With 5 flower spikes on my own plants, it was a relief for the first time not to have to transfer While the buds are the top, yet to open, point upwards. The next ones up are open and hang downwards, The bottom flowers have already finished,Īnd are pointing upwards, like the eventual seed-pods do. You can see the typical progression in Aloe flower spikes. This is probably the result of them all being re-potted 3 years ago. Of the 7 large plants I ended up keepingįrom seed sown in 1996, 5 of them flowered this year. The snow doesn't seem to have done any harm at all. 6 of my original plants raised from seed in 1996. The spiral arrangement (equally likely one way or the other) starts to develop. The first leaves are producedĪlternately opposite each other, and not until around the 7th leaf is the symmetry broken, and The seedling measures 25mm from leaf-tip to leaf-tip. They grow quite quickly, and here six weeks since sowing, the 3rd leaf is starting In this photo) - I believe that this is a 'true leaf' with the actual cotyledon ('seed leaf') remaining I sowed some of the seed on 2005 January 16, and saw the first signs of germination 4 days later.Īs typical monocotyledons, the seedlings initially produce a single leaf (the one on the right The seeds measure around 8 x 3mm, including their papery 'wings'. With seed 8 years ago, I truly consider myself to have 'grown' this species. Having arrived back at seed again, after starting Malachite Sunbird - I don't know if anything is likely to pollinate the plant in England,īut I was pretty sure that it wasn't going to make the 5 mile trip between the plants, soĪs you can see, pollination appears to have been successful. The plant's pollinator in habitat is said to be the My plant and my friend's two plants, as it appears that the plants are usually unable to Many trips were made carrying pollen between 'protandrous' (pollen ready before sigma receptive). Each flower only lasts a few days, and appeared to be To being grown in larger containers, and with more water and richer soil) alsoįlowered in 2004, and had larger inflorescences with more branches. My friend's two plants (a little larger, probably due You can see that in this case, theįlower stem branched into 4. I kept 4 of the plants myself (they get rather large - I haven't got room for more!),Īnd it was 2004 before one of these first flowered, as shown here. Is around 6 years from seed - a much shorter time than I have sometimes read. The friend who I gave some plants to first got a flower in 2002 or 2003, which They don't die if you do this, but they don't grow much Have sometimes seem them since being kept in a small pot in a hot greenhouse, I sold quite a lot of my seedling plants back in 1997 and subsequently, and Mine were initially protected from rain in Winter, butĪ friend to whom I gave some had left one of them unprotected outside, withoutĪny ill effects (I no longer give any winter protection to my large plants). The conditions in England seem to suit it, and for some years now, I have They germinatedĪnd grew well, and the frequent suggestions that this plant is difficultįrom reading about conditions in the plant's African habitat, it seemed thatĪt times it receives plenty water, and also is subjected to (possibly freezing)Ĭold. In lateġ996, I obtained some seed from plants in cultivation in California. Had wanted to grow, but had never seen cultivated plants for sale. See below for a few comments on seed-raising. Succulents in flower, Aloe polyphylla Aloe polyphylla
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