The Succulent and Cactus Lady : Aloe ellenbeckii

About me

🌿 I've been gardening ever since a child, when I spent time with my father in his vegetable garden. But my fascination with Echeverias started in the 1980's, when my father gave me a pot with five Echeverias, which turned out to be E. imbricata. At first I wasn't much interested in them and planted them in some obscure corner of the garden and completely forgot about them. How great was my surprise when, a couple of months later, I noticed that they had spread and made a beautiful display - I was hooked!

Sunday 20 July 2014

Aloe ellenbeckii

Family: Aloaceae
Genus: Aloe (AL-oh)
Species: ellenbeckii (el-len-BEK-ee-eye)

These low-growing, drought-tolerant aloes grow in sun to partial shade and start flowering mid-Autumn to early-Winter. Aloe ellenbeckii is a widespread species in East Africa, but he population may be in slow gradual decline due to loss and degradation of it's habitat - natural areas in the region where Aloe ellenbeckii occurs are increasingly under pressure from agricultural expansion.

Aloe ellenbeckii grows in partial shelter of bushes in deciduous bushland on limestone. Small plants are clumped together, and clumps are scattered. The plants have fleshy thick leaves of beige and light-green with rows of lighter toned dots that are placed up and down each leaf. The Aloe ellenbeckii produces beautiful white teeth on its leaves, with a variegated spot look. The new plants produced by the Aloe ellenbeckii spread loosely across the landscape into large colonies.

Featured Succulent

Echinopsis grows pretty much anywhere. Here in South Africa they can tolerate summer temperatures of 30°C or greater, which is hot enough to spur growth of both Echinopsis pups and their amazing flowers. They also tolerate cold temperatures well during winter months. However, I bring my potted ones inside during hard freezes or their water-filled bodies will freeze as well. Compared to most cacti, Echinopsis bloom fast and furious. They typically begin blooming in spring. Most blooms only last one or two days and they frequently open at night. But it’s common to have several buds on one plant developing at different rates; so a single plant can be in bloom for several weeks. As a general rule, the smaller the diameter of the blooms a Echinopsis species produces, the more blooms the plant produces. Species that produce monster blooms (some over 6” in diameter) tend to have fewer blooms as so much plant energy goes into producing each one. Echinopsis generally begin to produce flowers when they are two or three years old. Echinopsis is a large genus of cacti native to South America, sometimes known as hedgehog cactus, sea-urchin cactus or Easter lily cactus. One small species, E. chamaecereus, is known as the peanut cactus. The 128 species range from large and treelike types to small globose cacti.

A garden requires patient labour and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfil good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them. Gardeners are well primed to provide food for birds and animals, but the key to encouraging the widest possible range of wildlife is to think of creating a habitat for creatures to live in. The most important aspect of this is the provision of shelter from the weather and from predators, as well as a place to lay eggs, rear young or hibernate.

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Sunday 20 July 2014

Aloe ellenbeckii