Aloes blooming Saturday at the UCI Arboretum. Their marlothii is better than my marlothii.
Aloe plicatilis apparently fell over since my last visit. It now has a big rock to lean on. Looks happy.
I start close up...
...and pull back:
Look carefully and you can see the rock supporting it:
Aloe petricola has dramatic two-tone flowers. As they prepare to open they turn a greenish ivory:
Aloe wickensii starts red and yellows up, and always seems to be suffering through a Bad Hair Day:
Aloe chabaudii has intensely coral-red flowers:
So does this larger Aloe. It had no tag, unfortunately. A late ferox?
Aloe ramosissisma was finished blooming. This Aloe gets quite large before it begins to flower.
It was about 4.5' tall and 8' wide (1.4 M x 2.4M)
Aloe ferox was also finished blooming. It had a few seeds:
Aloe vanbalenii was still at it. It has formed a huge clump. This is about one-third of the clump:
The plant sale was okay. I was hoping for an Aloe buhrii...
or broomii (right), or wickensii (left):
but no such luck. A Xerosicyos danguyi would have been awesome:
Or a Brunsvigia josephinae:
But no luck there, either.
We got an Aloe thraskii, a variegated Kalenchoe tomentosa, and Arctotis 'Burgundy'.
Other plants besides Aloes were blooming. This Ceanothus looked glorious:
Many of the South African bulbs were blooming as well:
I've seen Cussonia paniculata mentioned on more than one blog in the past year or so. UCI's was looking dandy:
Several Melianthus were producing fresh new foliage and flower stems:
It's not the Huntington by any means, but they do have a Boojum:
And the plant sale is a lot less of a madhouse.
We got home to find Cuddles very, very busy taking a nap. Enjoy it, honey. The puppies will be here tomorrow. If you want a nap, you are going to have to hide somewhere to get one!
Aloe plicatilis apparently fell over since my last visit. It now has a big rock to lean on. Looks happy.
I start close up...
...and pull back:
Look carefully and you can see the rock supporting it:
Aloe petricola has dramatic two-tone flowers. As they prepare to open they turn a greenish ivory:
Aloe wickensii starts red and yellows up, and always seems to be suffering through a Bad Hair Day:
Aloe chabaudii has intensely coral-red flowers:
So does this larger Aloe. It had no tag, unfortunately. A late ferox?
Aloe ramosissisma was finished blooming. This Aloe gets quite large before it begins to flower.
It was about 4.5' tall and 8' wide (1.4 M x 2.4M)
Aloe ferox was also finished blooming. It had a few seeds:
Aloe vanbalenii was still at it. It has formed a huge clump. This is about one-third of the clump:
The plant sale was okay. I was hoping for an Aloe buhrii...
or broomii (right), or wickensii (left):
but no such luck. A Xerosicyos danguyi would have been awesome:
Or a Brunsvigia josephinae:
But no luck there, either.
We got an Aloe thraskii, a variegated Kalenchoe tomentosa, and Arctotis 'Burgundy'.
Other plants besides Aloes were blooming. This Ceanothus looked glorious:
Many of the South African bulbs were blooming as well:
I've seen Cussonia paniculata mentioned on more than one blog in the past year or so. UCI's was looking dandy:
Several Melianthus were producing fresh new foliage and flower stems:
It's not the Huntington by any means, but they do have a Boojum:
And the plant sale is a lot less of a madhouse.
We got home to find Cuddles very, very busy taking a nap. Enjoy it, honey. The puppies will be here tomorrow. If you want a nap, you are going to have to hide somewhere to get one!
What an interesting post! You have so many great and different aloes, they are awesome! I love that one photo of the South African bulb, just gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteAnother great look at these plants -- I'm still amazed at the different growth habits!
ReplyDeleteIn the photos of Aloe plicatilis there is a plant sitting on a mound of its dead leaves -- is that forming a trunk (like Yucca)? Looks a bit messy.
@Nancy, thanks! Too bad I missed the flower on that bulb, it's quite something. The foliage is quite attractive, though.
ReplyDelete@Alan, that's an Aloe I could not ID in the background. Those Aloes are grown without irrigation, so they are very dry. The dead leaves on Aloes do look a little messy, but after a while you appreciate them. They perform two functions for the plant: they support the stem as it lengthens over time, and they protect the stem from hot sun and critters.
I bet the excitement is mounting in regards to the pups coming.
ReplyDeleteNice tour.
They are most beautiful when you do them in close-up. Do Aloes grow well in tropical climates without winter?We have an Aloe vera, the very common one, but it doesn't grow well.
ReplyDelete@greggo, you are right!
ReplyDelete@Andrea, Most of them like low humidity, but there are possibly a few that might do well, those from more humid parts of central Africa, or from eastern South Africa where there is quite a bit of rain.