Emerging Fall Aloe Inflorescences
I'm not sure how old this Aloe ferox is but I planted it ~ 15 months ago. This will be the first time it's bloomed since living with me.
 |
| Aloe Ferox |
 |
| Aloe Ferox close up |
 |
| Aloe ferox 5 days later... |
 |
| Nov 23rd (20 days later) |
 |
| December 18th |
 |
| February 8th, 2020 |
From this angle it's hard to see the new infloresence in the picture below...
 |
| Aloe wickensii |
...but it's there and looks like it's been growing for a few days.
 |
| Aloe wickensii close up |
 |
| Aloe wickensii close up 5 days later |
And surprise! 5 days later there are a few more infloresences visible.
 |
| Aloe wickensii 5 days later |
 |
| December 18th |
 |
| December 30th |
 |
| February 8th, 2020 |
 |
| Aloe mutabilis |
Beautiful right ?!
 |
| Aloe mutabilis close up |
 |
| Nov 23rd (20 days later) |
 |
| December 30th |
This Aloe Thraskii also bloomed last year; I believe it put up two separate inflorescences. So far it's on course to do the same.
 |
| Aloe thraskii |
 |
| Aloe thraskii close up |
 |
| Nov 23rd (20 days later) |
 |
| December 30th |
 |
| January 24th (78 days later) |
 |
| January 24th |
 |
| Bees in January? |
My "Cat's Tail Aloe" has been in the ground for at least a few years now and this is the first time it has decided to bloom. I'm excited to the see the results as Aloe castanea gets it's name nick from the flower - not the leaves. I find it interesting that Aloe castanea is classified as a tree aloe - tho some say it's more of a "shrubby tree". I kinda hope that is the case.
 |
| Aloe castanea |
 |
| Aloe castanea close up |
 |
| Nov 23rd (20 days later) |
Our Aloe elegans also bloomed last year. I'm glad it's happy enough to flower; it's always looked a little distressed.
 |
| Aloe elegans |
 |
| Aloe elegans close up |
For my taste I really like the look of Aloe cameronii when it lives in part shade. This specimen gets only morning and early afternoon sun - so it is a little greener than others I've seen.
 |
| Aloe cameronii, November 8th |
I think this is my favorite. Love the pink highlights.
 |
| Aloe cameronii close up, November 8th |
 |
| Nov 23rd (20 days later) |
 |
| January 11th (64 days later) |
 |
| February 9th (93 days later) |
 |
| Aloe 'Eric the Red' |
 |
| Aloe 'Eric the Red' close up |
 |
| Aloe 'Eric the Red', Nov 23rd (20 days later) |
 |
| December 30th |
And finally
 |
| Aloe 'Moonglow' (?), November 8th |
 |
| Unknown Aloe close up, November 8th |
 |
| January 11th (64 days later) |
 |
| January 11th (64 days later) |
I'll add more update photo's as the situation on the ground here changes.
Here's a great read from "palmbob" that breaks down the parts of an Aloe which includes an in depth section on it's flowers: https://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1173
Happy Gardening!
Updates
Additional Aloes that started blooming a bit later than the original post.
 |
| Aloe conifera December 30th |
 |
| February 1st, 2020 |
 |
| Aloe striata on December 18th |
 |
| Aloe arborescens on December 18th |
 |
| Aloe cryptopoda on December 18th |
 |
| Aloe cryptopoda on February 8th |
 |
| Aloe kedongensis January, 24th |
I'm envious. The downside of planting small specimens is that you have to wait forever to see blooms. My own Aloe wickensii has been in the ground almost 5 years now and has shown no inclination to bloom.
ReplyDeleteI may have lucked out with this A. wickensii - it was a smallish 5gal plant when I bought it roughly 3 yrs ago. It just likes that spot for some reason. I'd say the A. thraskii has grown the fastest and bloomed after being in the ground for only a year. I think it was a bargain at ~$35 for a good size 5 gal plant which saves you a few years of waiting :) Not every plant needs to be big but it's nice to have a few... at least that's I justify it to myself.
DeleteBeautiful, yes, yes. Yours are ahead of mine. Here just thraskii and suprafoliata so far. It's still unfortunately quite warm here.
ReplyDeleteKinda interesting that just ~400 miles could make a difference in bloom times - but there's probably other micro-climate stuff going on too.
DeleteCould your unknown aloe be 'Moonglow'?
ReplyDeleteI love how blue your ferox is. Mine is a paler green, nowhere near as nice.
Thanks for the potential id! By coincidence I was at a local nursery this past weekend and they had an A. 'Moonglow' in bloom and I thought to myself "Hmmm... that flower looks very familar!" My plant came from a big box garden store years ago - it was languishing under a bench with no label... forgotten. A few years later it suffered from a severe case of Aloe mite. After a lot of procrastination - I cut off all vegetation down to a stump expecting I'd need to just throw it all away. Surprisingly it grew back to what's pictured in this post within 2 growing seasons.
Delete