Aloe 'Hercules'

[MattyB]

On Saturday, Paul, Bob and myself all piled in the new PRA Action Van and made a trip up to George Sparkman's place in Fallbrook. Paul took some pics of the PRA which I'm sure he'll share in a different thread, but here's some pics of the Aloe Hercules I got. I've read conflicting info regarding the parentage of this Aloe. It's a cross between A. bainesii and A. dicotima, but which one is the parent? I was going to put this up by the house in my new dry garden, but after George's advice, and doing some more research on the internet, I decided to put this monster a little farther down the hill. This tree aloe exhibits hybrid vigor and is expected to easily reach heights in excess of 30 feet tall.

[pogobob]

On Saturday, Paul, Bob and myself all piled in the new PRA Action Van and made a trip up to George Sparkman's place in Fallbrook. Paul took some pics of the PRA which I'm sure he'll share in a different thread, but here's some pics of the Aloe Hercules I got. I've read conflicting info regarding the parentage of this Aloe. It's a cross between A. bainesii and A. dicotima, but which one is the parent? I was going to put this up by the house in my new dry garden, but after George's advice, and doing some more research on the internet, I decided to put this monster a little farther down the hill. This tree aloe exhibits hybrid vigor and is expected to easily reach heights in excess of 30 feet tall.

That looks great!

[MattyB]

...and I'll piggy back on my own thread and show you one of the palms I planted too. Parajubaea torallyi 'microcarpa'! I grew this from seed and it's about 5 years old. I couldn't even dig a 5 gallon size hole here so I had to splay the roots out to get it in this spot. Hopefully it'll figure out how to get down and around this huge subsurface boulder that it's sitting on. Perfect time of year to plant stuff like Parajubaea.

[MattyB]

...and I cleared and burned a lot of brush yesterday so now I can see across the lavaka and get a nice view of the Bambusa timor lako

[Mandrew968]

Matty, can that aloe grow from cuttings?

[MattyB]

Yes, from what I've read.

[palmaddict]

Matty,

You will love this Aloe. It gets the ease of care and size from bainsii and the incredible look from dichotoma. If you had planted straight dichotoma in that soil they are TEMPERMENTAL with rot, and it easily could be lost. Now that these are in tissue culture the price of this hybrid has come way down. I have about 15 planted on my 1/2 acre open space and want to add a half dozen more. They will be quite a sight when they are ten feet tall although my soil is not the quality of yours in this open space. You will love the statement the look of this plant provides. I am not a huge fan of Aloe hybrids but this one is top of the class.

Here is a image from I believe Huntington gardens (credit given) illustrating a more mature form of this hybrid. Even this plant could easily double in size in five to seven years.

patrick

[trioderob]

I have one of those aloe and it grows so fast that you will not believe it.

on the other hand, its NOT as cool as a Aloe dichotoma, so you will want a few of those too!

[palmislandRandy]

Great looking plant, Matt. Do you have to protect the roots from vermin on these also? Is there a reason these won't grow in Florida? Lots of questions

[Peter]

Give it about 5 years and this is what it will look like. I haven't watered mine in a couple of years as it was growing too fast. It didn't seem to notice. Smart planting it away from your house and it seems like it's in a relatively flat area which is also smart. Mine, not so much:

[Bags]

Here is mine in 09

Here it is a few weeks ago. Super fast grower. I am a little nervous about the eventual size but I love it.

[Bags]

This is the Yucca rostrata in the bottom of the first pic.

[trioderob]

MATTY-

what are you growing besides palms ???

[Peter]

Jeez, how do you get your rostratas to grow? Mine just sit there not growing until a gopher eventually eats it.

[MattyB]

Randy, I planted it in a wire mesh cage like everything else, just in case.

Triode,

I grow palms, and.palms only

[Mark lasvegas]

Those Aloe Hercules are really cool. Esp. beautiful when they multi-branch. Can you get them to branch more by nipping the apical stem? Or would that just harm them needlessly?

[Geoff]

Usually it's NOT wanting them to branch too much... these can become highly branched and messy looking... coolest ones are those with the least or no branches (though no branches is not realistic for long). I held my breath hoping mine would not branch for years.... but in three years it finally did... at 12' tall! Just in case you did not know, that is LONG time to hold ones breath. Here's mine 6 months after finally branching. This plant is about 14' tall now. Huge! Love this hybrid!

[The Silent Seed]

I love these - anyone know where I can get one that is small enough to ship? Been looking for a while.

[Mark lasvegas]

TOTALLY WAY COOL PHOTO GEOFF!! They look beautiful with a few branches, or a lot.

Iv'e got an email out to george sparkman, if they are available in smaller sizes that can be shipped. If available, I'll mention it to him you want one too. These things are awesome looking, and you don't have to wait a lifetime for them to get big. I always wanted to get one to branch a lot, but like the fella above posted, he likes his plants with just a few branches., either way, they are totally cool. Here in Las Vegas, we have tons of aloes and yuccas here, but NOTHING like these 'hercules'. They look to me like yuccas(century plants) with big long trunks and an excess of steroids. They would be unique here in this city, as I have not seen any in las vegas yet. I almost wonder if you can grow an aloe 'forest' with these, if you put 3 or 4 together.. They should look pretty exotic when combined with some organ pipe cactus, esp. L. marginatus (old specie name), and a few hedgies and barrels around the bases.

Edited December 10, 2011 by Mark lasvegas

[trioderob]

matty-

mix in a few of these too

they are killer when they get big and will grow great for you

just buy them small and cheap as they are $$$ in large size - dont need to water them in san diego

Mexican Grass Tree (Dasylirion longissimum)

Edited December 10, 2011 by trioderob

[Bags]

Jeez, how do you get your rostratas to grow? Mine just sit there not growing until a gopher eventually eats it.

Pete,

I give mine a lot of water in the summer and It seems to like it. I do not have gophers so that may be the difference.

[Peter]

Thanks-I'll up the water a bit next summer and see what happens.

[PÚA]

On Saturday, Paul, Bob and myself all piled in the new PRA Action Van and made a trip up to George Sparkman's place in Fallbrook. Paul took some pics of the PRA which I'm sure he'll share in a different thread, but here's some pics of the Aloe Hercules I got. I've read conflicting info regarding the parentage of this Aloe. It's a cross between A. bainesii and A. dicotima, but which one is the parent? I was going to put this up by the house in my new dry garden, but after George's advice, and doing some more research on the internet, I decided to put this monster a little farther down the hill. This tree aloe exhibits hybrid vigor and is expected to easily reach heights in excess of 30 feet tall.

As far as i know, Aloe Hercules is Aloe Barberae X Aloe Dichotoma, being Barberae the mother plant and Dichotoma the pollen donnor. I have been searchig for more information on internet about the opossite cross with Aloe Dichotoma as mother plant but there are no aviable information. I wonder how would be this other hybrid... but i guess that if this other cross is not reproduced it is because is not a fine cross or has a worse or less aesthetic appearence ????. In any case i would like to know how would it be.

I have seen pictures of Aloe Barberae x Aloe Plicatilis and Aloe Plicatilis x aloe Barberae.

Greetings from Spain.

Edited December 1, 2013 by PÚA

[PÚA]

Aloe Hercules, Aloe Dichotoma, Aloe Thraskii, ALoe Ferox, Aloe Ramosissima

Edited December 1, 2013 by PÚA

[JonC]

Being 2014, any updates on these fine specimens?

I have 4 in the ground and contemplating squeezing a few more in the same area - roughly 80 x 30.

[Sabal Steve]

I have an Aloe "Hercules" planted in my clay soil. I didn't take the time to amend. It hates it there.

[Silas_Sancona]

Got 2, a single and a 4 header.. Also have Aloe X 'Medusa' Need to step up both of the Hurcs and my Aloe sabaea specimen. Thus far, No issues with with the extra humidity here. Both of my plicatilis are growing like weeds.

-Nathan-

[Yunder Wækraus]

Bump! I bought a very small Hercules in NorCal in 2014. In the spring of 2015, we moved to Florida. I left 99% of plants with our house in Fairfield, but I couldn't bear to leave my little tree aloe, so I drove it down to the San Joaquin Valley and hastily stuck in my mother's yard. For more than a year I've begged for pictures to prove it lived. No dice. My brother just flew in to CA for a visit, and he kindly snapped a photo--it liveth!

So here are my statements and questions: 

1) this aloe was given ZERO care since my leaving, and it survived both waterless summers with temps above 100F and damp winters with multiple winter lows in the 20s (down to as low as 25) and highs in the 40s and 50s. It is a monster!

2) is there any chance to have a nursery ship this to me in FL? If so, what do you think the cost would be?

3) is there any reason why these aren't being grown in FL?

4) if I can't reclaim my abandoned baby, does anyone sell these in/ship to FL?

[5150cycad]

2 hours ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

Bump! I bought a very small Hercules in NorCal in 2014. In the spring of 2015, we moved to Florida. I left 99% of plants with our house in Fairfield, but I couldn't bear to leave my little tree aloe, so I drove it down to the San Joaquin Valley and hastily stuck in my mother's yard. For more than a year I've begged for pictures to prove it lived. No dice. My brother just flew in to CA for a visit, and he kindly snapped a photo--it liveth!

So here are my statements and questions: 

1) this aloe was given ZERO care since my leaving, and it survived both waterless summers with temps above 100F and damp winters with multiple winter lows in the 20s (down to as low as 25) and highs in the 40s and 50s. It is a monster!

2) is there any chance to have a nursery ship this to me in FL? If so, what do you think the cost would be?

3) is there any reason why these aren't being grown in FL?

4) if I can't reclaim my abandoned baby, does anyone sell these in/ship to FL?

Through trial and error I have learned that Aloe Hercules does not need water. I had two 12 foot plants that I had to remove because branches were starting to break off. The one in the picture does not get watered at all. It was planted 4 years ago as a small 15 gallon. I am going to take cuttings soon so I can lighten it's load and prevent it from falling over in the future. 

My guess is that shipping will be very expensive because Aloe Hercules are very heavy (retain water in stem) aloe trees. To save money, I would suggest bare rooting it and cutting the leaves down to the stem. That way it will fit into a box and lighten the load. It won't look pretty but will recover in no time. They transplant very well and grow like weeds. By far the fastest growing plant in my garden. 

I don't see why it wouldn't grow in Florida. One of my concerns would be the rain. If it grows too tall too fast it might not be able to support itself down the road. You also want to make sure you have good drainage so it doesn't rot. 

Good luck!

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

Agree with 5150,

There should be no issue, that I can think of, growing these in FL. Both specimens I had in Bradenton handled the heat/humidity/rain just fine. There is also a specimen or either X Hercules, or pure barbarae ( bainesii) I'd mentioned before growing in the yard of a law office to the west of downtown Sarasota, close to where the Tamiami and Fruitville rd intersect,  near Bird Key if I remember correctly. 

 Yunder,  Have seen numerous 1gal plants for sale locally lately. Might be able to ship one to you if you can't locate something closer. 

[Yunder Wækraus]

25 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Agree with 5150,

There should be no issue, that I can think of, growing these in FL. Both specimens I had in Bradenton handled the heat/humidity/rain just fine. There is also a specimen or either X Hercules, or pure barbarae ( bainesii) I'd mentioned before growing in the yard of a law office to the west of downtown Sarasota, close to where the Tamiami and Fruitville rd intersect,  near Bird Key if I remember correctly. 

 Yunder,  Have seen numerous 1gal plants for sale locally lately. Might be able to ship one to you if you can't locate something closer. 

Thanks! which nurseries?

[Silas_Sancona]

On Wed Oct 26 2016 10:33:00 GMT-0700, Yunder Wækraus said:

Thanks! which nurseries?

There were a couple places, unfortunately, neither nursery can ship material. I'm going to check into some other possible places next week. 

[Tracy]

On 10/26/2016, 10:08:43, Silas_Sancona said:

 Yunder,  Have seen numerous 1gal plants for sale locally lately. Might be able to ship one to you if you can't locate something closer

They are very fast growers.  I planted mine in late 2010.  Two photos, first is from September 2012 and same plant today in October 2016.  I took one out in my backyard that was about 6' high because I planted it too close to my driveway and a wall for how fast it was growing.  I gave it to a friend, and it took 3 of us to get it into the back of his truck because it was so heavy.

