Welcome back to another episode of
Lost In The Farmer’s Market, where we take a look into varied topics regarding
sustainability, horticulture and organic practices. This blog post was delayed, but for a good
reason. On Saturday the 10th the ‘Build a better Block’ festival was
held on the 1200 block of Haymount in town. Since I’m a supporter of all things
local I was present and accounted for at the event after the usual Fayetteville
City Market. In case you don’t know about the event, the event organizers
altered traffic patterns made extra pedestrian and bike paths, had live music,
five food trucks and all kinds of festivities. It was a hell of an event, and I
hope they do another in the fall or next spring. But due to my work with
Leclair’s General store, I had to squeeze a lot of work into just a few days so
I was too busy to organize this post for the 8th as planned. Of
course, Sunday I was visiting coma-land so this update does arrive late but
there is a good reason for it and I hope you will all understand. Before we
dive into this week’s topic, I should warn all of you readers in the
Fayetteville area, we apparently have several extremely cold nights coming up.
Tonight (Monday the 12th) it is supposed to dip down to 34 degrees, Tuesday
it is supposed to reach 32 degrees and Wednesday it is supposed to hit 30
degrees. Now we all know that things are in bud right now or have broken bud,
if you cannot bring it in or put as tarp over it I advise that if you didn’t
get rain today thoroughly water it. Desiccation is a primary vector for frost
damage and protecting your plants may be necessary depending on your own
micro-climate.
Now, speaking of things that don’t
tolerate frost at all; today’s topic is a look into the diversity of the Aloe
family. The first thing you should know is that there are three primary
branches on the aloe family tree. The two closest relatives are the Gasteria
and Haworthia groups who are both so closely related to aloes that they can
cross-pollenate and produce viable offspring with traits of both parents. This
post isn’t covering the Gasteria or Haworthia groups as that might be a topic
for a later set of posts. As I noted earlier Aloes and frost do not mix, and
even the most durable aloe still will suffer potentially serious damage if
expose directly to temperatures under 32 degrees. The whole business of ‘watering
before a frost to limit desiccation’ schtick may not work with aloes because
cold and wet soil is a formula for root or crown rot. Beyond this, aloes are
largely care free, they do not require a lot of water, barely any fertilizer
and any basic potting soil is ok for them. Despite what a lot of plant guides,
houseplant books and magazines claim, aloes generally do not need a special
soil mixture if you are only watering them when absolutely dry and then only as
absolutely necessary. From what I can tell the additional organic matter found
in a basic potting soil mix seems to encourage more aggressive root growth
which is a good thing. I do not advise using a potting soil that has fertilizer
incorporated into it as that could promote growth at the wrong time of the year
that you have no control over. Likewise,
because I get the question very often, potting soil is a very specific product,
it is not the same as garden soil, topsoil, compost or seeding soil. Potting
soil tends to have a noticeable amount of perlite, peat moss the occasional but
of bark or wood chips and generally is blended to be light weight. The blend of
potting soil is geared for weight and moisture retention because it’s expected
to be used in conjunction with potted plants which by definition you may need
to pick up and move from time to time. Cactus soil is nothing more than a very
sand-heavy version of potting or top soil that does not hold moisture very well
and is practically designed to be nutrient deficient which is why some come
with encapsulated fertilizer products mixed in. Besides, you can get a 2.8
cubic foot bag (79 liters/about 30 lbs) of potting soil for 13.00 before tax at
a garden center whereas you generally can only get an 8 quart bag of miracle-gro
cactus soil for $4.77 so of course if you must add sand it’s cheaper to get the
bigger bag, then add sand as needed. Obviously, Miracle-Gro does not make
products that are by any definition of the term sustainable, or organic which
is why you will never see me shilling for them anywhere. But comparing the
costs here for $20.00 I get just shy of 31 liters (32 quarts) of the cactus
soil, whereas with the big bag I get 79 quarts and can buy a 50lb bag of coarse
sand for $5.00 and still it costs slightly less than $20.00 after taxes. There is
no economic advantage to miracle-gro products nor pre-made cactus mix.
