Thursday, January 1, 2009

Random plant event: Aloe aristata hybrid offsets

Well, it's taken forever (almost a full year, in fact) to get there, but the first of the offsets that I reported last January have developed to the point where they can go it alone. So far, only two of them seemed ready to pot up, but there are a good fifteen to twenty more where those came from, which will eventually be pottable too. I hope.


I don't know what happens then: I probably don't really need twenty of these. EBay? Bring to work? Blog contest prizes? They're nice plants. Top ten types, even. Surely someone will want them.

But one thing at a time. First we'll have to get the two existing plants rooted, and then we'll see about the rest. Don't count your chickens, and all that.


(UPDATE: This is probably a hybrid between A. aristata and Gasteria batesiana, not the species A. aristata, as originally posted.)


6 comments:

lisa said...

No such thing as too much success when it comes to propagation, IMO. (Isn't that a country song? Or was that "Too Much Fun"? :)

Jenn said...

oOO. Nice.

Anonymous said...

I got one of these from you and it does not seem to be A.aristata, it is a hybrid probably A.aristataXvariegata.

mr_subjunctive said...

Anonymous:

1) Is that a problem?

2) What, specifically, makes you think it's not A. aristata?

Anonymous said...

No it is not a problem at all, i love the plant!! It is beautiful.

I didnt mean to sound rude!

A.aristata has thinner leaves, and they have longer fillaments at the tips, also they seem to grow like a ball.
It is hard for me to explain it all, i will email you pictures of them side by side.

mr_subjunctive said...

Anonymous:

I'd noticed that some photos of A. aristata had the long leaf tips and a tighter form, but had assumed that both things had to do with the growing conditions -- a lot of my Aloes have a much more splayed-out habit than the same plants grown in the wild do, because I no longer have any good southern-exposure windows to put them in.

At the same time, sure, it might not be A. aristata. There was no ID on it when I got it, and my ID was mainly based on what comes up in Google image searches, some of which look more like my plant(s) than others. I assumed that this meant it was naturally variable, but I suppose it could also mean that it's frequently misidentified.