Aloe advice needed !

[Darold Petty]

My wife has given over to me the last tiny corner of our tiny yard.  I plan to retain a very large plant of Cereus peruvianus and I wish to add a tree form Aloe that will provide winter flowers. I know nothing about Aloes.

This spot gets about half day direct sun.  Our climate is very cool, 55-65 F are normal daytime high temperatures, with high humidity.  We do not risk any significant frost.

  One local person suggested Aloe speciosa, the 'tilt-head' Aloe.  This is the look I want, but I solicit your advice, perhaps there is a better suited species ?

  Also, please suggest vendors in SoCal for purchase of my eventual selection.  Thanks !

[Tracy]

1 hour ago, Darold Petty said:

My wife has given over to me the last tiny corner of our tiny yard.  I plan to retain a very large plant of Cereus peruvianus and I wish to add a tree form Aloe that will provide winter flowers. I know nothing about Aloes.

This spot gets about half day direct sun.  Our climate is very cool, 55-65 F are normal daytime high temperatures, with high humidity.  We do not risk any significant frost.

  One local person suggested Aloe speciosa, the 'tilt-head' Aloe.  This is the look I want, but I solicit your advice, perhaps there is a better suited species ?

  Also, please suggest vendors in SoCal for purchase of my eventual selection.  Thanks !

Darold, I wouldn't go with any of the Aloidendron genus (formerly the "tree aloes") for your spot, as they will probably all be a bit too large.  The Aloidendron "Hercules" in my A. africana post was a 1 gallon when planted at the end of 2010 for perspective and I stopped actively watering it, only allowing for it to steal water from the irrigation of nearby plants after about 5 years growth.  Aloe speciosa is attractive, but is probably the most prone of my larger Aloe species to Mealybugs during damp humid conditions, and I know you do get those conditions as well in the spring.  Below is a photo of mine from winter of 2019 about to bloom.  I'm finding both Aloe ferox and Aloe marlothii a little more tolerant of those conditions, but sometimes I have to get out a little Neem Oil mixed with dishwashing soap and blast out the growth point to rid them of the little buggers too.  I have all of these planted along a south facing block wall which heats up during the winter when the arc of the sun is lowest.  Both ferox and marlothii are a little faster for me than the speciosa.  There are some nice looking Aloe thraskii and vaombe growing nearby in the neighborhood as well.  Granted we get a little warmer and the duration of our marine layer is shorter than you get, but all might be options.  I got a lot of my Aloes small from local independent nurseries around town and the less common items (A pillansii, A speciosa) from George Sparkman, but he isn't an option any more.  I wouldn't hesitate to try any of these.

[Darold Petty]

Thanks Tracy !  Anyone else ?

[tinman10101]

hello darold. i am not sure how big of a space you have but i do know tree aloes grow very well in SF.  i would suggest aloe marlothii just because they have one of the most prehistoric look with spiny leaves and flowers that are quite unique that come out like antlers.  it is a very interesting aloe all year round to me.  below is a picture of mine.  as far as vendors are concerned, you have one of the best vendors that i know of which is john miller of the aloe institute in SF.  he has one of the most amazing and diverse nursery and gardens related to aloes in the world.  here is a link to a feature on his garden as well as information to his website.  perhaps you can even email him since he is very familiar with your climate:  https://www.succulentsandmore.com/2021/01/john-millers-fabulous-aloe-garden.html  good luck and please keep us updated on your choice.  i dont think you would need to purchase from a socal vendor as there are many vendors in your area as well as san marcos growers that supply aloes to most retail nurseries that you can special order.  

cheers

tin

 

 

 

[Peter]

I would be tempted to try thraskii; they are relatively fast growers, and I believe they come from a coastal climate as well. 

[Peter]

[Merlyn]

For tree-ish aloes, I am trying out Vaombe, Africana, Marlothii, Spectabilis, Ferox, Castanea, Aculeata and Mutabilis.  I also have the hybrids Hercules and Goliath.  Some of these probably won't like our daily torrential thunderstorms in the summer.  But central FL is very different from your climate.

If you want a lot of flowers, my thought would be a fast clustering kinda-short type or a "skinny tree" type that you could plant as a grouping.  For small ones I have "Little Gem" aka Rooikappie that is supposed to be non-stop flowering with big red-orange flowers. 

Thraskii is neat too, it may eventually get bigger than you want.

[Darold Petty]

Thanks to all, this is very helpful.  

[Tracy]

On 2/8/2021 at 11:48 AM, Darold Petty said:

My wife has given over to me the last tiny corner of our tiny yard.

Maybe it is linguistics, but to me  a "tree Aloe" is one of the Aloidendron species or hybrids, not the Aloes that normally don't branch (marlothii, ferox, speciosa, thraskii, vaombe).  Yes these can and will get tall, but absent the branching the footprint is very different than any of the Aloidendron other than A. ramosissimum.  I mentioned Aloidendron "Hercules" hybrid above, but for perspective will post the photos this time.  When you mention a tiny corner, I don't picture this beast which in late Autumn of 2010, I planted as a 1 gallon.  Start a little bigger with a 15 gallon and you would likely see something like mine in 7 years.

The unbranching but large Aloes are an option though..... perhaps just semantics, but I thought it worth clarifying.

[Darold Petty]

Thanks, I think A. ferox is the leading contender.  Somehow I don't care for the 'nubby' look of A. marlothii. 

[tacobender]

Speciosa  "tilt heads" are one of my favorites.  The shrubby tree aloe "torch" is a beautiful, easy,  fast and carefree grow

[Darold Petty]

Here is my new Aloe speciosa, it has 5 feet (153cm) of trunk below the leaves.  It will be a few months before I can ground plant.  I bought this locally in Oakland, Ca.

  Thanks again for all the comments.  

[Tracy]

3 hours ago, Darold Petty said:

Here is my new Aloe speciosa, it has 5 feet (153cm) of trunk below the leaves.  It will be a few months before I can ground plant. 

Nice selection and find Darold.  If the pot on this Aloe speciosa wasn't marked with it's orientation to the sun, orient the "tilt" to the south-southwest when planting and while its acclimating to your garden in the pot.  These want to tilt toward the sun which in your climate and mine will be predominantly to the south-southwest. 

[Darold Petty]

Thank you,  I will carefully follow this advice !  

[Paradise Found]

Hi Darold, I live in a very cool winter and spring climate and sometimes very cold. Here are the aloes I can grow most winters, Aloe brevifolia, aristata, broomia, maculata. Maculata which is hardy died on me one cold winter.  Freezing temps not a problem for you. Here are some website I found that have a good list for cool climate like yours.  

Cold hardy aloes... https://www.gardenia.net/guide/cold-hardy-aloes-for-your-garden

Good source for mail order aloes.... https://shop.cacti.com/product-category/aloes/

[Darold Petty]

Thank you !

[Marius]

Aloe arborescens ( greyish leaves and brick red flowers) and Aloe rupestris both have showy flowers ( red flowers and dark green leaves). Arborescens is more large branching shrub while rupestris will give more verticality with multiple trunks. 
Aloe spectabilis ( yellow flowers and blueish green leaves) is another beautiful large single trunk aloe that will give nice height.