Aloe cremnophila

[David_K]

Hi Colin, Mine grows bedded out on the edge of the raised bed and grows so vigorously that every other year I take the pruners to it and last year threw a wheelbarrow full on the compost. It is in full light and flowers every year and has done so for the last 26 years. The following pics were taken today, May 16th. As you will see my Macaerocereus is now using it as a support to wander round the greenhouse.

[BrianMc]

My cremnophylla was looking a little untidy so I decided to take off the leading stem and try a cutting this morning

Only kidding, its the top of my A.arborescens. Just getting too big and beginning to lean, so thought I'd make some room.

Thanks Mike. Damp it will continue to be then.

You have to use whatever method works under your conditions. I use cat litter in my soil mix but don't use it on its own for cuttings. Using it dry would suck the life out of an Aloe cutting and I find using it wet it sticks together as the particles are not coarse enough, so you might as well use sand or gravel(just my opinion). However, if it doesn't work for you, you might want to try my method. If you have a propagator, take a seed tray, bowl or half pot. Fill it to a depth of about 2 inches of a mixture of 50/50 perlte and good quality general purpose compost. Don't press it down, just leave it light and open. Rest your cuttings on the surface and give a light misting. Place in the propagator. Make sure the compost is lightly dampened every day. The bottom heat will dry it out quickly. You will be amazed by the speed at which Aloes send down their roots. Once the cuttings have produced a decent set of fresh roots I gently lift them out and pot them up into the preferred compost, using bowls or shallow pots for touchy plants, with the addition of ingredients that keep the soil open and aerated( i.e. pumice, perlite, gravel etc).

[Colin Walker]

Flowering over, so the plant has been repotted. It's now in a very special pot. This is a Whichford Pottery hand made clay pan, 33 cm diameter.

My wife has a large collection of very expensive Whichford pots for her/our patio plants. These generally are purchased for birthdays, etc. I'm allowed just the occasional pot purchase on our usual annual trip to the Cotswold pottery.

Aloe cremnophila now sits in my largest Whichford pot. I'm delighted to report that the repot was relatively straightforward since the root ball was a solid mass, and I don't think I damaged a single leaf. So Brian, you should be pleased to hear that this plant is NO longer in a plastic hanging pot.

At Tina's suggestion this plant is now receiving TLC with a view to a future appearance on the show bench, so watch this space.

Aloe cremnophila repot cropped small.jpg (194.99 KiB) Viewed 2325 times

[MikeT]

I'll repot ... take some of the elongated stems off as cuttings ...

Another success for Tesco cat litter. Can't be more the 2 weeks since this stem was removed, though 2 others haven't started to root yet. The other 4 stems will get the chop next spring.

Aloe cremnophila

[Colin Walker]

I'll repot ... take some of the elongated stems off as cuttings ...

Another success for Tesco cat litter. Can't be more the 2 weeks since this stem was removed, though 2 others haven't started to root yet. The other 4 stems will get the chop next spring.

Excellent work Mike. I too took cuttings about the time you did, if not earlier, but haven't checked for roots. Cat litter is just brilliant for rooting aloe cuttings, and indeed other stuff too, such as cleistocacti, euphorbias, etc. etc. I've had pots full of roots in the blink of an eye for some aloe spp. I've only had one failure and that was a cutting that Tina fancied - A. sakarahensis (one of the lomatophyllums), and I only had one cutting and now it's gone. If anyone has a spare, please ever so? Euphorbias have been much slower in my experience.

[Aiko]

I've only had one failure and that was a cutting that Tina fancied - A. sakarahensis (one of the lomatophyllums), and I only had one cutting and now it's gone. If anyone has a spare, please ever so?

I now have two little plants, from seed I once got from Tina to grow (as in: spreading risks to see if they will succeed with someone else). It took a few years for them to germinate, but they germinated during the summer last year. And are now big enough to send back to Tina and / or you.

If you are still interested, five years later...

[Tina]

oh not me wrong aloe

[esp]

I’ve got a few A. sakarahensis seedlings from seed pool seed (Tina’s, if I remember correctly) in 2016.
I produced seeds this winter, I sowed them but none have germinated yet.
I’ll put a few photos up in a few days time.

[Greenlarry]

That is a beauty!

[Tina]

A. sakarahensis

do you have a photo please.
I had really wanted one of these - if its the Aloe that has serrated edges but decided I was a rubbish Aloe seed grower and gave up