesterday i was unboxing the h. cooperi i bought online. after finally opening the packaging i was slowly and carefully removing the dried leaves but then it snapped of into two pieces. i panicked real hard and i didnt know what to do because i really didnt wanna add another number to my plant kill count, specially because he just arrived to me and im new to this. since i was panicking and was extremely worried about him rotting so i planted him immediately and put him in front of a fan while the upper part i put it on a shady but bright windowsill because its windy on that part. on hindsight, it was probably not the best course of action but i was panicking. i live in a tropical country, been cool and windy these days. is he gonna live? how do i know if he rooted after a few weeks? what should i do with the fallen leaves? i planted him in probably 40/60 potting soil and pumice. dont know if its the real count since i was too panicky to count. the upper part is outside and he seems to be properly dried too. i couldnt provide pictures because im very new to this site and i dont know how to, and i apologize for that. i dont know how it happens but i sure hope someone can give me answers to my questions :idea:
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greenknight
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by greenknight »

Relax, Haworthias root easily. Moderate temperatures are perfect, that's when they grow - when it's neither too hot or too cold. Shady but bright is the right idea, no direct sun. See: https://www.haworthia.com/rooting/
Spence :mrgreen:
softestpants
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by softestpants »

greenknight wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 5:57 am Relax, Haworthias root easily. Moderate temperatures are perfect, that's when they grow - when it's neither too hot or too cold. Shady but bright is the right idea, no direct sun. See: https://www.haworthia.com/rooting/
his roots were trimmed - theres this fairly thick root about an inch. how kong do you think it takes before new roots to grow? should i wait atleast a week before watering or should i mist the soil after a few more days? i cant use rooting hormones because i dont have some. sorry about the amount of questions i have lol. thank you for the reassurance btw :D
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Steve Johnson
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by Steve Johnson »

Wait for a week or two after repotting, then water. Haworthias are winter growers, so once your H. cooperi's roots settle in, you should be seeing new growth fairly soon. By the way, it sounds like you have the right mix.

Speaking of Haworthias, you might enjoy this:

http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 25&t=45833

I hope you'll get something useful out of it.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
softestpants
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Location: a tropical country

Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by softestpants »

Steve Johnson wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 2:05 am Wait for a week or two after repotting, then water. Haworthias are winter growers, so once your H. cooperi's roots settle in, you should be seeing new growth fairly soon. By the way, it sounds like you have the right mix.

Speaking of Haworthias, you might enjoy this:

http://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtop ... 25&t=45833

I hope you'll get something useful out of it.
i wonder if plastic pots will work? its pretty humid in here all year round, plus i dont wanna risk losing a pot just by accidently dropping it just in case. thank you for sharing your post btw :D
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greenknight
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by greenknight »

A plastic pot is fine.

With an inch of "fairly thick root", it's in really good shape to grow - those thick roots are storage roots, the plant will be able to draw on that for energy to grow new roots instead of taking it out of the leaves. That piece of root probably will shrivel up as new roots grow, that's perfectly okay.

Normally, they re-absorb some of these roots during dormancy - they go dormant when it gets too hot, particularly when it stays very warm at night. They stop absorbing water from the soil then, and you need to stop watering to avoid rot. They survive off their storage roots at that time, sometimes the whole root system will shrivel up and die. Don't panic if this happens, new roots will grow when the weather cools, then you can resume watering.
Spence :mrgreen:
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Steve Johnson
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by Steve Johnson »

softestpants wrote: Wed Jan 13, 2021 4:29 ami wonder if plastic pots will work? its pretty humid in here all year round, plus i dont wanna risk losing a pot just by accidently dropping it just in case. thank you for sharing your post btw :D
You're welcome! The only point of reference I have for needing porous clay pots would be right along the California coast and the coastal Pacific northwest. The combination of high humidity from the ocean and cool summers there makes it very difficult for succulent mixes to dry out properly in a nonporous pot, but I agree with Spence -- plastic pots should be fine in a tropical climate.
If you just want photos without all the blather, please visit my Flickr gallery.
My location: Los Angeles, CA (Zone 10b)
softestpants
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by softestpants »

update: after almost 4 days the leaves turned a little brown and soft, even a little wrinkly. is this normal?

thank you so much to the both of you responding to my post. i really appreciate it :salute:
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greenknight
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by greenknight »

The outer leaves may shrivel, and that's not a problem if the younger central leaves are okay.
Spence :mrgreen:
softestpants
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by softestpants »

greenknight wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 1:17 am The outer leaves may shrivel, and that's not a problem if the younger central leaves are okay.
There's no inner leaves anymore :( i forgot to inform yall that the upper part got squished and i had to throw it in the trash, so now it's just the remaining lower part. Even the extra leaves that fell of got squished. I really am sorry i couldn't provide any pictures, im having trouble resizing. I'll definitely try to find a way.
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greenknight
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by greenknight »

That's a lot worse than you made it sound at first. It may grow anyway, all you can do is wait and see. Too bad about those extra leaves, they could have been rooted to make new plants if they hadn't gotten squished.
Spence :mrgreen:
softestpants
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by softestpants »

greenknight wrote: Thu Jan 14, 2021 4:32 am That's a lot worse than you made it sound at first. It may grow anyway, all you can do is wait and see. Too bad about those extra leaves, they could have been rooted to make new plants if they hadn't gotten squished.
yeah, sorry about that #-o

update: hes looking sad and dull, leaves are getting wrinkly and a little brown. what do? its been 4 days since repotting.
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greenknight
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by greenknight »

Not really anything else you can do, just wait and hope.
Spence :mrgreen:
softestpants
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Re: I accidentally broke my haworthia cooperi

Post by softestpants »

update: gumdrop's dead, and yes, i named him gumdrop. he just slowly melted and i didnt have the energy to even touch him for days until i did earlier. it seems like he melted. the middle part that used to be real firm just turned very, very soft, and so did the leaves. he was releasing some yellow-ish fluid, and that fluid seemed like the stuff in his leaves. i tried digging in further to check on the roots but everything just.. melted. im guessing all the way through. i didnt even bother checking all the way down since yknow, hes just all soft. i dont think it was rot since he was intact, he didnt turn black all the way through like the jelly bean i had that died from it. hes just very very mushy. anyone have an idea what it mightve been? again, i apologize if i cant provide any photos but even if i did, i wouldnt have one since i threw him to the trash immediately. :(
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