Haworthia "big retusa" hybrid series PP507 #B14 SOLD OUT
Description: I have come to recognize that many people like the appeal of big plants. But many of the most intensely pigmented plants end up being on the small side because I suspect the pigments put a drain on resources that the plant could otherwise spend on size. Artisan Plants has one huge (greater than 6 inches across) Haworthia in our collection. It's an unnamed unlabeled retusa hybrid Rohit found at a nursery in Arizona years ago. The plant is interesting with small white window spots and is not as drab as many large Haworthia I have seen. It has remained solitary and does not pup. I thought it might be possible to use this plant to create some larger and more colorful hybrids. So I crossed it with two of my most colorful hybrids, PP507 is big retusa crossed with an intensely pigmented dark brown-black PP91 hybrid. These 3 year old seedlings are robust looking and have good pigmentation. I have no idea how big they will get but they are already large than most similarly aged hybrids.
Prickly Pete breeding program:
I have been hybridizing Haworthia for close to 25 years. Most of my hybrids are multi-generational complex hybrids created from carefully selected parental stock. I breed to intensify and combine leaf and window coloration, leaf texture and leaf shape traits.
Leaf coloration is influenced by the interaction of the pigmentation of the leaf and the coloration and the windows. The windows can be clear or can have spots which vary in size. In hybrids the spotting often turns the entire window opaque. I strive for obtaining reds, pink, purple, orange, phosphorescent green and iridescent blue.
Leaf texture can be smooth or bumpy or bristly. In some of my hybrids I get red colored spines and bumps.
Haworthia can have many variations in leaf shape. I use plants like truncata in my breeding to introduce variations in leaf shape.
In 2005 I started numbering my crosses to keep track of them. So my numbers are labeled as PP#. For each PP cross there will be multiple siblings, all genetically unique individuals that will express slightly different traits. Therefore you will be obtaining a one-of-a-kind plant that no one else has. I hope you take good care of it. The seedlings will change as the age and pigmentation will usually intensify over time.