Aloes and stuff

[tacobender]

Walking through the yard this morning, the pachypodiums and adeniums flowering nicely. Pictures barely show the beauty. Adenium is well over 2 meters tall.

Edited December 9, 2019 by tacobender

[GeneAZ]

The pictures you mention would be appreciated.

[Tracy]

While we are waiting for the Aloe and stuff, here are some winter Aloes (and a couple of Aloidendrons).  If they stay in order they are:

1. Aloe elgonica, 2. Aloe africana, 3. the red one I don't recall with jade plant 4. Aloidendron barberae 5. Aloidendron pillansii and 6. Aloidendron ramosissimum

[LoamWolf]

Looking nice with the recent rains! 

That muli-head A. africana is interesting, is it a hybrid of some sort? I typically thought they were solitary.  Do you have any bloom pictures? 

Also the red aloe is A. 'cynthia giddy' if i'm not mistaken. 

[Tracy]

12 hours ago, LoamWolf said:

That muli-head A. africana is interesting, is it a hybrid of some sort? I typically thought they were solitary.  Do you have any bloom pictures?

I was a bit surprised when it went from solitary to multi-headed as well.  I know a few other people who said they have seen Aloe africana as a multi-head.  I got it as a small plant that was labeled as A africana, but can't vouch for it's bloodlines.  Here is a bloom photo from last spring.

[msporty]

On 12/9/2019 at 4:55 PM, Tracy said:

While we are waiting for the Aloe and stuff, here are some winter Aloes (and a couple of Aloidendrons).  If they stay in order they are:

1. Aloe elgonica, 2. Aloe africana, 3. the red one I don't recall with jade plant 4. Aloidendron barberae 5. Aloidendron pillansii and 6. Aloidendron ramosissimum

#3 looks like Aloe dorotheae. 
 

Very nice A. pillansii. Haven’t seen one holding so many leaves! I had one 1/2 that size in the ground. Unfortunately it developed Aloe mite and I ripped it out. 

[Merlyn]

The Elgonica and Africana are definitely neat aloes, I'm planning to try both of those here in Orlando.  Elgonica is supposed to be hardy to 26F with no significant damage, so it should handle our cold blasts with ease.  I'm not sure about Africana, but the Agaveville "aloe hardiness" thread shows both of them hardy to about 25F.

[Tracy]

A baby sibling to my Aloidendron ramosissimum which I just transplanted up from a 4" pot into this clay pot.  At this size it is extremely symmetrical in shape.

[Tracy]

I love the look of the new inflorescence on Aloe africana.  Since this one is multi-headed, I have plenty more inflorescence stalks in various stages of growth which will be blooming for a while.  A real attraction for both bees and hummingbirds!

[Silas_Sancona]

Aloe longistyla,
Quick to bud, quick to finish flowering. Pictures separated by a week. Kept out of full sun (here) and essentially left alone. Pretty easy.  Need to re pot so it can offset, or at least produce a couple more flower stalks.

2/18/2020


2/28/2020

[Hillizard]

My Aloe 'Hercules' weathered this mild winter well where I live. Here's hoping it doubles in height this year!

[Merlyn]

On 3/14/2020 at 4:35 PM, Hillizard said:

My Aloe 'Hercules' weathered this mild winter well where I live. Here's hoping it doubles in height this year!

Nice!!!    I have two small ones that I bought from an Etsy seller last spring, one of them is finally about 2 feet tall.  I'm keeping them in pots for now, I haven't figured out a good planting spot yet.

[Hillizard]

8 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Nice!!!    I have two small ones that I bought from an Etsy seller last spring, one of them is finally about 2 feet tall.  I'm keeping them in pots for now, I haven't figured out a good planting spot yet.

The more plants I put in the ground, the more consideration I have to give to growth rates and the canopy spread of any plants I place side-by-side. In my small yard that's becoming quite challenging!

[Merlyn]

Here are my two little ones.  The one on the left has been continually "stressed-looking" and I haven't figured out why.  I got them both from SteadfastGardens on Etsy last May and were identical to begin with.  They both lived in liners for a bit and then I stepped them up to gallons at the same time.  Both (I think) are in 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 coarse sand, 1/3 perlite and live in the same spot in full sun in my backyard, with only rain for watering.  Do you think I should repot the one on the left, move it to more shade for a while, or give it some more water?

[Tracy]

14 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

Do you think I should repot the one on the left, move it to more shade for a while, or give it some more water?

I would keep it full sun.  If the one on the right is getting sufficient water, then I would assume that the one on the left is getting sufficient water from rainfall as well.  While you could re-pot it, I would be inclined to avoid disturbing it further.  If you know where you want to plant it, that would be the only reason I would be inclined to take it out of the existing pot right now.

While on my morning walk, I noticed a pair in front of a little infill development of 4 homes close by.  They just planted them about a year ago and it was really amazing how much they have grown in that time.  Yours will love getting let loose from the containers to put out roots in the ground!  Mine was about the size of your healthy specimen when I planted it 9 1/2 years ago.

[Tracy]

On 3/16/2020 at 3:17 PM, Hillizard said:

The more plants I put in the ground, the more consideration I have to give to growth rates and the canopy spread of any plants I place side-by-side. In my small yard that's becoming quite challenging!

 

On 3/16/2020 at 6:23 AM, Merlyn2220 said:

I haven't figured out a good planting spot yet.

Give them a spot with room to grow.  That is about 9 1/2 years from something the size of Merlyn's healthier specimen. 

[Merlyn]

9 hours ago, Tracy said:

I would keep it full sun.  If the one on the right is getting sufficient water, then I would assume that the one on the left is getting sufficient water from rainfall as well.  While you could re-pot it, I would be inclined to avoid disturbing it further.  If you know where you want to plant it, that would be the only reason I would be inclined to take it out of the existing pot right now.

While on my morning walk, I noticed a pair in front of a little infill development of 4 homes close by.  They just planted them about a year ago and it was really amazing how much they have grown in that time.  Yours will love getting let loose from the containers to put out roots in the ground!  Mine was about the size of your healthy specimen when I planted it 9 1/2 years ago.

Thanks for the advice!  I looked at it again today, I think the one on the left is in a looser soil mix.  Now that I think about it, I did step them up to those pots at different times, so they probably have a slightly different mix.  Do you think it would be worth giving it a bit of extra water in this hot, dry spell we are getting?  It's been cold in February and now 80-90 and dry as a desert.

I have a provisional spot in mind for the healthier one, but I've been doing a lot of construction/destruction work in that area.  I keep changing my mind on layout, and I'd like to put them into the ground and then not touch them again!

[Tracy]

14 hours ago, Merlyn2220 said:

  Do you think it would be worth giving it a bit of extra water in this hot, dry spell we are getting?  It's been cold in February and now 80-90 and dry as a desert.

I think it is hard to underwater these.  While I have many plants in that front planter on drip, the Aloe Hercules has no emitters.  When I supplement with hand watering other things during the 8-9 months a year that I run my irrigation system, it may occasionally get some overspray, or when I want to wash its foliage in summer after a long dry spell, but it goes long periods without any water in our summer.  I think they are more like many cycads that you can over love them with water and its very difficult to underwater them.  My inclination would be to make a decision on where you want to plant it and just get it into the ground unless you plan on keeping one as a container specimen.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Tracy said:

I think it is hard to underwater these.  While I have many plants in that front planter on drip, the Aloe Hercules has no emitters.  When I supplement with hand watering other things during the 8-9 months a year that I run my irrigation system, it may occasionally get some overspray, or when I want to wash its foliage in summer after a long dry spell, but it goes long periods without any water in our summer.  I think they are more like many cycads that you can over love them with water and its very difficult to underwater them.  My inclination would be to make a decision on where you want to plant it and just get it into the ground unless you plan on keeping one as a container specimen.

Agree w/ Tracy..  All mine can go up to 2 weeks w/ very little or no extra water, even during the summer without any issues ..in pots.. Keep in mind where i'm located. In the ground, they could probably go longer. Too much water ( and fertilizer ) can cause the plants to grow "soft" and cause potential root rot issues/ damage to the trunk from the plant taking up too much water, much like what can happen to larger cacti that are given too much water.. ( stems/trunk develops fissures/cracks ) A soft giant would also be more susceptible to toppling in high winds as well.  Want to grow these kind of hard. No extra water / a few weeks of minimal rainfall during Florida's dry season/ dry breaks in the rainy season there shouldn't bother these one bit.

Would check the small and markedly slower specimen for root issues.. soil in the pot shouldn't be an issue unless it is too high in organics. .. Most of mine are in sand/ gravel/ turface with maybe 10% organic matter mixed in ..maybe.. and have had no issues. All put on growth pretty quick.