Aloes-- how will they do in the tropics?

[Gbarce]

Aloe Vera grows pretty ok here - I have seen them around in gardens through the years.

Recently though there have been other Aloe varieties being offered that are rather pricey and I have been hesitant to try them out. Since I've never seen these new varieties grown here locally I am worried that they might not grow well in this country because we get long periods of overcast clouds, high humidity and of course monsoon rains.

I think that South africa where most of these aloes come from is Hot and DRY and over her we are hot and WET. Does anyone have any idea how Aloes will fare in the hot and humid tropics?

[mppalms]

My guess is that many won't be happy. Try some of the really adaptable ones like Aloe arborescens, which grows over a huge range in Africa and takes just about anything thrown at it, or some of the Madagascan tree aloes from low elevation like Aloe vaotsanda, suzannae, or vaombe. Aloe barbarae (a tree aloe from RSA and Mozambique) might also work, or the hybrid Aloe 'Goliath' (barbarae x vaombe). Maybe Aloe sabaea from Yemen or Aloe thraskii from RSA. These all will become imposing elements in the landscape and can take some water in the warmer months. If you want something a little smaller, try some of the lower-elevation tropical Aloes. Aloe sinkatana from the Red Sea hills might do well in a really well-drained soil; there is a nice variation in flower color in that one. The tropical Aloe dorotheae does well for me with some protection from winter rain, but it should do quite well in your location; it has bright yellow/green/red multi-colored leaves that keep this color in a variety of light conditions. There are also a number of Madagascan species to try, but don't go with anything that lives over about 1000 m.

I hope this helps.

Jason

[mppalms]

BTW, for those in the U.S. who want to plant some Aloes in the landscape as well as palms, I recommend contacting John Miller of the Institute for Aloe Studies (IAS). (They do mail order.) Brian Kemble of Ruth Bancroft garden had previously sold a bunch of rare Aloes, but it seems they discontinued the program. Brian gave me a nice list of hardy Aloes that he has compiled over the years, and I'm pretty sure he'd be happy to forward it. (It's online at a nursery website, too, now.) I have added my own experiences to his list if anyone is interested.

IAS has a worthy educational mission as well.

I'm also not 100% positive that they don't ship internationally; so, it may be worth asking the question. Brian and John are two experts in the field. They can answer just about any Aloe question.

Jason

[Gbarce]

THanks Jason. This is very helpful.

Off hand I've seen Aloe Marlothii, Dichotoma and Castanea seedlings here. I will reseach if these are lowland species.

Gene

[mppalms]

THanks Jason. This is very helpful.

Off hand I've seen Aloe Marlothii, Dichotoma and Castanea seedlings here. I will reseach if these are lowland species.

Gene

Gene,

My guess is that Aloe dichotoma will have a hard time in your location, since it is from a very dry area that I believe gets mostly winter rainfall. The others may be o.k., but they may expect a cooler winter than you can provide.

Good luck and have a happy new year!

Jason

[ariscott]

Gene,

I have a few aloes and agaves. I know a lady who has a huge collection of aloes and agaves. They grow well in her yard. Our climate is very close to yours and yours and we do get a lot of rain during monsooon.

You need to raise the garden beds and add a bit of sand to ensure free draining. They can deal with a lot of rain, as long as they are grown in the well drained soil. I plant mine next to the house where the builder dump a lot of sand... and they are growing very well, even this time of the year.

Regards, Ari

[bgl]

Our daughter wanted to plant an aloe here several years ago, so I suggested she stick it in the ground all the way in the back... It was a tinry little thing. Today it's a real monster and really thrives. Don't have a picture of it, but could snap one tomorrow if you're interested. It's just the basic generic aloe!

[Gbarce]

Ari- Thanks. That's encouraging.

Bo- Yes I'd be very interested in seeing a picture of it.

This is a group of plants that I want to incorporate in the garden along with palms and I know that I will be pushing the envelope in trying to grow them here in Manila. Experiences by other gardeners with relatively the same climate/environmental conditions is really vital. from what I have read on these plants my biggest concern will be the himidity and wet conditions.

Hope to hear more from the experinces of other tropical aloe growers.

[aussiearoids]

Gene , many will grow very well in the wet tropics , surprising really .

[Al in Kona]

Gene, I've only tried growing the small grass type Aloe here in Hawaii. It does well for me and has a nice coral red flower. The tag read "hybrid Aloe" - that's all I know about it. It is not all that drought tolerant so likes regular watering. here are two pics of it . . .

[mppalms]

Gene, I've only tried growing the small grass type Aloe here in Hawaii. It does well for me and has a nice coral red flower. The tag read "hybrid Aloe" - that's all I know about it. It is not all that drought tolerant so likes regular watering. here are two pics of it . . .

Al, that one looks like Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid'. It flowers most of the year, right?

Jason

[Al in Kona]

Gene, I've only tried growing the small grass type Aloe here in Hawaii. It does well for me and has a nice coral red flower. The tag read "hybrid Aloe" - that's all I know about it. It is not all that drought tolerant so likes regular watering. here are two pics of it . . .

Al, that one looks like Aloe 'Johnson's Hybrid'. It flowers most of the year, right?

Jason

Yes Jason, it does flower most of the year and thanks for a possible name for it, "Johnson's hybrid".

[bgl]

Gene,

Sorry, never got around to this yesterday. But here's a photo. It was planted about 8 years ago, and was a tiny little thing, barely 1G size. Seems to like it here!

Bo-Göran

[mppalms]

Gene,

Sorry, never got around to this yesterday. But here's a photo. It was planted about 8 years ago, and was a tiny little thing, barely 1G size. Seems to like it here!

Bo-Göran

This looks like Aloe arborescens, which I'd guess is good in all but the very hottest and coldest climates. It can take a lot of water and some waterlogging of the soil, and it's great to see it growing in lower elevations in Hawaii. I've seen it above 2000 feet on at least three of the islands. I'd really recommend some of the large tree aloes, too. They go well with palms.

Jason

[mppalms]

Yes Jason, it does flower most of the year and thanks for a possible name for it, "Johnson's hybrid".

Glad to be of help. I think this is a great choice for a lot of locations. I haven't planted it, but I've seen it all over and I think I'm going to use it as a ground cover in the near future.

Jason

[BigFrond]

Gene,

Sorry, never got around to this yesterday. But here's a photo. It was planted about 8 years ago, and was a tiny little thing, barely 1G size. Seems to like it here!

Bo-Göran

This looks like Aloe arborescens, which I'd guess is good in all but the very hottest and coldest climates. It can take a lot of water and some waterlogging of the soil, and it's great to see it growing in lower elevations in Hawaii. I've seen it above 2000 feet on at least three of the islands. I'd really recommend some of the large tree aloes, too. They go well with palms.

Jason

There are mutiple variety of this aloe. I have two types with fatter leaves than Bo. The one with the biggest, fattest leaves is the 'Buena Vista' variety. The leaf size is twice that of the usual aloe arborescen. BTW, these things grow pretty fast. If you give it more water during the summer, it will grow big and fast.

[mppalms]

There are mutiple variety of this aloe. I have two types with fatter leaves than Bo. The one with the biggest, fattest leaves is the 'Buena Vista' variety. The leaf size is twice that of the usual aloe arborescen. BTW, these things grow pretty fast. If you give it more water during the summer, it will grow big and fast.

Kirstenbosch has the most amazing selection of Aloe arborescens. I had no idea there were so many different forms of the same species (flower color, leaf size, over-all size of plant, clumping behavior, etc.). I guess it makes sense given the huge native range.

Jason