Aloidendron ramosissimum

[Tracy]

Aloidendron ramosissimum formerly known as Aloe ramosissma.  This seemed to have a nice growth spurt after I purchased it last winter, and has again picked up as we are in winter again.  When I came across this in a 1 gallon, I just couldn't resist adding it as a container plant to my garden.  I think this will remain manageable as a container plant unlike many of its much larger cousins in the Aloidendron genus.  If you are growing this species, please share photos of what mine will eventually grow into.   It was some much larger specimens that made me jump on the opportunity to get this little one.

[Tracy]

2 minutes ago, Tracy said:

 



Oops... I meant to tag these as the bottom photo from 4/2/2018 and the top photo from 1/23/2019... about 10 months apart.  Share your photos and growth experience with this species.

[Silas_Sancona]

Not my own,  but some fine specimens regardless. Think i have pictures of some bigger ones somewhere.. Been admiring this one more lately as well.

Desert Botanical Garden specimens, still have 'em tagged as  Aloe:

[Josue Diaz]

Very nice specimens! I have been tempted to try this species but am always worried I'll kill them with summer water. 

[Tracy]

7 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 

5 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

I have been tempted to try this species but am always worried I'll kill them with summer water.

Lovely pots and beautiful specimens Nathan, thank you for sharing those.  Josue, if you don't put it in the ground, it should be easier to avoid overwatering.  I don't have mine hooked to drip, so just occasionally hand water it during summer.  This winter my drip has been off so long now, so everything is thriving on the abnormal amount of rain we are receiving.  You also have more heat than I do in the summer which will help you.  Give it a try!

[Palm Tree Jim]

Tracy,

Looks like at some point, you will need a bigger pot!

 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

 

Lovely pots and beautiful specimens Nathan, thank you for sharing those.  Josue, if you don't put it in the ground, it should be easier to avoid overwatering.  I don't have mine hooked to drip, so just occasionally hand water it during summer.  This winter my drip has been off so long now, so everything is thriving on the abnormal amount of rain we are receiving.  You also have more heat than I do in the summer which will help you.  Give it a try!

Thanks Tracy..

Agree.. A pretty easy Aloe compared to some others. Doesn't get too big, and always looks great. 

In the ground, at least here, these require only occasional summer water ( and bright shade to look their best / avoid possible sun damage). I'd suspect they'd survive on about the same watering schedule ( maybe just a soaking once or twice all summer ) during the summer out there. Only possible issues one might have in regards to a plant staying too wet ( if planted in the ground) would be if it were planted in heavy,  stays-too-wet clay, and / or surrounded by an organic mulch.. Those potential factors are easy to adjust.. or, like Tracy mentioned, keep them in pots.  Contemplating finding a pair myself soon.. 

[Josue Diaz]

Isn't this species considered by some to be a form of A. dichotoma? I was surprised to find a large dichotoma at a local public garden so maybe they're not as touchy as I thought. 

 

Blooming right now in Fresno.

 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Josue Diaz said:

Isn't this species considered by some to be a form of A. dichotoma? I was surprised to find a large dichotoma at a local public garden so maybe they're not as touchy as I thought. 

 

Blooming right now in Fresno.

 

Have also heard A. ramosissimum is supposedly a much smaller variant of dichotoma. I myslef would consider it it's own separate species but that's just me..  
Leaf-length /arrangement, even in young A. dichoto specimens, have a different look. A. ramosissimum look "pygmy-sized" from the start, imo.. Thinking dichotoma doesn't (normally) start branching until at least a couple meters tall as well, but not certain that is fact. 

As far as dichotoma itself, from all the plants i have seen, seems to be an easy grower as long as it gets "essentially  no / barely any summer water / planted in well drained, essentially rocky soil"  That said,  does well, even through our summers once big enough to handle our brand of *full summer sun* . Have heard starting small plants out in shade, and let them grow into the sun though, at least here..  

A. pillansi can be more of a challenge, or so i have seen written in description repeatedly. Found a small one once, accidentally over watered it that winter.

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, Josue Diaz said:

Isn't this species considered by some to be a form of A. dichotoma?

