Anyone else growing grass aloes? I'd love to see them!

ContainersForNow · #1

Here is my Aloe bowiea, complete with a growing flower spike! I've been quite interested in it and grass aloes in general of late - I even requested an inter-library-loan for the book Grass Aloes in the South African Veld yesterday though I don't know when it will arrive. If you have a grass aloe or several in your collection, I'd enjoy seeing them!

: aloe bowiea aug20 1.jpg (152.42 KiB) Viewed 2439 times

#2

A fellow enthusiast! Hooray! I presently have boylei, cooperi, ecklonis and wildii. I did have chortolirioides but it just faded away this year. Boylei is 4 years old, the others in their third year so not big enough to flower yet. Not easy plants/seeds to find.

Pictures follow.

#3

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Aloe boylei
Aloe cooperi
Aloe ecklonis
Aloe wildii

#4

Pictures have come up in reverse order!

ContainersForNow · #5

Thanks for sharing! Too bad about your Aloe chortolirioides; I bought my Aloe bowiea online last October - it looked withdrawn upon arrival and continued to be a concern until around March/April when it thankfully perked up.

I like your Aloe cooperi's stem!

#6

All from seed.
Last year I saw a flowering cooperi which was quite impressive.

#7

I do have the book btw.

ContainersForNow · #8

Oooh, I hope I'm in for a treat when it eventually arrives through the library system! How did you obtain the seeds?

#9

I got them from Silverhill Seeds in South Africa but the only one they have at present is cooperi.

ContainersForNow · #10

The book has really nice prefaces, beautiful illustrations, and interesting content... but it didn't cover Aloe bowiea at all and I'm sad about it.

#11

Last year I managed to acquire seed of albida and modesta but no germination. I dried them out and yesterday resoaked in smoke water and put them in the propagator. I don't have much confidence of success but you never know.

eremophila · #12

When I lived in coastal Washington for a few years, I grew andersonii and soutpansbergensis on a patio during the warmer months and in a greenhouse when it was too cold/wet out in winter. The soutpansbergensis flowered regularly from spring through autumn.
Also, despite what the internet likes to say, Aloe bowiea isn’t a grass aloe. It’s a weird little unique thing that doesn’t match up with most other aloes. It used to have its own genus and was known as Chamaealoe africana once upon a time.
I also have this kinda awful hybrid: arborescens x chortolirioides around still. I thought for sure it would die in the heat here but somehow lives on just fine under a small palm tree.