Forgotten
The previous epic Aloe survey post omitted a few Aloes. It's a big(ish) garden.
I didn't forget this one, Aloe rubroviolacea, rubro-ing up for the winter:
A different omitted deltoideodonta, the name of which has some variation, (var fallax or var candicans). It's the longitudinally striped plant mixed in here with an Agave 'White Ice', Aeonium 'Kiwi', and Sedum 'Coppertone'. The species is sensitive to water sitting in the base of the leaves and winter-wet soil, and is the rare plant that is happier in a pot here:
Omitted A. gariepensis, a very fine solitary Aloe. I had a beautiful large specimen that inexplicably died--my guess due to a large mass of ants nesting around its roots. This is a replacement that needs to grow a bit more before moving to the more challenging conditions on the front slope:
Ridiculous omission: how could I forget the most common Aloe of all, Aloe vera? Millions of people the world over grow this Aloe as a houseplant, and "Currently it is listed as invasive in countries across Europe, the West Indies, Asia and America".
It sometimes will form a chaotic thicket of rosettes, but is most beautiful grown large and solitary:
Also unintentionally omitted: an aculeata/cryptopoda hybrid (foreground), and striata ssp karabergensis (middle) There's gariepensis again, above and slightly to the right of the striata. 'Blue Glow' is the Agave:Okay, that's all of them. In other garden news, we're back to misty mornings...
...ack, heck. One more: raimossima!
uh, two more--elgonica!There. Finally! That's all the Aloes. Now I can close with some roses.
'Burgundy Iceberg'. Sometimes more reddish than burgundy, but rarely pinkish:
'The Prince' battered by Santa Ana wind and 10% humidity, but still princely:
'Earth Angel' who battles for space with Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty':
Bouquet to save blooms from desiccation on windy days:
Awww....ellenbeckii!
And vaombe. A very small vaombe that survived my neglect:
Okay, now I'm fin--uh, nope. Juvenna, a small Aloe. I didn't have the heart to trash a dried up near-dead stem, instead shoving it under 'Golden Celebration' rose. Of course, it survived. Perhaps explaining how Aloe vera became invasive--toss a dried-but-not-dead piece of Aloe into a favorable location, and it may survive.
Or thrive:
...and also managing to thrive, sinkatana, aka zubb, which called attention to itself, reminding the gardener it had been forgotten, by flowering at the right moment for this post:
That must be all of them.
Now I'm sure it is. Pretty sure. Fairly sure.
A "few"?!!! And here I thought you had a lot of roses. It looks like you may have more Aloes than roses now ;)
ReplyDeleteA count performed-- ~75 roses, probably about the same in Aloes.
DeleteA bit of rain looking promising for Thursday--hooray! Both the Aloes and the roses will be very happy to get some. :)
You had me at "Forgotten", showing a top view of that stunning Aloe bloom.
ReplyDeleteAs I don't grow a single Aloe, indoor or out, the vastness of your collection blows my mind.
The flowers are often very photogenic. Fun to take pictures of them.
DeleteThere are about 560 species in the genus, so I have a nice representation but not comprehensive.
Quite a collection. Rather ironic that you have two collections of plants, one that requires almost no care and water to one that need lots of both. Makes your garden one of a kind in a very good way.
ReplyDeleteOne kind gives me time for the other kind! :^)
DeleteOh gosh, I wish Aloes were hardy up here... so many wonderful ones!
ReplyDeleteYes, some wonderful plants--but there are wonderful plants for every climate.
DeleteLove all the forgottens and omitted beauties!!!! Google eyed! Your Kumara (Aloe) plicatilis is BEAUTIFUL!!! I have a similar one that is very unhappy in a pot....leaves turning black slowly... so sad. Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden and awesome photos!
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the pictures, thank you!
DeletePlicatilis can do pretty well in a pot--hope you can find a way to make it happier--it's a great plant. Mine drops old blackened leaves at the start of autumn just before it begins to grow new ones again during the rainy (when we have rain) season.
Do you think you'll find a few more if you continue to look, ha ha? I know how it goes. I "found" a Aloe labworana x rivae hybrid in my garden that is about to flower!! It's tucked away behind the palo verde.
ReplyDeleteI have one of those A. aculeata x cryptopoda hybrids, too. No flowers yet, but I keep wondering what it will look like.