 

2 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

A. pillansi can be more of a challenge, or so i have seen written in description repeatedly

Josue, I have read the same somewhere as well about some considering A ramosissimum being a form, but enough must disagree that it has it's own species name.  I've been wanting to try A pillansii for a long time.  I have a spot in mind as well where it would be isolated and I shouldn't have to worry about it getting wet feet as there is no irrigation near the spot.  Last time I was up  visiting George Sparkman I was admiring the ones he has.    He also has a few medium size A. ramosissimum, bigger than mine but not as big as the ones Nathan posted from DBG.  He was showing me the subtle differences between the ones he has although they are all the same age and same original source as I recall (seed I think). The A pillansii are on his price list, but the A ramosissimum are not   http://www.cycads-n-palms.com/otherplants.htm .

[LoamWolf]

One of my favorites! We have a few around the yard. This is are largest one, and has really taken off since putting it in the ground. No blooms yet though. 

A. ramosissium on the right, and a form our A. dichotoma on the left. 

[LJG]

On 2/1/2019 at 10:09 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Not my own,  but some fine specimens regardless. Think i have pictures of some bigger ones somewhere.. Been admiring this one more lately as well.

Desert Botanical Garden specimens, still have 'em tagged as  Aloe:

Nice to see Mark Muradian pots over there. Great potter. I have a few of his in my garden. 

[Tracy]

A nice big specimen at the San Diego Zoo!  Africa Rocks!!!

[Tracy]

On 2/1/2019 at 9:41 PM, Tracy said:

Aloidendron ramosissimum formerly known as Aloe ramosissma.  This seemed to have a nice growth spurt after I purchased it last winter, and has again picked up as we are in winter again.  When I came across this in a 1 gallon, I just couldn't resist adding it as a container plant to my garden.  I think this will remain manageable as a container plant unlike many of its much larger cousins in the Aloidendron genus.  If you are growing this species, please share photos of what mine will eventually grow into.   It was some much larger specimens that made me jump on the opportunity to get this little one.





This seems to be a good winter grower.  Another year from the original post, the girth and branching all continuing to increase.  Same plant shown from a couple of angles in the new photos.   I have been impressed enough to add a couple more small ones to the collection last autumn, neither of which has branched yet.

[Tracy]

These seem to grow year round.  Despite the common wisdom that you risk rot if you water them, I give the a drink once a week during my dry season.  Perhaps with the well draining cactus mix with additional pumice that I use to plant them in they are still draining well enough that they can handle winter rain as well as the periodic watering I give the rest of the year.

[Tracy]

On 6/19/2020 at 8:53 AM, Tracy said:

 

My still single trunked specimen in the blue pot is developing exceptionally wide leaves, lacking the thickness to width ratio I have come to expect on Aloidendron ramosissmum.  I'm beginning to wonder if this is a phase before it starts splitting into a multi branched plant or if this specimen is going to always have this different shaped leaf.  Anyone else growing A. ramosissmum that has any experience with young unbranched plants?  Last two photos are my older plant which was branched when I bought it but still a small plant.  You can see the difference in the leaves between the two plants.

[msporty]

Here's a photo of mine in the ground. I don't have a dripper running to it, but I'm sure its roots reach out to the nearby plants that are watered by drip.

 

Speaking of no irrigation and Aloes, that's an Aloe 'Hercules' trunk in the background.

 

The Aloe on the left is an unknown. It was sold to me a looooong time ago as Aloe vaombe, which it is not.

 

 

 

[Tracy]

On 9/18/2020 at 3:51 PM, msporty said:

Here's a photo of mine in the ground.

Yours in the ground looks like what I expect from the standpoint of the leaves... relatively thick compared to the "width" from one side of teeth to the other and relatively narrow.  The one on my solitary is doing the flatter, wider and thinner as you can see.  Nice specimen by the way.  Has it been a relatively speedy grower for you?

On your Aloidendron Hercules, I hope you have some room between it and that wall.  They get thick over time and not much time in my experience.

[msporty]

Thanks Tracy. It has been in the ground for 3 years or so and was a small 1g at the time of planting. It was dug and moved once. It hardly blinked when it was dug. 
 

