Aloe

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John

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Aloe
« on: October 30, 2011, 08:09:12 PM »
This Aloe was quite common in Catalonia and semi-naturalised in a few places. Obviously a very easy plant that needs no maintenance! Aloe maculata. The leaves which would be an evergreen feature are very attractive.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2011, 08:11:26 PM by John »
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

ezeiza

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2011, 02:21:21 AM »
John, what about the similar A. saponaria. This is a great genus with several fantastic species.

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Alisdair

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2011, 07:58:30 AM »
Alberto, How different is A. saponaria from A. maculata? (The Kew/Mobot plant list confidently counts it as a synonym...)

Off topic, but interesting for me: One of its varieties, var. ficksburgensis, comes from the town named for the great grandfather of Karen Fick, someone who works for me!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

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andrewsloan

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2011, 06:43:11 PM »
 Ori Fragman-Sapir of the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens kindly sent me a number of aloe seeds from their collection, a number of which I have successfully germinated and look forward to planting out in the future. The seeds I have not used have been sent to the MGS Seed bank. They are for Aloe aculeata, africana, buhrii, ferox, lutescens, maculata, marlothii & thraskii.
« Last Edit: December 20, 2011, 08:28:02 AM by Alisdair »

Chantal

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #4 on: November 01, 2011, 08:03:34 AM »
I received your seeds, Andrew and thank you on behalf of all members.
They will be shown on the january edition of our journal and as soon as possible on our web site.
I came back from Mallorca and Costa Blanca with so many different species, I'll have a lot of work in cleaning them in november.
But, if you are interested, just ask me for the up-to-date seed list (via the seed list on the MGS web site).
Chantal Guiraud
Montpellier-France
MGS Seed Coordinator

"The flowers of spring are winter's dreams told in the morning at the table of the angels" (Khalil Gibran)

ezeiza

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2011, 02:27:32 AM »
Aloe saponaria as I know it lacks the attractive bronzy edge to the foliage as in the picture. They are great plants but too statuesque to be mixed with others. They are imposing and need to be displayed on their own,

Aloe  arborescens is tough, easy and fast growing. Another similar species with larger rosettes and the tips of the foliage elegantly twisted is a stunning plant. Sorry I can not provide a name-

Aloe ciliaris and A. plicatilis are also great plants.

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MikeHardman

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planting my aloes
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2011, 07:56:04 AM »
In the spring, I visited a nursery on the outskirts of Polis. It looked somewhat run-down, hence my not having poked my nose in sooner after moving here. In an old polytunnel there were some neglected aloes, still flimsily attached to the tiny plastic pots they had been put in years ago. I like perusing such forgotten corners of nurseries because you can find some unusual plants there and/or plants that have developed 'character' one way or another; in any case, they will have proven themselves survivors (the ones that aren't dead, that is!) So I was very pleased to find an aloe with character, and even more pleased when it cost me only 10 Euros :)

Here's a sequence of photos showing me planting it through gravel-on-polythene mulch.
The idea of the stones is to act as a mini raised bed (aware that succulents won't like to sit in water over winter), to keep the foliage off the (damper microclimate) gravel, and to frame the plant and make the whole thing more of a feature. Granted, in time the plant will overrun the framing stones, but I could trim it back and/or add more stones as needed.
In the last photo, you see another Aloe, which I bought at the same time for 5 Euros. I think it may be the same as JohnF's first photo in this topic - A. maculata. If anyone can confirm that, and name the bigger one, that would be nice.

I'll try to add a photo next spring showing its growth and hopefully good flowering.
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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andrewsloan

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2011, 07:24:46 PM »
Our 1st stab at planting some succulents which has been really enjoyable to do. Aloe thraskii is the star and A. dorotheae has been there a couple of years. We have planted 3 small A. striata, A. andongensis (from Lindsay Blyth), A. nobilis, A. erythrophylla, A. graminicola plus a number of agaves incl a parryi (from John), potatorum, americana 'Mediopicta Alba' & desmettiana 'Variegata'. As Mike says it is great fun scouring around nursery gardens where I found some of these plants.
« Last Edit: December 20, 2011, 08:36:35 AM by Alisdair »

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Alisdair

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2011, 07:39:43 PM »
That looks great already, and will be a splendid display in a couple of years, Andrew!
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

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andrewsloan

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2011, 01:32:52 PM »
There is a very interesting International Conference on Aloes taking place in S. Africa from 19th to 21st June 2012, followed by an aloe spotting trip for a week. Speakers include Messrs van Wyk & Smith, authors of "Guide to Aloes of S Africa". The website is www.inhlabaindaba.co.za.

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John

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2011, 06:50:32 PM »
Andrew, you didn't say but does this mean you are going on the trip?
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

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Alisdair

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2011, 08:25:56 AM »
Are you tempted yourself, John?
Alisdair Aird
Gardens in SE England (Sussex); also coastal Southern Greece, and (in a very small way) South West France; MGS member (and former president); vice chairman RHS Lily Group, past chairman Cyclamen Society

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John

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2011, 11:48:06 AM »
Sadly what I would like to do and what I am able to do are very different things!
John
Horticulturist, photographer, author, garden designer and plant breeder; MGS member and RHS committee member. I garden at home in SW London and also at work in South London.

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andrewsloan

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #13 on: December 23, 2011, 06:30:36 PM »
It does look interesting, especially as there is an 8 day trip "aloe spotting" after the conference, but we are seriously considering going to Australia in October to combine the MGS bash with visiting my brother in Geelong and 2 big trips so close together don't really fit. However nothing in stone yet.......

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andrewsloan

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Re: Aloe
« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2012, 02:48:18 PM »
I don't know whether any of you are on Facebook but there are "Planet Aloe" and "Planet Agave" groups of approx 200 world-wide members each on Facebook. For me as a novice succulent gardener it is very useful to see photos of mature specimens in gardens and natural habitat and to have a bunch of experts available to help identify plants and pass on advice so it is similar in concept to this Forum.