Aloe cameronii

[Tracy]

I'm sure others are growing this species of Aloe.  Mine seems smaller than some posted when I did a search on the species.  I love the blooms.  I planted this from a single in a 1 gallon pot that I got in probably 2013 or 2014.  The flower color is said to range from orange to red, and mine seems best described as blood orange color.

[Merlyn]

I'm trying this out here in swampy Floriduh.  I bought one from a local eBay seller, here it is shortly after planting it in December 2020.  It didn't seem to mind the 28F and 30F with frost, so hopefully it'll be okay with our daily torrential thunderstorms in the summer!  It's on the right side in the white rock:

[Tracy]

13 hours ago, Merlyn said:

I'm trying this out here in swampy Floriduh.  I bought one from a local eBay seller, here it is shortly after planting it in December 2020.  It didn't seem to mind the 28F and 30F with frost, so hopefully it'll be okay with our daily torrential thunderstorms in the summer!  It's on the right side in the white rock:

¿Dónde está?

[Merlyn]

11 hours ago, Tracy said:

¿Dónde está?

The "preview pic" blurred out the names, you have to click on it twice to get the full photo...and even then it's hard to read.  Here's a better photo this morning.  No guarantees on the ID, it was from a local grower of unknown ID abilities...   

[Paradise Found]

On 2/28/2021 at 5:38 AM, Merlyn said:

I'm trying this out here in swampy Floriduh.  I bought one from a local eBay seller, here it is shortly after planting it in December 2020.  It didn't seem to mind the 28F and 30F with frost, so hopefully it'll be okay with our daily torrential thunderstorms in the summer!  It's on the right side in the white rock:

Going to be a colorful bed of succulents, cacti, agaves, cycads. I double click on photo and i can just make out the names. Can't wait to see what it looks like by late fall. 

[Merlyn]

20 minutes ago, Paradise Found said:

Going to be a colorful bed of succulents, cacti, agaves, cycads. I double click on photo and i can just make out the names. Can't wait to see what it looks like by late fall. 

With the ultimate size of some of them, I am sure I will need to "edit" a few later.  Some are experiments in the ground here, because they really don't like 1 inch per day of rain.  So I mixed in a lot of perlite, coarse sand, and Turface MVP to help with drainage.  The "Celsii Multicolor" took bad damage at 28F and frost, but the rest did very well.

[Paradise Found]

Well thats really all you can do is amend the soil and wait and see what happens. I think you will be surprised with the results.  A. Celsii multicolor not familiar with that one, hope it makes it. 

Aloes are still new to me, I grow tender aloes mostly as annuls... like Cameronii,  Elegans, Glauca. I might try wintering them over this fall.

 Agave guiengola is an interesting one I like to overwinter, hardy to 9a so it can take some cold in the unheated greenhouse.  It would look beautiful in a large container. 

[Merlyn]

Aloes are new to me too, I read about a lot of rotting problems in the ground here in FL.  But a lot of people have problems with Agaves in the ground too, and I've so far had ~90% survival with heavily amended soil in raised beds.  So I figure it's worth a shot!

Guiengola is not very frost-hardy, but mine went through 28F and 30F with minimal damage in the ground.  They were under a pygmy date canopy, which probably helped a bit with frost damage.

[Paradise Found]

2 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Aloes are new to me too, I read about a lot of rotting problems in the ground here in FL.  But a lot of people have problems with Agaves in the ground too, and I've so far had ~90% survival with heavily amended soil in raised beds.  So I figure it's worth a shot!

Guiengola is not very frost-hardy, but mine went through 28F and 30F with minimal damage in the ground.  They were under a pygmy date canopy, which probably helped a bit with frost damage.

All the aloes (tender ones) will be grown in house under lights in winter. I've tried growing them in the greenhouse but they grow so leggy and flat and discolored from lack of sunlight. Then in the spring they just melt away. So hoping growing under lights indoors will solve the problem. 

You could try some in cactus soil in a large pot as a experiment. Full sun would dry them out faster.  

[Merlyn]

1 hour ago, Paradise Found said:

You could try some in cactus soil in a large pot as a experiment. Full sun would dry them out faster.  

Almost all agaves and "water tolerant" aloes here have done well in pots with a fast draining mix.  I use equal parts generic top soil, perlite and Turface MVP.  1/3 organic seems to do ok for most, I had root rot problems earlier when I was using 50/50 potting soil and coarse sand.  The ones that have rotted and died here are Agave Parryi, Utahensis, Victoria-Reginae, Nickelsiae and any Asperrima or Asperrima hybrids like "Sharkskin."  They all just slowly rot and die.  Aloe Verdoorniae didn't like winter, but is still alive as a small pup, I am hoping they'll recover this spring.

The Cameronii went stressed-pink for most of December and January, but immediately started growing new green leaves in early February.  I'll find out how it likes the spot in June/July.  Normally we have a dry and hot May followed by 1 inch per day of rain in June.  So if there are any issues it'll be obvious by the end of July.

I also have Vanbalenii, Castanea and Dorotheae.  These are somewhat similar clustering types, and so far have also done well here.