Regarding the Hercules, the perspective is deceiving — there is 4-5 feet between the trunk and the wall. I still see a chainsaw in its future if it gets out of hand!

[Tracy]

On 9/21/2020 at 12:50 AM, msporty said:

Thanks Tracy. It has been in the ground for 3 years or so and was a small 1g at the time of planting. It was dug and moved once. It hardly blinked when it was dug. 
 

Regarding the Hercules, the perspective is deceiving — there is 4-5 feet between the trunk and the wall. I still see a chainsaw in its future if it gets out of hand!

Nice growth on the A ramosissimum.  I couldn't help mentioning the Hercules, and glad to hear it has some room.  I planted one in my back before I took down the fence to replace it with a wall.  As a neophyte, I put the little one gallon too close to the fence and in a matter of about 3 years I could see it was way too close to the wall I was having built and was forced to remove it.  I learned the hard way.  The one in my front was fortunately planted in a better position at least for the foreseeable future and a decade in the ground.

[Tracy]

On 9/16/2020 at 10:27 AM, Tracy said:

On 6/19/2020 at 8:53 AM, Tracy said:

 

My still single trunked specimen in the blue pot is developing exceptionally wide leaves, lacking the thickness to width ratio I have come to expect on Aloidendron ramosissmum.  I'm beginning to wonder if this is a phase before it starts splitting into a multi branched plant or if this specimen is going to always have this different shaped leaf.

Over the weekend I was picking up something at the nursery where I got my Aloidendron ramosissimum and saw some additional plants they had that looked like mine that is developing the larger leaves and not splitting.  I asked the owner and he confirmed that the second batch was in fact Aloidendron dichotomum.  So instead of having three of the A ramosissimum, I now have only 1, but also have 2 A dichotomum.  The larger Aloidendron dichotomum in a pot is in the photo below.

[Tracy]

On 2/1/2019 at 9:41 PM, Tracy said:

Aloidendron ramosissimum formerly known as Aloe ramosissma.  This seemed to have a nice growth spurt after I purchased it last winter, and has again picked up as we are in winter again.  When I came across this in a 1 gallon, I just couldn't resist adding it as a container plant to my garden.  I think this will remain manageable as a container plant unlike many of its much larger cousins in the Aloidendron genus.  If you are growing this species, please share photos of what mine will eventually grow into.   It was some much larger specimens that made me jump on the opportunity to get this little one.

My thoughts on keeping this in a container may need to be reconsidered, or at least a bigger pot considered.  I'm impressed with the growth form a little one gallon plant to something that is starting to really resemble a chunky A ramosissimum.  Winters of 2018 and 2019 pictured above and here again mid-winter of 2021 below.  What a great species!

[Jonah B]

Hi Tracy! I just bought a young ram and dichotoma. The ram is about 8 inches tall in a 10” diameter nursery pot and dichotoma a little bit smaller in a 6” diam pot. May I ask what pot size you started with and what it is now? I heard the bigger the pot the faster and bigger it will grow. I’d like to put them in a big enough pot where o don’t have to change frequently. Do you keep them outdoors? How much sun and water do you give them? What’s in your soil mix? Thanks. Your plants are pretty! 

[Cande]

can you recommend a nursery in southern california that sells Aloidendron ramosissimum ?

They seem very hard to find. I am in the Los Angeles area.

Thanks

[Tracy]

On 2/11/2021 at 11:33 PM, Jonah B said:

Hi Tracy! I just bought a young ram and dichotoma. The ram is about 8 inches tall in a 10” diameter nursery pot and dichotoma a little bit smaller in a 6” diam pot. May I ask what pot size you started with and what it is now? I heard the bigger the pot the faster and bigger it will grow. I’d like to put them in a big enough pot where o don’t have to change frequently. Do you keep them outdoors? How much sun and water do you give them? What’s in your soil mix? Thanks. Your plants are pretty! 

