Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
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Please respect all forum members opinions and if you can't make a civil reply, don't reply!
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Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
The genus Aloiampelos probably won't be that familiar to most readers, but some of its constituent species certainly will be.
Aloiampelos includes seven species of scrambling/rambling aloes. They're the least succulent of all the aloes and are endemic to the southern provinces of South Africa.
Aloiampelos ciliaris is the type species and is endemic to the Eastern Cape Province. It's a sprawling, very untidy plant with weak stems up to 6m long/tall so needs support. The leaves are relatively thin and barely succulent.
One of my plants is shown here growing at the back of our porch where it thrives. The temperature in its cosy home never drops below 10 degrees and it's watered throughout the year. If kept cold and dry in the winter it's unlikely to survive let alone thrive.
The first flowers produced by my plant in Scotland are shown here. I've flowered it before down south in deepest Bedfordshire but that was at the back of the GH and I never took much notice of it.
I thank Topsy (aka Suzanne) for providing me with my current material.
The other plants in the porch in this shot are Cleistocactus chrysocephalus and part of a huge plant of Aloe vera.
Interestingly in contrast Aloiampelos striatula is one of few frost-hardy aloes. My plants are cuttings from Gordon Rowley's plant that survived for many years outdoors in an unheated cold frame in Reading.
Aloiampelos includes seven species of scrambling/rambling aloes. They're the least succulent of all the aloes and are endemic to the southern provinces of South Africa.
Aloiampelos ciliaris is the type species and is endemic to the Eastern Cape Province. It's a sprawling, very untidy plant with weak stems up to 6m long/tall so needs support. The leaves are relatively thin and barely succulent.
One of my plants is shown here growing at the back of our porch where it thrives. The temperature in its cosy home never drops below 10 degrees and it's watered throughout the year. If kept cold and dry in the winter it's unlikely to survive let alone thrive.
The first flowers produced by my plant in Scotland are shown here. I've flowered it before down south in deepest Bedfordshire but that was at the back of the GH and I never took much notice of it.
I thank Topsy (aka Suzanne) for providing me with my current material.
The other plants in the porch in this shot are Cleistocactus chrysocephalus and part of a huge plant of Aloe vera.
Interestingly in contrast Aloiampelos striatula is one of few frost-hardy aloes. My plants are cuttings from Gordon Rowley's plant that survived for many years outdoors in an unheated cold frame in Reading.
Cheers,
Colin
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Colin
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
My ciliaris which I liberated in Marbella seemed to have much brighter coloured flowers?
- Phil_SK
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
A. striatula in a cold frame? That must've been one big cold frame. My plant's not very old and is over a metre tall and wide already. It's just starting to send up flowers but, unfortunately they're usually caked in ants when they open so not very attractive.
Phil Crewe, BCSS 38143. Mostly S. American cacti, esp. Lobivia, Sulcorebutia and little Opuntia
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
Lovely cleistocactus, Colin, and - oh, the aloiampelos flowers are pretty darn good too!
Tony Roberts
Treasurer, Haworthia Society
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(Gasteria, Mammillaria, small Opuntia, Cleistocactus and Sempervivum are my current special interests)
Treasurer, Haworthia Society
Chairman, Tephrocactus Study Group
Moderator, BCSS Forum
Kent
(Gasteria, Mammillaria, small Opuntia, Cleistocactus and Sempervivum are my current special interests)
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
Mike, A. ciliaris is very variable and indeed three varieties are currently recognised, based principally on different chromosome counts, but flower size is one of the morphological features that was also used to distinguish between these vars. In THE book on aloes, pp.540 & 541 show three different flower colours.Herts Mike wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 3:32 pm My ciliaris which I liberated in Marbella seemed to have much brighter coloured flowers?
Biologically A. ciliaris is significant because amongst the aloes in the widest sense with around 550 species, this is one of very few species with chromosome counts of three different numbers with 2n=14, 28 & 42. (The vast majority of aloes - maybe about 95% of them - have 2n=14.)
However, maybe light levels in our porch aren't sufficiently high to bring out the true colour in my flowers. I've got plants of this clone in two other locations (greenhouse & conservatory), so if these flower it'll be interesting to see if the red colour on those is deeper.
Cheers,
Colin
FBCSS
FCSSA
Fellow of the Linnean Society (FLS)
Member of the IOS
Honorary Research Associate, The Open University
Colin
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
Phil, most of Gordon's plants were bonsai not having been repotted for many years, so I'm sure this was true of his A. striatula in the cold frame.Phil_SK wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 4:21 pm A. striatula in a cold frame? That must've been one big cold frame. My plant's not very old and is over a metre tall and wide already. It's just starting to send up flowers but, unfortunately they're usually caked in ants when they open so not very attractive.
Having said that, all my plants of Aloiampelos are in pots and grow reasonably quickly, but I don't have the space to let them reach the size of yours.
By the way A. striatula is also quite variable but here only a single additional var. has been named: A. striatula var. caesia which has yellow flowers as opposed to the typical orange-red of var. striatula.
Phil, please let us know what colour your flowers are.
Cheers,
Colin
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FCSSA
Fellow of the Linnean Society (FLS)
Member of the IOS
Honorary Research Associate, The Open University
Colin
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Honorary Research Associate, The Open University
Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
Here is Aloe (Aloiampelos) striatula flowering in the dry garden at Hyde Hall in Essex. Coming from the Drakensberg, it is possibly the aloe best suited to outdoor cultivation in the UK.
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
A bit off topic here Tony, but do you know how big Cleistocactus chrysocephalus needs to be before flowering? My single specimen of this species is around 70cm tall and is growing reasonably fast right now.
Cheers,
Colin
FBCSS
FCSSA
Fellow of the Linnean Society (FLS)
Member of the IOS
Honorary Research Associate, The Open University
Colin
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Fellow of the Linnean Society (FLS)
Member of the IOS
Honorary Research Associate, The Open University
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
Terry, I'd say that is var. caesia. Not just from the yellow flowers but the leaves also match in being more open and spreading.
Cheers,
Colin
FBCSS
FCSSA
Fellow of the Linnean Society (FLS)
Member of the IOS
Honorary Research Associate, The Open University
Colin
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Re: Flowering of Aloiampelos ciliaris
Hi Colin,
Your A.ciliaris came to us from Douglas Huth who grew it in free root run with minimal heating.
The Cleistocactus needs to br around 1m to flower according to Tony.
Best wishes, Suzanne
Your A.ciliaris came to us from Douglas Huth who grew it in free root run with minimal heating.
The Cleistocactus needs to br around 1m to flower according to Tony.
Best wishes, Suzanne