Re: Additonal Aloes;A. polyphylla

Margaret,

I knew that Sean could come up with much more info,
and one that we both failed to mention that is
becoming quite popular here is Aloe polypylla-Spiral
Aloe.  This is a specimen and/or container plant par
excelence, stunning in a large container, looking more
like a modern sculpture than a living plant, with a
perfect spiral formation.  It is extremely tolerant of
cold, taking snow in its native Drakensburg mountains
habitat, and rather restricted in numbers.  A local
grower(Alan Bloom?-can't remember his last name) in
Santa Cruz discovered how to germinate this one, and
it is now fairly widely available. (For folks in the
Bay Area, you can usually find this,(as well as many
other succulents) at The Dry Garden Nursery in
Oakland, phone  510 547 3564.  Richard Ward (Dry
Garden owner), often carries a good selection of Aloes
and Brian Kemble's(Ruth Bancroft Garden) hybrids as
well.  

Spiral Aloe does not like baking its roots in a
container, you would need to keep it from getting too
hot, as it will burn the roots.  In the ground, I have
seen this reach almost 3 foot diameter, but I don't
remember what the bloom is like.  If you only grow one
Aloe, this might be a good candidate!


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