Tips for Growing ‘Little Warty’ Gasteria

Gasteria ‘Little Warty’

‘Little Warty’ is a Gasteria cultivar with variegated foliage streaked with light green or silver and dark green. It is an easy-care, nontoxic houseplant that requires little maintenance.

This cultivar is perhaps the best known and most popular plant in the Gasteria genus and can vary in its appearance.

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The shape of the leaves may be strap-shaped or triangular, and the variegation also differs from plant to plant, though a common feature is sharp points at the tips of the leaves, known as mucros.

Having already covered general gasteria care in our growing guide, in this article we’ll focus on the ‘Little Warty’ cultivar.

The foliage grows mostly upright, arranged either like a fan, a semi-spiral, or a rosette, reaching six to eight inches tall with an eight-inch spread.

Tubercles give the leaves a rough texture, and it is these that inspired the name of this cultivar.

In late winter through summer, ‘Little Warty’ may produce long inflorescences bearing pink flowers with green and white striped mouths.

Recognized by the Royal Horticultural Society, this hybrid was awarded with the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2012.

The ancestors of this gasteria hail from South Africa and Namibia, an area known as a succulent hotspot, where other stars of horticultural fascination such as lithops, baby toes, and titanopsis come from as well.

‘Little Warty’ is a hybrid cross bred by Australian hybridizer David Cumming, using the cultivar ‘Old Man Silver’ and the species G. batesiana.

Gardeners in mild climates can grow ‘Little Warty’ outdoors year-round in USDA Hardiness Zones 10 to 11, where the plants can be cultivated in containers or rock gardens.

Whether indoors or out, these attractive specimens can also be grown in mixed planters and succulent fairy gardens.

How to Grow ‘Little Warty’

Light

When you bring your gasteria plant home, start by finding a spot for it with the right amount of light.

If you’re keeping the plant outdoors, choose a shaded or semi-shaded location.

Indoors, this succulent thrives in primarily bright, indirect light, though about four hours of direct sunlight is okay, particularly if it is morning sun.

If you’re using a light meter, aim for approximately 800 foot candles. You can also use a grow light if you don’t have a suitable location near an appropriate window.

Soil

These plants prefer well-draining growing medium with a pH range of 6.0 to 7.0. They are fairly flexible about the medium type, so you’ll find them growing in many different substrates.

You may want to follow my lead and make your own succulent potting mix for these plants, consisting of organic materials, like compost or coconut coir, and mineral content, such as pumice and sand.

If you’re making your own mix, ordinary houseplant potting soil can be used for the organic materials part.

I use Rosy Soil’s Houseplant Mix, available in four- or eight-quart bags from Walmart.

Rosy Soil Houseplant Mix

To this I add a mixture of pumice and sand to create the perfect medium.

If you’re intending to grow ‘Little Warty’ outdoors, check out our guide to preparing soil for succulents.

Water

‘Little Warty’ needs deep, infrequent watering. Allow the growing medium to dry out completely between waterings.

If you aren’t sure if the medium is dry enough, consider using a soil moisture meter, and wait to water until the meter indicates the dry range.

Make sure you water at soil level and not on the foliage or consider using the bottom watering method.

I like to place my houseplants in a large bowl, then use a watering can to water until it drains out of the bottom of the pot.

I then let them sit and soak up water through the drainage holes for a few minutes.

Temperature and Humidity

‘Little Warty’ can tolerate cold temperatures down to about 30°F, but not for extended periods.

If you like to take your succulents outside for the summer months, err on the side of caution and transition the plant back indoors before temperatures fall below 50°F.

Indoors, they are perfectly happy in normal household temperatures.

Fertilizing

I like to fertilize my gasterias during the growing season. The way I do it is to use a very mild formula, with a ratio of 1-1-1 (NPK) and apply it every time I water.

During the winter months, I don’t feed them at all.

Dr. Earth’s Pump and Grow Indoor House Plant Food, available in a 16-ounce pump bottle from Arbico Organics, is an excellent product, and has an NPK ratio of 1-1-1.

Dr. Earth Plant Food

You can also use stronger formulations, up to 16-16-16 (NPK), but these should only be applied once every three months during the growing season.

Another way to feed this plant is to add compost or worm castings when repotting.

Learn more about fertilizing succulents in our guide.

Repotting

In general, ‘Little Warty’ should be repotted every three to four years.

However, earlier repotting may be necessary such as if it’s growing in a pot without drainage holes, the growing medium isn’t well draining, or if the plant is showing signs of rotting.

When choosing a new pot, make sure the container you select has holes in the bottom, and is just large enough to contain the roots.

As a rule of thumb I recommend a pot that provides about 30 percent of room for expansion. More than this, and you risk the potting medium becoming oversaturated.

Where to Buy

As the most commonly grown gasteria, you may be able to find ‘Little Warty’ at your local garden nursery, big box store, or even your neighborhood supermarket.