[Paradise Found]

2 hours ago, Merlyn said:

Almost all agaves and "water tolerant" aloes here have done well in pots with a fast draining mix.  I use equal parts generic top soil, perlite and Turface MVP.  1/3 organic seems to do ok for most, I had root rot problems earlier when I was using 50/50 potting soil and coarse sand.  The ones that have rotted and died here are Agave Parryi, Utahensis, Victoria-Reginae, Nickelsiae and any Asperrima or Asperrima hybrids like "Sharkskin."  They all just slowly rot and die.  Aloe Verdoorniae didn't like winter, but is still alive as a small pup, I am hoping they'll recover this spring.

The Cameronii went stressed-pink for most of December and January, but immediately started growing new green leaves in early February.  I'll find out how it likes the spot in June/July.  Normally we have a dry and hot May followed by 1 inch per day of rain in June.  So if there are any issues it'll be obvious by the end of July.

I also have Vanbalenii, Castanea and Dorotheae.  These are somewhat similar clustering types, and so far have also done well here.

Some of those agave I can grow with out rot, but Utahensis rots on me though.  Most aloes lose their color once the rainy season start for you I bet.  May is usually dry here, June gets a big shower or two and zaps the color out of Aloes, do I just have to keep them dry longer. July and August is very dry here. 

Sounds like you have all your bases covered and I look forward hearing your results.  Happy Gardening! 

Edited March 2, 2021 by Paradise Found

[PricklyPearSATC]

On 3/2/2021 at 11:36 AM, Merlyn said:

Almost all agaves and "water tolerant" aloes here have done well in pots with a fast draining mix.  I use equal parts generic top soil, perlite and Turface MVP.  1/3 organic seems to do ok for most, I had root rot problems earlier when I was using 50/50 potting soil and coarse sand.  The ones that have rotted and died here are Agave Parryi, Utahensis, Victoria-Reginae, Nickelsiae and any Asperrima or Asperrima hybrids like "Sharkskin."  They all just slowly rot and die.  Aloe Verdoorniae didn't like winter, but is still alive as a small pup, I am hoping they'll recover this spring.

The Cameronii went stressed-pink for most of December and January, but immediately started growing new green leaves in early February.  I'll find out how it likes the spot in June/July.  Normally we have a dry and hot May followed by 1 inch per day of rain in June.  So if there are any issues it'll be obvious by the end of July.

I also have Vanbalenii, Castanea and Dorotheae.  These are somewhat similar clustering types, and so far have also done well here.

Aloe maculata does very well here.  It's mostly a pass along plant.  Doesn't seem phased by much of anything.   Doesn't need any special drainage here.

[Paradise Found]

2 hours ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

Aloe maculata does very well here.  It's mostly a pass along plant.  Doesn't seem phased by much of anything.   Doesn't need any special drainage here.

Yes A. maculata is a good one to grow too. I had one for years in a pot and one super rainy, cloudy winter it rotted on me. It was a nice one with 5" of trunk on it. I like to try again and see if I have better luck with a cover over it in winter rainy season.  I've been thinking about grass aloes they are the hardiest by far..." Cooperi " is nice and hardy to 10F. Most people mistake it for "red hot pokers".

[Tracy]

On 3/1/2021 at 7:28 AM, Merlyn said:

The "preview pic" blurred out the names, you have to click on it twice to get the full photo...and even then it's hard to read.  Here's a better photo this morning.  No guarantees on the ID, it was from a local grower of unknown ID abilities...   

While it is possible, it doesn't look quite right to be Aloe cameronii to me.   You will have to see how it grows over time, as well as see what the flowers look like when it blooms.  Some species can be hard to id because of hybridization as well.  I have an Aloe that I have been growing for over a decade, which I have brought over from offsets in my old garden, which I think is Aloe maculata but it does retain as much spotting as most photos I see.  The flower structure looks right though, so either I'm missing something or it is a hybrid.  See below next to the Aloe dorothae and Aloe distans and a slightly larger specimen in the second photo.

[Tracy]

Sometimes environmental conditions can change the growth as in the two Aloe distans, one in the ground and the other overcrowded in the upright pot and under watered which is much more compact.  If I remember correctly, the one in the ground was a limb that broke off the potted one and I plunked into the ground at one point.

[Merlyn]

19 hours ago, Tracy said:

While it is possible, it doesn't look quite right to be Aloe cameronii to me.   You will have to see how it grows over time, as well as see what the flowers look like when it blooms.  Some species can be hard to id because of hybridization as well. 

It is entirely possible that it's not Cameronii, or is a hybrid.  I bought a whole bunch from one seller at a time, including Broomii, Spectabilis, Castanea, Mutabilis, Thraskii, Vaombe, Vanbalenii and Cameronii.  He also sent me a freebie Africana.  A couple were labeled, but I had to ask him to ID them for me after I potted them up.  I went through some photos on Agaveville forums to see if the names were reasonable:  https://www.agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=792

It's entirely possible that the photo is actually Mutabilis.  And a young Vaombe looks nothing like a mature one...so I guess I'll find out when it flowers! 

[Tracy]

Here is a better shot of the plants.  Since that wall is to the south of the plants, they get a fair amount of shade in winter and lose their color.  They get a much deeper red during the summer when they get overhead sun almost full day.