Borrego’s Aloe Blog

At first glance, I thought it was a shrub someone had hacked to a premature and dry death. As I got closer, the familiar form of a neglected jade plant came into view.

There it was, adjacent to the trash cans, sitting there, unpotted and unwanted, curbside. Destined for the dump. Borrego to the rescue!!!!!

Succulents in general can take a good amount of neglect before their health becomes affected. Jades, maybe even more so because of their thick trunks and large water reserves.

However, the neglect on this jade was severe and went on for several months. Soil is bone dry and many of the smaller branches are severely withered. It is unknown if they will rebound and fatten up again. Experience has taught me the plant will usually drop severely damaged limbs and put its’ energy into new growth.

Only a few leaves remain and all of them are very thin.  I am not worried about them rehydrating, I can almost guarantee it.

A root trim is in order here. I will probably remove half the rootball and try to stimulate some new roots.

Because the soil is so dry, I am actually going to soak the plant in a bucket of water for a few hours. I do this for two reasons. One, it will loosen much of the old soil around the roots, in preparation for a repot into new soil. Two, it will give the roots some much needed hydration and water.

Although it looks rather poor right now, I am going to predict it flowers this season around the Holidays. A little water, a little tlc, maybe even some fertilizer and in a short period of time, I will have a rather nice looking jade.

It is critical to stress at this point of recovery, the plant be placed in bright shade, out of direct sunlight. Putting it in direct sunlight would definitely hamper the recovery. Right now, it needs all the help it can get.

Sometimes, aloes will show different forms of growth. Usually, aloe distans creeps along the ground. However, this particular aloe distans has decided to grow upright.
I purchased it at a cacti club meeting two years ago. It has not grown much, but I repotted it and it has decided to flower. It will be interesting to see just how active the hummingbirds are around it.
It is one of only a very few aloes I have blooming right now. The raceme is branched, with a smaller, second inflorescence not as developed as the one in the photo. It may be a week or more before the flowers appear.
Plant is in a 10″ pot and has not shown signs of pupping. In time, I think it will, but for now, it is content to flower.

Going through some old photos and saw this one. No, this is not a dream I had.
This is what greeted me one night as I entered the cactus club meeting. Someone had thinned out some aloe brevifoila as well as Crosby’s Prolific.
I was more than happy to give them a good home. Aloe brevifolia, as well as the Crosby’s can take full sun, although the Crosby’s will tinge red in strong sun. Both can be used as a border or in rock gardens with good results, and offset rather well after getting established in the ground.
Both will offset if potted, but not nearly as well as when they are in the ground.

A little slow in aloe land today, thought I would share a few more artistic photos of aloe centers.
The first one is the only one I can identify at the moment. Aloe deltoideodonta. I will have to research the other two. Maculate (spotted) aloes are difficult to identify, although I can probably go and find the other aloes in their pots and identify them that way.

As with much of what can go on in life, this is another example of timing is everything.
I was sent a cutting of aloe schelpei back in May. Due to a burst of energy today, I spied it sitting on a plant rack today and decided to check on it. A quick wiggle of the plant yielded some resistance, a good sign.
If there had been no resistance and the plant slumped over, that would mean no roots were holding it in place.
I unpotted it and was pleased to see 3 nice new roots. This was in no small part to what time of year it is. Aloes, with the exception of summer dormant ones, will root much quicker in warm weather. In less than two months, this aloe had grown roots. If this were fall or winter, it might not have grown roots at all.
There is still much time left in the growing season fo this aloe. I decided to put it in a nice pot for the rest of the season as a reward.
It is always a good feeling when an aloe grows roots. It is time for me to check the other aloe cuttings received in the same box to see if they have also rooted.

As promised, the recently acquired aloes from the cactus club meeting are now on display.

The aloe on  the left is identified as aloe deltoideodonta, variety contigua latifolia. That is quite a mouthful!!!! It isn’t very big right now, but it will grow to about an 8″ rosette, I was told. And for $1, I could take a chance on it.

The aloes on the right are unidentified. They may look like aloe vera, but I do not think so for a couple of reasons. One, they are not spotted. Juvenile aloe vera is spotted. Two, the leaves are not as plump as an aloe vera. Finally, my intuition just says no.

They unidentified aloes will soon be repotted and placed in their own pots for future growth. If any ID is forthcoming , it could easily be a couple of years. The aloe deltoideodonta was repotted just last month, according to the tag.

The cacti club meeting was tonight. I purchased a couple of small aloes and will photograph and post them tomorrow.

The topic covered by the guest speaker this evening was cacti identification, a general overview. I was not able to stay for the entirety of it, though. 

I made a rather unique donation to the raffle table - a set of 4 saguaro inspired martini glasses. Did I photo them before the meeting? Duh, no………

If there is one non aloe succulent that would qualify as my favorite plant, crassula arborescens would be the one.

More commonly known as Silver Dollar jade, it is indeed a member of the jade family. I have a medium sized one in the ground here as well as a couple small ones in 4″ pots. From time to time, I will see them at the local discount store for $1 each.

About a month ago, an acquaintance gave me a rather large, floppy, overgrown cutting of crassula arborescens and I put it in the trunk of my car to transport it. Brought it home, potted it and thought nothing more.

While looking around the trunk a few days ago, I noted the leaf above, laying there with roots jutting out. Strangest way I have ever rooted something. If it has the will to live in near total darkness for a few weeks, then I have the will to pot it up and let it grow.

Since I posted about a juvenile aloe barberae (bainesii) a few days ago, why not post another juvenile tree aloe in the midst of a growing frenzy?

The adjacent aloe is ‘Hercules’, a barberae (bainesii) x dichotoma hybrid. A little difficult to find, as well. I found a not so local supplier and spent half the day driving to and from the nursery a year ago. It was in a 3 gallon pot and is the most expensive aloe I have ever purchased.

However, it did have a smaller, second ‘Hercules’ plant in the pot. I asked my guide if I had a rare dichotomous (split) trunk specimen. He giggled a bit and said there were simply two plants in the pot.

The smaller ‘Hercules’ went to a friend to commemorate a special occassion. 

These can get large. The largest one I have seen in the ground was about 18′ tall, in a private garden. This one is only about 2′ tall, but it has grown well in the short time it has been in the ground. If it grows 1′ a year, it is not going to stay small for very long. 

Regular readers of this blog may remember a few months back when I removed several rose bushes and replaced them with aloes.

Once the aloes were planted, it was up to Mother Nature and the Aloe Gods to see how well they would adapt to their area and grow. As seen in the photo, a juvenile aloe bainesii is doing quite well.

It is also know as aloe berberae. At this size, I have been told they will take off and grow rather rapidly. Nice 12″ trunk, although hard to see. I have seen good growth on it since it has been planted in the ground. It has close to a 5′ span on its’ leaves. A dried out and discarded leaf can be seen at the base of the plant.

Aloe bainesii is a tree aloe, with mature specimens growing to a height of 20′ or more. It could easily be a decade before this little guy is half that size, but you never know. Only about 7′ to go. A little fertilizer, good sun, etc……

Aloe pluridens is seen in the background.