Haworthia Red Sun Variegated

 Name and Characters: Red红 Sun太阳 Jade玉 Dew露 (Cooperi) Variegated锦

This is a relatively new variegated Haworthia that I recently acquired. As the name suggests, this cooperi/obtusa turns a bright red when stressed, and its leaves are quite round—resembling the shape of the sun. It stresses to orange and red fairly easily.

I’ve noticed that some variegated Haworthia species stress orange more readily, while others hardly do at all—Ice City variegated, for example, typically displays only yellow variegation. Variegation itself can appear in a wide range of colors, including white, yellow, pink, orange, and red. A common theory is that variegated plants lack green chlorophyll, leaving other accessory pigments to dominate and influence coloration. However, I’m unsure how sun stress specifically affects these remaining pigments.

I’d love to learn more about this process and how to selectively breed for certain types of variegation. Personally, I haven’t seen a non-variegated “Red Sun,” which leads me to think that Red Sun likely originates from a seed-grown variegated cooperi that stresses red easily. Feel free to share your thoughts—I’m always interested in learning more about this topic.

Haworthia Fire Phoenix

Name and Characters: Fire火 Phoenix凤凰 Correcta克

This is one of my first Haworthia, and I absolutely love it. Its large, flat, triangular translucent windows have a unique veining pattern that—if you use a bit of imagination 😝—almost resembles the flames of a flickering fire, which is how it earned the name Fire Phoenix. When the plant is sun-stressed, it develops a pink blush and the thick leaves are beautifully arranged in a spiral. I question the use of Correcta in its naming, as I’ve also seen it referred to as Bayeri. Given that the lineage of many Haworthia species remains a secret or unclear, I prefer to simply use the name Fire Phoenix instead.

Variegted锦

The variegated Fire Phoenix will show bright orange stress colors that enhance its flame-like appearance. Mine isn’t very stressed yet, but I’m excited to see it brighten up in the future. Variegated Haworthias grow very slowly, so I’m hoping the variegation will remain strong over time. I’ve noticed there is often quite a bit of difference in appearance between variegated and non-variegated plants of the same species. In this case, the flame-like vein lines are not as pronounced, and the leaves are not as flat as those of the non-variegated Fire Phoenix. Variegation is rare and difficult to stabilize, so it’s possible the original variegated mother plant naturally had weaker veins—or the plant may continue to change as it matures.