And of course, they’re also widely available for purchase online!

‘Little Warty’

You can purchase a ‘Little Warty’ plant in your choice of a two- or four-inch clay or plastic pot from the Succulents Box Store via Amazon.

Propagation

These plants provide plenty of opportunities for propagation. You can grow a ‘Little Warty’ gasteria from seed, leaf cuttings, and offsets or division – just take your pick!

From Seed

If you have seeds from this gasteria cultivar you’d like to grow, here’s how to do it:

1. Fill pots or trays with moistened seed starting medium.
2. Sow the seeds at least 1/4 of an inch apart, and cover with 1/8 of an inch of medium.
3. Add fungicide or biofungicide to the water bottle and spray to water the seeds in.
4. Place inside a transparent plastic bag or under a humidity dome to serve as a mini greenhouse.
5. Position in indirect, bright light and keep at 77°F during the day, and 68°F at night.
6. Keep the medium moist via bottom watering or spraying with a gentle mist from a spray bottle.
7. Seeds will germinate in one to three weeks. Continue to keep them moist, reapplying fungicide as needed.
8. Two months after germination, gradually transition the seedlings to less humid conditions by gradually removing the humidity dome, but keep the growing medium moist.
9. Keep in indirect bright light, and start to water less frequently, allowing the medium to dry out in between.
10. Transplant the seedlings into larger pots or outdoors when they are about a year old.

Read our guide for step by step instructions for growing succulents from seed.

From Leaf Cuttings

These succulents can be easily propagated from leaf cuttings – though the term “cutting” is a bit misleading here. No blades are required!

Here’s what you’ll do:

1. In spring or summer, remove a bottom leaf by simply twisting it off the plant.
2. Dip the cut end into fungicide, and place it in a dry, bright location for two weeks to allow it to callus over.
3. When the leaf is callused, fill trays or nursery pots moistened growing medium – leave a small gap between the surface of the medium and the rim of the container to allow room for watering.
4. Place the leaf horizontally onto the surface, with just the callused end under the potting medium.
5. Situate the pot in indirect bright light, and keep the medium moist.
6. Within a few weeks, the leaf should root, and soon after, plantlets will grow from the callus.
7. Keep the medium moist for the first two to three months, and then gradually transition to dryer conditions, watering once to twice a week.
8. Wait until the plantlets are one to two years old before transplanting them, as discussed below.

Learn more about how to propagate succulents from leaf cuttings in our guide.

From Offsets or Divisions

One of the charms of ‘Little Warty’ gasterias is the abundance of offsets they produce.

Spring is the best time for this project, and if possible, wait until the offsets are about a third of the size of the mother plant. Here’s how to proceed:

1. If you’re propagating offsets, two-inch pots will be just the right size.
2. For divisions, choose pots that will contain the root ball while allowing for about 30 percent more root growth.
3. Remove the plant from its pot, brush off the growing medium, and either gently divide the clump or remove individual offsets, pulling clumps or offsets away from the mother plant.
4. Apply fungicide to the roots of the plants, fill the pots part way with growing medium, then situate the plant in the container.
5. Continue filling with growing medium to cover the root ball, leaving a gap between the soil surface and the rim of the pot.

That’s it – you’re done! But be sure not to water them right away – instead, wait a week.

Learn more about propagating succulents from offsets in our guide.

Transplanting

Whether you are growing a ‘Little Warty’ that you propagated yourself, or have a purchased specimen, eventually the time will come to transplant to a new container.

When you’re ready to proceed, remove the plant from its pot, brush off as much of the potting soil as possible, and inspect the roots.

Specimens that have healthy roots can be repotted right away.

If any of the roots look unhealthy, trim them with a clean pair of snips or scissors before applying a fungicide.

Place the roots of the plant into the pot, then fill in with more growing medium as needed, so that the crown of the plant is about half to one inch from the rim of the pot.

Resist the urge to water the newly potted plant immediately, wait a week before watering.

Pests and Disease

In keeping with its status as a low maintenance houseplant, ‘Little Warty’ doesn’t tend to be very vulnerable to pests or disease.

Outdoors, be wary of rabbits and deer, both of which may enjoy nibbling on these succulents.

Indoors or out, keep a look out for the insect and arachnid pests that target many houseplants: scale, mealybugs, and aphids.

Check under the leaves and if you see any evidence of pests, you can spray them off with water from the hose or the faucet. Mealybugs can be picked off by hand using a cotton bud dipped in rubbing alcohol.

Learn more about how to deal with rotting succulents in our guide.

Gotta Love this Plant, Warts and All

Did you ever see such adorable warts? ‘Little Warty’ is a succulent bound to enchant beginner houseplant growers and seasoned succulent gardeners alike!

Are you growing ‘Little Warty’ or other gasterias in your succulent collection? Do you have any unanswered questions about growing or caring for these plants? Let us know in the comments section below, and feel free to share your photos too!

And for more information about growing succulents, check out these guides next: