Aloe polyphylla
In our nursery we just got in these really beautiful Spiral Aloe plants for sale. I personally am going to have to give in and get one for myself. I’ll keep it in a container I believe.
In reading about it and finding out more it is a fascinating plant. Member of the aloe family (duh), and currently endangered in their native South Africa. They have previously been very difficult to grow in cultivation, but it seems that a few basic requirements, especially regarding winter placement have been worked out. It turns out that this successful cultivation is a positive thing, as it allows nurseries to sell this high demand plant, as opposed to it being taken in the wild.
From the U.S. Botanical garden website:
“Threats to populations of spiral aloe include overgrazing, unsustainable harvesting by plant enthusiasts and people interested in its medicinal properties, and the increasing rarity of its pollinator, the Malachite Sunbird. Currently, cooperative efforts between conservationists and nurseries to propagate plants for commercial trade are having some success in reducing the numbers of spiral aloes collected from wild populations.”
Mostly I wanted to show you a picture:
Tags: cultivation, Nursery, plants, spiral aloe
June 19th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Do you still have spiral aloe for sale?