Jonah, I really didn't know what to expect on speed, so put them in relatively small pots.  I would estimate the A rammosissimum is in about a 3-5 gallon decorative pot and the same for the one that looks more like Aloidendron dichotomum (formerly Aloe dichotoma), but just a taller and narrower pot.  I used a commercial packaged cactus mix, to which I add pumice to make it even faster draining and less organics.  As to speed, you can see from the photos over time that they are outgrowing these pots now, and likely have extensive roots into the ground out the bottoms of the pots now.

 

On 5/26/2021 at 5:22 PM, Cande said:

can you recommend a nursery in southern california that sells Aloidendron ramosissimum ?

They seem very hard to find. I am in the Los Angeles area.

Thanks

Agree that they can be a bit challenging to find.  There are a couple of local nurseries here in Leucadia (Encinitas, CA) that have had them in the past.  Both are nurseries I can walk to from my house, Anderson's La Costa Nursery on La Costa Avenue and Gardens By the Sea Nursery on the Coast Highway.  I don't know if either of them have any at this time, but they have had  a couple intermittently in the past.  George Sparkman in Fallbrook also had them, but his appointment only nursery, Cycads-n-Palms, hasn't been open since he passed in June 2020.  I picked them up when I saw them because they aren't as readily available as some of the hybrid Aloidendrons or Aloidendron barberae.

[Cande]

Thanks for the info. I'll check in with the ones you mentioned.

[msporty]

https://aridlandswholesale.com/oscommerce/product_info.php?cPath=25_120&products_id=21150
 

They also have A. sabaea which may be worth purchasing. Honestly, there are too many cool plants to purchase — pachycauls, succulents, etc...
 

If you want a local nursery, you could try Grigsby’s but I haven’t been there in years...

 

Lastly, you can see if there will be any C+S show in the near future. With Covid-19 cases down, maybe plant shows will be returning??

[Silas_Sancona]

4 hours ago, msporty said:

https://aridlandswholesale.com/oscommerce/product_info.php?cPath=25_120&products_id=21150
 

They also have A. sabaea which may be worth purchasing. Honestly, there are too many cool plants to purchase — pachycauls, succulents, etc...
 

If you want a local nursery, you could try Grigsby’s but I haven’t been there in years...

 

Lastly, you can see if there will be any C+S show in the near future. With Covid-19 cases down, maybe plant shows will be returning??

 Would definitely keep an eye out for notice of various plant shows.. Unless something changes, know the Annual Plumeria show/sale, hosted by the S. Cal Pumeria Society at Balboa Park, is on for labor Day weekend for sure.

Looks like the L. A. Cactus/ Succulent Society is hosting a show/ sale the weekend of the 11th-12th as well in Encino. Would bet next year should see a full schedule of shows across the board. 

If what was seen at some local plant sales this spring is any indication, there is A LOT of pent up plant purchasing to come.

[Tracy]

The one that I planted in the ground is settling in nicely and starting to take off, not that the ones that I have in pots have been slugs.  The two that remain solitary seem to push new leaves in the same lineup coming off the stems which I find interesting as well as having a wider base to leaflets and coming more to a point.  Meanwhile the branching form is pushing leaflets irregularly and in different directions off the stem, and has more of blunter tip and thicker leaflet all the way from the base to it's tip.  These really can grow into a nice specimen over the course of a few years to a decade.

[Tracy]

On 10/30/2021 at 10:34 AM, Tracy said:

The two that remain solitary seem to push new leaves in the same lineup coming off the stems which I find interesting as well as having a wider base to leaflets and coming more to a point.

I keep looking at how the leaves on this push out in the same planes.  If Dypsis decaryi aka the triangle palm is a tristichous  species, this appears to be a quinquestichous plant.  I'm referring to the 5 pointed star shape when looking down on the plant.  Only the two that look more like Aloidendron dichotomum (formerly Aloe dichotoma) show this characteristic.  When I look at mature specimens of A dichotomum, I don't see this growth pattern and my more typical looking Aloidendron ramosissimum does not exhibit this growth.  Has anyone growing either species noticed this and can share if it is something it will grow out of eventually?
"

[Garcia3]

This is very common for younger specimens in Aloidendron Dichotoma, I've seen it in 3 of my own. You'll find that as they gain size the symmetry disappears but with that also comes branching!! 

[tinman10101]

2 hours ago, Garcia3 said:

This is very common for younger specimens in Aloidendron Dichotoma, I've seen it in 3 of my own. You'll find that as they gain size the symmetry disappears but with that also comes branching!! 

I completely agree as well ... when I was just starting into aloes I purchased ones that had this same symmetry only to have it dissipate and end up randomly branched.  Still an amazing aloe to have and cherish.  

[Tracy]

With my Furcraea foetida splitting its pot, I realized that this probably needs to be put in the ground or transplanted up soon if I want to save the pot.  I know that it has roots going out the bottom of the pot as well.  I'm faced with the same challenge that this will outgrow the spot where the pot is in if I try to go straight into the ground here.  Once again the challenge of where to make room for it in the long run.

Anyone have a big one in the ground and know what to expect over the next decade from this size?

[Tracy]

Giving this a bump to see if anyone has any experience with Aloidendron ramosissimum in the ground?  This puppy needs to come out of the pot soon or it will be cracking it.

[Tracy]

I came across these two little gems at the San Marcos Green Thumb nursery over the weekend.  I was looking for something unrelated and just poked my head into the succulent section to find these along with about 7 or 8 others of the same size.  I couldn't resist picking up a couple as they don't take much space and seem to grow well in my climate. 

[Tracy]

On 9/13/2022 at 5:06 PM, Tracy said:

I came across these two little gems at the San Marcos Green Thumb nursery over the weekend.  I was looking for something unrelated and just poked my head into the succulent section to find these along with about 7 or 8 others of the same size.  I couldn't resist picking up a couple as they don't take much space and seem to grow well in my climate. 

I am glad I didn't settle for just one of these.  Just a few months in since I got these it appears that one might be Aloidendron dichotomum to my eye.  The one in the black pot is splitting and looks like what my Aloidendron ramosissimum looked like when young, but the one in the terracotta pot is already looking like the plants that I got as Aloidendron ramosissimum but later found out are Aloidendron dichotomum.  The differences are subtle at this age, but I won't be surprised if I am correct on this early inkling I have.  Does anyone else see the differences in the leaf shape between these two specimens?

[Garcia3]

@Tracy  Here is an example from my garden.  A. Ramosissima tends to be short and wide with a very thick trunk.  Picture below is specimen that is about 3-4ft tall, and about 4-5ft wide.  It'll probably get another 2-3 feet taller and wider but the trunk should really start to become the central feature.     

Edited March 1, 2023 by Garcia3

[Garcia3]

Also, forgot to add Aloidendron hybridize easily! Especially A. Dichotoma & A. Ramosissima.  Most of what I've been told is that when specimens are young, early branching tends to be the most distinguishing characteristic between the two.  That said I have a couple of hybrids (Dichotoma/Ramosissima) in my yard that show the bigger leaf size of Dichotoma paired with the early low branching typical of Ramosissima.  

[msporty]

16 hours ago, Garcia3 said:

@Tracy  Here is an example from my garden.  A. Ramosissima tends to be short and wide with a very thick trunk.  Picture below is specimen that is about 3-4ft tall, and about 4-5ft wide.  It'll probably get another 2-3 feet taller and wider but the trunk should really start to become the central feature.     

 

I like your planting style — the symmetry with agaves/mangaves(?) is really nice!

 

I have a friend who told me always plants multiples of 3 or 5. I’ve been doing that now and I like the look. Otherwise my yard had too much of a hodgepodge look.  
 

I’d love to see more posts of your yard!

[Garcia3]

@msporty Thank you very much!  I try to follow that same advice but my garden has turned into a hodgepodge of plants I love!  Now I just try to group things if & when possible into a pleasing manner,  well... pleasing to my eyes at least, lol.  I've never done an official garden post but I'll definitely consider it.  And yes, pictured with the A Ramosissima above is Mangave - Lady Lavender and Agave - Montana.  @Tracy One more pic of a much older A. Dichotoma to give you a sense of what the trunk can get to on these guys.  This isn't my garden, it is a Nursery up in Cave Creek, A. Ramosissima will be a shorter form of what you see below.