Aloe Dichotoma planting

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

Rons pic got me excited enough to plant one of mine...I dug a hole and placed about 6" of large septic type rock in the bottom for drainage...

The grunted that big bad boy in there...

These were dug from a friends field growing operation in Valley Center. The pots were full of new roots, perhaps pooh-poohing the belief that they can't be dug?

One more to go....

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

Not sure why it went twice..no charge for the extra one

[Fouquieria]

Steve,

You should have no problems.  This is their growing season anyway (they are winter growers).  In the summer I water my smaller ones only once in July, only once in August, only once in Sept.  I don't ever water my big one because it doesn't really need it.  The hole looks fine.

-Ron-

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

I wonder, Ron, about the winter growing thing...Mine grew all summer. I have a few hundred seedlings that tripled in size this summer. I don't get it.....

I can understand the propensity towards rotting. The roots are pretty much without feeder roots, just big, finger-like roots. The guy I bought mine from waters his with everything else in the summer, no problems. On the other hand, I've heard sad stories of people losing big ones to rot...maybe Dennis can shed some light....

[Fouquieria]

Stevel, let me say this.  They come from areas near Namibia and east of there where the rainy season (if you want to call it that) starts in their winter.  Part of their territory overlaps A. pillansii and then continues further east where it gets more precipitation.  So they can tolerate a bit more moisture and a bit more cold than A. pillansii.  Whenever I have rooted cuttings of A. dichotoma they don't start to actively root until September.  I've taken cuttings as early as March and they waited to start rooting until Sept.  Also I've noticed that mine start to drop their old dried leaves in Sept-Oct as the stems and trunk begin to swell.  So yes, I suppose they do grow somewhat all year but the strong active growth (especially of the roots) really doesn't begin until September.

By the way I also have a little Aloe pillansii and it has been in the ground for about a year now.  It went through this past winter fine and through the summer with flying colors.  Also have a nice Aloe ramossissima (Maiden's quiver tree).  Some people classify this now as a form of Aloe dichotoma.  It is bush sized and heavily branched.

I tend to underwater most of my stuff because this hillside is so clayey.

-Ron-

[Fouquieria]

I just went dow and took of pic of my big one blooming.

-Ron-

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

sweet...lmk if you get seeds

[Cycadcenter]

I had one planted on a slope in Fallbrook and a couple of weeks ago after that first rain, it keeled over and was rotted at the base.

It was about the same size as yours.

Is it true that they will not reroot?

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

Bruce...the one in the pic was field dug, so it came with roots. I dug it last spring, and it had lots of new roots when I planted it. Re-rooting a rotted plant? Don't know...try cutting off the rot, applying Root tone to the base(especially the outer edge)and treat it like a cycad pup.

BTW, how were you watering yours?

[Zac in NC]

Neat pics. Hope it does well for you Steve.

Zac

[Fouquieria]

Is it true that they will not reroot?

Sure you can reroot them.

What I would do is make a cut where there is no rot.  Let it dry for a few days.  Then put it in a pot of cactus mix and maybe amend it a bit to make it more porous.  Do it just like a cactus...fill the pot halfway, sit the trunk on top of the soil and then fill in with rocks to weight the pot and stabilize the trunk.  Place it under a south facing overhang where it gets sun but no rain or water.  DON'T WATER IT until you see some sort of top growth (I'd say at least six months) even if it dessicates and loses leaves.  The new roots are big and thick and form right along the cut line (that's why you don't want to bury the trunk.

-Ron-