[pbs] Grass Aloes are "sort of" bulbs
J.E. Shields
jshields at indy.net
Sat Nov 27 10:07:52 EST 2004
Looking further into "Guide to the Aloes of South Africa" I note that there
are a few "bulbous" Aloe. A. kniphofioides is one such, with red flowers;
hardy to ca. -4°C/+25°F; it is one of the Grass Aloes. The others are A.
modesta, a Grass Aloe with greenish-yellow flowers; and A. inconspicua, a
Grass Aloe with green flowers. A. modesta can tolerate temperatures that
dip below freezing, but A. inconspicua cannot.
Thus demonstrating that Aloe are not off-topic for a bulb list to discuss!
If you want a copy of this book, try Rod & Rachel Sanders' Silverhill Seeds
& Books or the bookshop at Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden in Cape
Town. Both do mail-order sales and accept credit cards. More details in
http://www.shieldsgardens.com/GLOVBulbs/SOURCES.html
Jim Shields
At 07:17 PM 11/26/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Some aloes are deciduous in the wild, growing in summer rainfall areas and
>dying back in winter. They are typically hardy (as aloes go) for 2
>reasons: 1)
>the top dies back and the root behaves like a bulb, and 2) they typically
>come from higher elevations.
>
>I am growing several species of these "grass" aloes and have found the, so
>far, to be easy and durable. They are not "bulbs," but because they die
>back to
>a perennial rootstock; because they leaf out in warm weather and have such
>wonderful flowers, I think of them as bulb-type garden plants.
>
>I purchased seed from Silverhill seed about 2 years ago of A. cooperi, A.
>ecklonis, and A. myriacantha (apparently these are the more easily found
>species). All of them should be hardy down to 15 F, and some are reported
>hardy in to
>zone 7.
>
>I'm not sure what is a grass aloe and what is a bulb aloe, but they are
>similar; it is my understanding that both are deciduous-but I'm not
>sure. I think
>that bulb aloes actually make a more pronounced storage organ. The leaves of
>grass aloes are succulent. Here, near Houston, TX, the 3 species from
>Silverhill germinated easily indoors under lights (room temperature), and
>grew
>easily. They really enjoyed our hot Texas summer, and the rain-never
>seeming to get
>too much water or sun. They responded well to fertilizer and really seemed
>to enjoy it when I moved them from seedling pots/media into a 90% mineral mix
>(30% lava rock, 30% perlite, 30% coarse sand, 10% humus). They are about
>20-24
>months old now and I've potted them up several times. I plan to keep to or 3
>of each type and find homes for the extras.
>
>Last year I protected them from rain during winter; they never got bone dry
>due to splash and spray but the leaves mostly died down. This year I will
>let
>them stay out in the garden, in 1- or 2-gallon containers over the winter.
>Perhaps if we have mild frosts again they will remain evergreen or perhaps
>they
>will die down.
>
>They are such strong growers that I'm hopeful some will bloom next summer.
>If nothing else I want to try their pollen on the other aloes that tolerate
>Houston (e.g., maculata, arborescens, striatula).
>
>LINK: Aloe cooperi page at Plantzafrica.com
>http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/aloecooperi.htm
>
>LINK: Aloe striatula page at Plant Delights Nursery
>http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/Detail/04037.html
>
>Oh yeah, I sure would like to find seed of more species of grass (or bulb)
>aloes; if you have some to sell or trade please contact me.
>
>
>Cordially,
>
>Conroe Joe
>ConroeJoe at aol.com
>71 F high today in Conroe, TX: 55 F predicted for overnight low
>humidity: 85% at 6:00 p.m.
>_______________________________________________
>pbs mailing list
>pbs at lists.ibiblio.org
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*************************************************
Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA
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