Tree Aloe ID

[Tracy]

My wife and I were in New Zealand last month, getting ready to take a sea taxi out into Abel Tasman park and I saw this interesting looking small tree Aloe.  I couldn't ID it, as it seemed to have larger leaves than my Aloe Hercules at a similar size and didn't look like straight Aloes which are branching such as Aloe barberae, Aloe dichotoma or Aloe eminens.  The pink teeth through me off, as the Hercules I have seen have white teeth like mine at home.  I have a couple of Aloes which normally don't go into multi-heads which have pink teeth, which made me wonder if one of the multi-headed branching varieties had been crossed with an Aloe ferox or Aloe africana which I am only aware of growing as a single trunk and head.  I'm not even sure that these species could be crossed.  Anyone familiar with this plant based on my photos?  The outward facing heads remind me of my Aloe speciosa, which also doesn't branch though.

[epiphyte]

Looks kinda like Aloe speciosa.  Mine is around half the size and just starting to branch.   But I sure haven't seen a speciosa with that many heads though.  Usually they are pretty singular.  

[Tracy]

23 hours ago, epiphyte said:

Mine is around half the size and just starting to branch.

I didn't realize that Aloe speciosa is a branching variety, but now that you have shared that fact, it's probably the closest visual match.   Without seeing the inflorescence to compare against what is known to be A speciosa, I will accept that you are correct.  I would love to see a photo of your branching speciosa when you get a chance.

[epiphyte]

16 minutes ago, Tracy said:

I didn't realize that Aloe speciosa is a branching variety, but now that you have shared that fact, it's probably the closest visual match.   Without seeing the inflorescence to compare against what is known to be A speciosa, I will accept that you are correct.  I would love to see a photo of your branching speciosa when you get a chance.

I don't think that speciosa usually branches.  So maybe the Aloe in your photo is a speciosa hybrid?  

You can see my speciosa starting to branch in this video I made last year of my Aloes.  

[Jdiaz31089]

My first thought was speciosa also, but perhaps a hybrid since it has so many heads. 

[epiphyte]

7 hours ago, Jdiaz31089 said:

My first thought was speciosa also, but perhaps a hybrid since it has so many heads. 

Then the interesting question is... speciosa crossed with what?  There aren't very many tree Aloes with many heads...

Aloe bainesii
Aloe dichotoma
Aloe tongaensis

Which others?

[Jdiaz31089]

55 minutes ago, epiphyte said:

Then the interesting question is... speciosa crossed with what?  There aren't very many tree Aloes with many heads...

Aloe bainesii
Aloe dichotoma
Aloe tongaensis

Which others?

I guess it could be a number of others too. Arborescens, pluridens, castanea. Pluridens and castanea aren't all that common but arborescens certainly is. 

Come to think of it, I wonder if hybrids of plicatilis exist... imagine what a cross with that would look like!

[LJG]

I was going to say Aloe speciosa as well. I have seen multi-headed plants before. On one the thin trunks got too heavy and the heads snapped off. 

Tracy, kind of a pleasant surprise to find this specimen growing in such an odd place huh? 

[epiphyte]

1 hour ago, Jdiaz31089 said:

I guess it could be a number of others too. Arborescens, pluridens, castanea. Pluridens and castanea aren't all that common but arborescens certainly is. 

Come to think of it, I wonder if hybrids of plicatilis exist... imagine what a cross with that would look like!

Aloe arborescens might be the most common Aloe here in California yet I've never seen a single one even remotely close to this one.  

[Mark lasvegas]

A. Tongaensis sounds good for the Las Vegas area.  We do occaisionally get cold in winter, and this plant can get to 22 degrees, although almost certain deaths have been recorded at 20 degrees.  Should make for a striking landscape plant here.

[Tracy]

On 4/27/2017, 9:23:26, LJG said:

Tracy, kind of a pleasant surprise to find this specimen growing in such an odd place huh?

Yes, it was a surprise to see this.  I think the people in the visitor center thought I was a little strange when I came in and asked them if they knew anything about the Aloe outside.  I wasn't sure what I would be seeing that day in Abel Tasman National Park, as we had just arrived in that area late in the evening the prior night.  The day before, we were walking in Nikau palm habitat, and hiking to glaciers the day before that.  As wet as things were along the west coast of south island, I really didn't expect to see any aloes in gardens.

[Geoff]

Many species for multiple heads in the right climate/circumstances... here are a few photos of some examples, though most are obviously NOT part of this particular aloe, which, to me, is obviously MOSTLY Aloe speciosa, if not all speciosa (some have larger teeth than others)

In order of appearance:  Aloe africanas with multiple heads; Aloe castanea with multiple heads; Aloe dichotoma; Aloe Goliath with two heads; Aloe Hercules with a lot of heads; Aloe mawii with many heads; Aloe mutabilis with dozens of heads; Aloe barbarea x plicatilis with 3-4 heads; Aloe Principes (Aloe ferox x arborescens) with dozens of heads; Aloe rupestris with several heads; Aloe speciosa with three heads; Aloe speciosa huge plant in Los Angeles arboretum with many heads (several plants, actually, but all have multiple heads); Aloe spicata with several heads; Aloe tonganensis with many heads; Aloe vaombe with three heads and my own Aloe speciosa with three heads (one below).  Note, I HAD some photos of multiple headed ferox but lost all of them during a computer crash (can see them in person at the LA arboretum, though).

