Aloe polyphylla

[ralphrmartin]

It badly needs repotting

Maybe that's why it flowered?

[Herts Mike]

Flowering has finished. Potentially 26 seed pods.

[ralphrmartin]

That should be a good number of seed...

[agavemad]

Fantastic. Hopefully plenty of viable seeds

[colser]

very impressive, If you do manage to get a decent number of viable pods the BCSS would love to include as part of our seed list offering

feel free to PM me if this may be a possibility

[Clarke Brunt]

Hi all - I don't often log on here, but was just checking out what's been said about Aloe polyphylla.

I see a reference earlier in the thead to my page about A.p., and someone asking what became of the Aloe plicatilis/polyphylla 'cross' I mention on there. I guess I should update the page (later: I now have), but the answer to that is I got seedlings which looked exactly like their seed-parent, whether that was A. plicatilis or A. polyphylla. Who knows whether the 'foreign' pollen just encouraged selfing, or whether my extra fiddling about trying to cross-pollinate just selfed them.

And people talking about seed too: I've already sent off my crop of seed this year to David Rushforth for the main BCSS list (two plants in flower, cross-pollinated). I'd long forgotten, but now half-recall that I donated the seed once before - in 2010.

Compared to when my plants where 'in their prime' - 5 in flower at the same time in 2009, photo on the site - they'd been much-neglected, and were sorely in need of re-potting. I think I was lucky to get the 2 flower spikes this year, but finally I've repotted them all. I've presently got 3 which I'd describe as 'flowering-size', one a bit smaller, and quite a few of most sizes smaller than that. Can't remember how I got from 7 large plants to just 3 - some divided into 2 dichotomously, and when that happens I eventually separate them. A few must have died - they do live outside, and occasionally one will succumb.

The repotting (of large ones) isn't because they need a larger pot - it's just to 'refresh' them. My pots are about 18 inch (46 cm), and I don't see a need for anything larger. In repotting, I remove all the accumulated dead leaves from the base, shake off some of the soil and dead roots, and re-pot lower down in the pot, so new roots higher up the 'stem' can get into the soil. I've said before, but the entire plant renews itself, old roots/leaves/stem lower down rotting away. I was re-potting one plant this year which already had a partly-developed flower spike. Due to weight of wet soil, most of the root-ball fell off during the operation, but then plant still grew away as though nothing had happened.

I do have one strange-looking Aloe polyphylla, currently in 6 inch pot - it has about 20 heads! I'm sure it was one seedling - don't know if the result of the top being damaged, or just its habit. I imagine they'll end up separate - the 'renewing' mentioned above means that they'll end up not connected as the part of the stem where they join will rot away. I wonder whether they'll continue to produce multiple heads?

[Herts Mike]

I just picked up a 53cm bowl to repot my bigger one. I think it will be a 2 man job.

Your observations are very useful Clarke. Thanks.

[Astro]

I'm always amazed at how thirsty they are. It took a while to convince myself to treat them more like a petunia than like an Aloe

My biggest one has a proper spiral now (about 50 cm across), so I'm hopeful there will be flowers in the not too distant future.

[Patrick]

Clarke, good to hear your news, it was your site and forum contributions that got me into growing AP, my first plants are from your seed. Although I've grown lots more since. I've put one in the ground here in Portugal, in a good deal of shade, where it does very well. I water it occasionally, when I think of it but not often and this in a climate where it hasn't rained for months. It has no brown tips at all and yet with those in pots it seems impossible to avoid them even with very regular watering.