Getting back on track, aloes are
fairly tolerant and can take full sun however, you must gradually introduce
them to it as they can scorch if you just toss them out in the full sun. During
the summer I often get queries regarding why someone’s aloe is now a funny
color, and most of the time the Aloe’s natural protection against full sun has
come into play and it’s a got a faint reddish-orange color. This is the Aloes
way of blocking certain wavelengths of light and increasing its resistance
against being in the sun. It is a neat but temporary defense mechanism for the
warm months but aloes go back to their normal green colors over the cold months.
But, let’s talk about some actual aloe specimens.
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Aloe vera – Medicinal Aloe
|
Aloe Vera is the true medicinal aloe
that is commonly grown for use in beverages and in some skin care products. The
other aloe grown for the purpose is Blue aloe or Aloe glauca which is more commonly called cosmetic aloe and it is
more commonly found in skincare products. In general, all Aloe plants have gel
but the overall quality and quantity of gel varies widely. I always recommend that
anyone who intends to take aloe internally should consult credible publications
on its use as well as a credible practitioner of herbal medicine just to make
sure there are no biological interactions that could send you to the emergency
room. In terms of care aloe vera is very uncomplicated, it can grow well in a
variety of lighting conditions but generally prefers partial sun or bright filtered
light. It can take full sun (8+ hours) but you need to slowly introduce it to that
lighting condition so there is no leaf scorch. Aloe vera prefers its soil on
the dry side and does fine in normal potting soil as long as you allow the soil
to completely dry out after you last watered it. As a final note and this applies to most if
not all aloes; aloes do not need to be frequently repotted and are more likely
to produce offshoots and blooms when they are pot bound. The pictured example
was only moved into the 14” pot you see after it became so root bound that the
above ground part of the plant always weighed more than the below-ground parts
of the plant so it would constantly need support and topple over.
As
a final note, true medicinal aloe has an incredible number of botanical Latin
names that are considered synonyms. Aloe Vera is the current accepted name, but
it is also known by the following names in some publications; Aloe barbadensis, Aloe barbadensis var.
chinensis, Aloe elongata, Aloe flava, Aloe indica, Aloe lanzae, Aloe maculata, Aloe
perfoliata, Aloe rubescens, Aloe variegata, Aloe vera var. chinenesis, Aloe
vera var. lanzae, Aloe vera var. littoralis and, Aloe vulgaris. So, in short will the real aloe vera please stand
up?
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Aloe melancantha var. erinacea – Goree Aloe
|
This is a strange little hybrid, it’s
apparently super-slow growing, rare and is from the more arid parts of Nambia
where it is called “Goree”. This succulent is considered a sister species to
Aloe Melanacantha which is similar but often noted to be larger and is from the
Namaqualand areas of the western parts of south Africa. Now with that said, the
biggest threat to this species is habitat loss and illegal collecting. Given
how interesting this small specimen looks and what internet searches have
indicated it looks like at a larger size the desire for it is understandable.
 |
| Aloe
ellenbeckii – “Fat-Leaf Aloe” |
This aloe is also known as Aloe dumetorum
in some botanical listings. I’ve taken to calling it ‘fat-leaf aloe’ because it’s
leaves are almost cylindrical unlike the roughly D-shaped cross-section of Aloe
vera leaves. I think that is this plant has similar medicinal or cosmetic
properties to medicinal aloe or blue aloe it could be the next big thing for
gel extraction.
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Aloiampelos ciliaris – Climbing Aloe
|
I admit my specimen got the crap
kicked out of it this winter, but it’s holding on and seems to be recovering
somewhat. Climbing aloe has a growth habit at odds with other aloes in that it
grows from a central stem upright at a rate that you can easily see over the course
of several months. This makes it one of the fastest growing aloes I’ve ever
seen though it lacks in the gel department so that’s an odd trade-off. This aloe was formerly known as Aloe ciliaris but the name was changed within the last year or two for some reason.
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Aloe descoingsii – Miniature Aloe
|
I’ve had this aloe in the collection
for several years and it started as a single stem plant then expanded into a
colony. This was the first true clustering aloe I’ve ever owned and it seems to
be immune to a lot. I suspect this aloe escaped damage because the geometry of its
leaves and its clustering habit controls airflow which prevents frost from
doing much damage. I’m not sure testing this theory outside the green house is
particularly wise.