 

 

[Tracy]

12 hours ago, Geoff said:

Aloe barbarea x plicatilis with 3-4 heads

Thank you Geoff, the photos and information was very helpful.  I didn't realize that some of these (vaombe, speciosa) would readily form multiple heads.  You also answered another unwritten and unspoken question I have had with the Aloe barbarae x plicatilis hybrid photo.  I had been wondering whether plicatilis could be hybridized with any of the other tree aloe forms.  That is a very unique appearing Aloe hybrid, which I like!  Do you happen to know if the A barbarae x plicatilis also exhibits the hybrid vigor in growth?

[epiphyte]

A couple times I tried pollinating plicatilis with pollen from a wide variety of tree Aloes.  I didn't get a single pod.  I haven't tried the other direction because plicatilis blooms after all my other tree Aloes. 

Here's another neat probable plicatilis cross.  I LOVE that small tree form.   But I'm guessing it's painfully slow.  Otherwise, cuttings of it would have circulated and there would be more photos of it elsewhere.    

A few years back I pollinated my tenuior with pollen from numerous different tree Aloes.  My goal was to try and get a more substantial tenuior.  My tenuior is relatively fast, consistently upright, grows easy from cuttings, the cut stems produce new heads... but it's a bit skinny to host miniature orchids.   I suppose I could say my goal was to get a faster and more tolerant ramosissima that grows easier from cuttings.  

I ended up with several pods and now have 4 decent sized seedlings.  I'm pretty sure at least 3 are hybrids but I didn't keep track of which pollen went into which flowers.  So I can't be 100% certain who their fathers are!  If I had to guess I'd say their fathers are... africana, tongaensis and Hercules.  The fourth might not be a hybrid... or maybe it really takes after its mother.  

The three probable hybrids seem to be relatively fast growers.  Unfortunately, they flopped over and I had to stake them up.  I'm hoping that they'll be able to support themselves as their stems thicken with age.  

What's really interesting is the difference in the quantity of basal shoots.  The africana hybrid has the least.  Right now it's just starting to produce its first.  The tongaensis hybrid has four or five and the Hercules hybrid has around a dozen.  I don't understand how the Hercules hybrid could have far more offshoots than its parents.  So maybe Hercules isn't the father?  Then again, aside from tongaensis, the only other potential father with any basal shoots is arborescens.  From what I've heard arborescens tends to be dominant in crosses but, aside from a propensity to pup, this cross doesn't really resemble arborescens.  

It's fascinating to imagine that their offshooting habits will influence their proliferation.  It's definitely advantageous for a plant to be more shareable. 

[Tracy]

19 hours ago, epiphyte said:

My tenuior is relatively fast, consistently upright, grows easy from cuttings, the cut stems produce new heads... but it's a bit skinny to host miniature orchids

Carlos, since you mentioned you have Aloe hercules, it prompts me to ask if you are growing any epiphytes on it?  My Hercules has just dropped the leaves from the first "split" in the trunk, but I hadn't thought about trying any orchids on it until you mentioned this.  If you are any suggestions on orchid varieties to try?  I too am growing an Aloe speciosa, but it has been a battle with aphids, ants and black mold.  Much more so than with A ferox, marlothii, africans and the hybrid Hercules.  Do you find some species of Aloe to be more susceptible to bugs than others?  My A speciosa even has the benefit of a block wall behind it (north of it), to absorb heat and reflect it most of the day, even in the winter.

[epiphyte]

I don't have any orchids growing on Hercules... yet.  I think last year was the first year that I started attaching a few orchids to Aloes...

Cattleya lueddemanniana
Cattleya maxima
Myrmecophila tibicinis
Nageliella purpurea
Sophronitis cernua x Brassavola nodosa

Right now would be a great time to head over to Sunset Valley orchids and pick up some kyoguchi hybrids.  I think they'd be pretty perfect for Aloes.   Here are some other potential candidates.

I recently lost my Aloe vaombe to aphids.    It was a combination of bad timing (it got attacked in the Fall), too much shade (need to prune the tree)... and not enough ladybugs.  So from my perspective it's generally a problem of conditions.  

This last winter the flower spikes on my big Kalanchoe beharensis were covered with dancing, yellow, spiky aphids.   I found a ladybug elsewhere in the garden and transported her to the aphids.  Eventually there were lots of ladybug larva on the spikes and now I see ladybugs everywhere.... but it was too late for my vaombe.  

The aphids didn't even faze the Kalanchoe.  So I think it's theoretically ideal to try and keep some aphids around in order to have enough ladybugs to keep them in check.  But I don't know if it's possible to achieve or maintain an optimal balance in a relatively small space.   It's a different story with wolves in Yellowstone.  Part of the benefit of epiphytes is that they create more niches.  The more niches there are, the easier it is to have an optimal balance between prey and predators.  

 

[Tracy]

On 5/9/2017, 10:39:12, Geoff said:

Many species for multiple heads in the right climate/circumstances.

Ironically, a few weeks after posting this and seeing the examples Geoff shared of species which sometimes go from solitary to multiple trunks, I noticed a change in my Aloe africanas.  It has two side offshoot heads as well as retaining a main head pushing straight up.  I guess I have "the right climate/circumstance" for A africanas to go multiheaded.  The bad thing is that I didn't plan for it when spacing it relative to other plants.

On 5/9/2017, 10:39:12, Geoff said:

In order of appearance:  Aloe africanas with multiple headsI