[Yunder Wækraus]

2 hours ago, Tracy said:

They are very fast growers.  I planted mine in late 2010.  Two photos, first is from September 2012 and same plant today in October 2016.  I took one out in my backyard that was about 6' high because I planted it too close to my driveway and a wall for how fast it was growing.  I gave it to a friend, and it took 3 of us to get it into the back of his truck because it was so heavy.

What a stunner! I want mine back (or a new one) 

[Tracy]

11 minutes ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

(or a new one)

Since shipping yours will be expensive, just get a little one.  Mine was planted from a 1 gallon, two years before the 2012 photo.  When I redid my drip system, I skipped over putting drippers on the Aloe Hercules along with a couple of other large Aloes and they are all still growing.

[Silas_Sancona]

4 hours ago, Tracy said:

They are very fast growers.  I planted mine in late 2010.  Two photos, first is from September 2012 and same plant today in October 2016.  I took one out in my backyard that was about 6' high because I planted it too close to my driveway and a wall for how fast it was growing.  I gave it to a friend, and it took 3 of us to get it into the back of his truck because it was so heavy.

Completely agree, very fast.. even if starting out from a 1 or 3gal specimen. X Medusa also follows a similar growth rate as Hercules. For the reason you had mentioned, I like starting out smaller and allowing something special like this to attain size under my care rather than plunging a fair amount of money into a big, heavy specimen that could get broken while transporting or planting. 

 While just a suspicion, I wouldn't be surprised if Hercules attained size at a faster pace under Florida conditions as compared to it's already rapid growth rate in California.  BTW, your specimen looks awesome Tracy. 

[Yunder Wækraus]

3 hours ago, Tracy said:

Since shipping yours will be expensive, just get a little one.  Mine was planted from a 1 gallon, two years before the 2012 photo.  When I redid my drip system, I skipped over putting drippers on the Aloe Hercules along with a couple of other large Aloes and they are all still growing.

I still have to find one out here. 

[RedRabbit]

20 minutes ago, Yunder Wækraus said:

I still have to find one out here. 

Let me know if you find one. They used to have them on aridlands (credit to Silas_Sancona for telling me about that one), but I don't see them there anymore. 

Edited October 29, 2016 by RedRabbit

[Mark lasvegas]

I bought one of these in a local nursery, but I suspect it was mislabeled and is really Dichotoma, as it has grown rather slowly, and is still small.  I was shopping at Home Depot and found a bunch of Hercules in 25 gallon pots.  I bought one, fit it in my Honda, and it has since remained in the same pot in my back yard.  It has at least doubled in size, and know I could never fit in the Honda again, and I could never lift it again, I'd need a dolly for that.  I have been hesitant to plant it out for fear what a winter frost might do to it.  But it has become a prominent plant in my yard now.  I'm just not quite sure what to do with it.  If you want to buy one, just prowl the big box retailers.  They do pop up every now and then.  Beware of mislabeled plants.

[Yunder Wækraus]

2 hours ago, Mark lasvegas said:

I bought one of these in a local nursery, but I suspect it was mislabeled and is really Dichotoma, as it has grown rather slowly, and is still small.  I was shopping at Home Depot and found a bunch of Hercules in 25 gallon pots.  I bought one, fit it in my Honda, and it has since remained in the same pot in my back yard.  It has at least doubled in size, and know I could never fit in the Honda again, and I could never lift it again, I'd need a dolly for that.  I have been hesitant to plant it out for fear what a winter frost might do to it.  But it has become a prominent plant in my yard now.  I'm just not quite sure what to do with it.  If you want to buy one, just prowl the big box retailers.  They do pop up every now and then.  Beware of mislabeled plants.

I've never seen a genuine aloe tree at a big box retailer in NorCal or here in Central FL. Even nurseries which specialized in exotics didn't have any hercules when I was in NorCal. I looked around for months before I found mine at tiny nursery in Berkeley that specialized in succulents. In my experience, the non-hybridized trunking and branching aloe trees will melt away at temps below 30F.