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Aloe quicksilver x rare flare – Silver Ridge
Aloe
|
This aloe seems to break with normal
care instructions for aloes as every few years it has a fair amount of dieback
and then regenerates itself. With that said it is a clustering type that
offsets readily and really only requires occasional watering.
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Aloe hybrid – Grassy Lassie
Aloe
|
Labelled for Zones 8-11, it seems to
be a hit or miss proposition in Fayetteville North Carolina. Given the three
weeks of very cold temperatures that started in the last week of December 2017
and wrapped around into January 2018, I don’t think this aloe would have made
it in the ground. However, as an indoor plant for the winter and an outdoor
display for the summer it should be just fine. This plant tried to bloom back
in January but the flower stalks were frosted off. I should note that there is
little gel in this succulent’s leaves.
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Aloe hybrid – Christmas Carol
Aloe
|
I have offered a few of this hybrid
through LeClair’s general store and its uniquely textured leaves and coloration
captivated succulent and cacti enthusiasts who saw it. This specimen was given
to me by a vendor at the Fayetteville city market as a small offset and well it’s
still small but it’s got room to grow.
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Aloe deltoideodonta – ‘Checkerboard Aloe’
|
This variety of aloe doesn’t have a
common name so instead of confusing customers with its Latin name I came up
with the name ‘Checkerboard Aloe’ because the white dots on the leaves are
somewhat square shaped and admittedly a 1984 song about playing chess was on
the radio at the time and the common name was born. This aloe has been popular
since day one, the big wide leaves, the odd variegation pattern and the fact
that older specimens like the one pictured can curl their leaves down over the
pot’s rim make it unique.
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Aloe hybrid – Snowstorm Aloe
|
This little succulent is an offset
from a much larger plant that was a special order. The white patterning on the
leaves makes it interesting to look at while it unlike a lot of decorative
aloes has relatively thick gel-filled leaves. This means that it may have some
medical uses if you need it, and if not in a dark ceramic pot it’s a
conversation starter.
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Aloe hybrid – Minnie Belle
|
For months I was calling this one ‘Minnie
Ball’ which is literally the name of the
projectile fired out of muskets during the American Civil War. Then I went to
research this aloe’s bloom colors and found out the error…fortunately Minnie
belle sounds like a character from ‘Gone with the Wind’ so it made for a minor
change and in a military town the change didn’t hurt sales. Minnie Belle Aloes
are generally single-stem and with age as older leaves fall off or are removed
they end up with a palm tree look which with decorative gravel can be quite
striking. None of the specimens I’ve sold or the one picture have demonstrated
any ability to side-branch or produce offsets thus far which makes it a bit
like the Climbing Aloe in form but slower growing.
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Aloe Striata – Coral Aloe
|
For note this isn’t my photo, I lost
my specimen plant during the big 2018 freeze in January. The picture above is
from StrictlyMedicinalSeeds.com and is the best representative of Aloe striata that one might buy at a
nursery. This plant is structurally pleasing because it’s leaves are oppositely
placed and can curl a bit giving a nice form that is a bit random as no two
plants do the same exact thing. The variegation on this succulent consists of
glaucous blue-green leaves with a white line with red tinges running down the
leaf margins. Its bloom is where it gets its name as the flowers are tubular
and bright Coral-pink and are on stems that can be up to two feet long.
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Aloe hybrid - T-Rex
|
Speaking of Aloes
with issues, this hybrid was bought on discount at a garden center early last
year and I think I know why it was on discount. T-rex aloe despite its macho
name tends to get root rot at the drop of a hat for no real good reason. Look
at it really hard, root rot, sneeze near it, root rot, observe the air speed
velocity of an unladen swallow and you guessed it root rot. However, this
specimen seems to have ignored frost damage thus far and seems to be in good
health so maybe it was just what they did to it at the garden center. Honestly,
at this rate I may have to get an anatomically correct doll depicting a
succulent and hold it out near this aloe to find out where the bad men at the
garden center touched this plant. Joke aside, thus far the basic aloe rules of
care seem to apply but with even less watering requirements.
