The Succulent and Cactus Lady : Aloe aristata

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🌿 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!

Monday, 1 February 2016

Aloe aristata

Aloe aristata (Guinea-fowl Aloe, Lace Aloe) is a species of evergreen flowering perennial dwarf aloe in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, from South Africa. It is commonly cultivated as a garden plant around the world. It prefers well-drained soils, but can tolerate a range of rainfall systems. It can also tolerate temperatures down to -7°C, due to its adaptation to cold mountain tops. However it may need to be grown indoors or under glass in extremely cold temperate regions, to give it some winter heat. This clumping species readily produces large numbers of off-sets, which can be separated and planted as a means of propagation.

My original Aloe aristata now with lots of pups

It is easily identified by the white markings on its leaf surfaces and the thin pointed leaves. Aloe aristata has no papery bracts along the peduncle, a characteristic it does not share with other dwarf aloes.
When not flowering Aloe aristata is often mistaken for a Haworthia specie.

Plants are stemless and form clumps of up to twelve rosettes that are between 100mm and 150mm in diameter.

My Aloe aristata flowered for the firs time this last spring and I was absolutely ecstatic!

Light: Light-shade to full sun.
Watering: Will tolerate slight over-watering and drought conditions.
Flower: Flowers are a dull-red or pinkish colour, tubular in shape and slightly curved down at the end of a fairly long stalk. Plants flower during the month of November.

I've been bringing mine in every winter, but I have quite a few now, propagated from the pups, and I'm considering leaving one or two outside for this coming winter to see how they react.

Aloe aristata sharing an enamel bowl with some peanut cactus and an Haworthia

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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Monday, 1 February 2016

Aloe aristata