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Gasteria x Aloe hybrid – Midnight Aloe
|
Technically a gasteria-aloe hybrid
is called ‘x Gasteraloe’ or some such,
but I would imagine that is confusing to the average reader of this blog so it’s
simpler to use the standard indicator of a cross between two plants via pollen
transfer. Generally speaking in the plant world, a hybrid is created through a
transfer of pollen or assisted sexual reproduction which sets it apart from
plants created through genetic manipulation or GMO plants. I have this plant
here because I mentioned earlier that Gasteria, Haworthia and Aloe are so
closely related that they can produce hybrids and Midnight aloe is one that
resembles aloes enough that it’s common name ignores that it is a hybrid.
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Aloe hybrid – Walmsley’s
Bronze Aloe
|
Walmsley’s Bronze aloe is the harder
to find of the two popular Walmsley aloe hybrids. The other is Walmsley’s Blue
aloe and that can be found intermittently in garden centers fairly easy. In
terms of care it basically needs to be treated like an Aloe vera, but with the
proviso that it is a little bit more susceptible to root rot and that it’s
color may make it more resistant to scorching in full sun
 |
Aloe hybrid – Silver Star
Aloe
|
Silver star aloe is similar to
silver ridge aloe and may be related directly to one of its parents. This aloe
has a similar form and growing habit to silver ridge but it’s white coloration
is more pronounced and it seems more prone to root rot and or random stem
dieback. Otherwise this aloe is fairly easy to deal with.
This
brings to a close the first post of March 2018 and a decent look at the
biology, growing habits and nature of the Aloe family. For note this is where
the advertising starts because it keeps the Test Garden’s supplied. As always
barring terribly wet and cold weather or illness I still manage a vendor’s
space at the Fayetteville City Market at 325 Maxwell street between 9:00 am and
1:00 pm on Saturdays. I sell several things during the winter/early spring
months and they are:
Fresh
Foods:
Soup
Kits, with Turnips - $6.00
Soup
Kits, with Parsnips - $6.00
Whole
Garlic – $1.00
Fresh
Ginger, 3.0+ ounce bags - $2.00 each or three for $5.00
Plants
Available Now:
Parris
Island Romaine Lettuce – $3.00
Lacinato/Dinosaur
Kale – $3.00
Italian
Parsley – $3.00
Spinach,
Nobel - $3.00
Kohlrabi,
Purple Vienna - $3.00
Chives
- $3.00
Tansy
- $3.00
Coming
Soon:
Basil,
Sweet Genovese (in April)
Burnet
(a perennial herb that adds flavor to salads)
Swiss
Chard
Redbor
Kale (a kale so curly and crimson that it will make the neighbors jealous)
English
Thyme
Sage
Winter
Savory
Lavender
(several types)
Santolina
(aka Lavender-Cotton)
If
the market isn’t your thing or your schedule does not allow you to go there my
premium exotic house plants can be purchased in attractive clay pots with
unique embellishments at LeClair’s General Store. LeClair’s General Store is
located on 1212 Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville North Carolina.
This
is their Facebook Page:
Most recent deliveries to Leclairs:
1x Terrarium
- Blue Torch cactus, Pilosocereus azureus.
1x Terrarium
- Tiger Jaw Plant, Faucaria tigrina.
1x Terrarium
- Miniature Arrowhead Vine, Syngonium
podophyllum ‘mini pixie’.
2x 7.5”
Rimless pot - Spider Plant, Chlorophytum
cosmosum.
1x 4”
Standard clay pot - String of Pearls, Senecino
rowleyanus.
1x 4”
Standard Clay Pot - Chinese Evergreen, Agaonema
species ‘maria’.
3x 5”
Rimless Pot - Tree Philodendron, Philodendron
selloum.
These
days I am generally at the store at least twice a week, maintaining stock
and/or delivering new materials so if you go to visit the store there is a fair
chance I’ll be present to answer your questions. If not, you can always send me
questions through this blog or visit the farmer’s market or pay attention to
what Sustainable Neighbors is doing at the link below.
This brings to a close the fifth
LITFM post of the new year, stay tuned the next episode which should be posted
on the 22nd of March. The topic will be: A Profile In Diversity: The
Prickly Pear Family. The next post will be the last in the winter of 2018
diversity series and after it LITFM will return to a weekly outdoor garden
topic format for the growing season, thank you for sticking with us and stay
tuned for some cool garden topics.
