GARDENING: Go crazy with aloes this cold season

31 May, 2015 - 00:05 0 Views
GARDENING: Go crazy with aloes this cold season varieties of aloe

The Sunday Mail

AS winter beckons, it’s not supposed to be all gloomy in our gardens. Many a gardener might be tempted to abandon their enjoyable past time.
varieties of aloe

varieties of aloe

It is, instead, a time to be mesmerised by one of the biggest plant families in the plant kingdom.

Aloes and most succulents, flower in winter even though there is scarcity of water since the rains have come and gone.

Aloes are the best water-wise option for our water constrained cities. These succulents will add a nice compliment to our gardens as we incorporate them on our rockeries, borders and pots.

Plants of the aloaceae family are perennial succulents with leaves borne in a rosette formation. They come in different sizes some growing to be tree like as is the case with the Great Zimbabwe aloe, aloe excelsa, which is common amongst the architectural scenery at Great Zimbabwe in Masvingo.

Aloe flowers can be branched or single stemmed and come in different shades of reds and yellows (even mixed).

Aloes are a good source of nectar for some birds during winter when blooms are few and scarce. Besides giving you less time in the garden they save on your water bill. Aloes are fairly easy to propagate especially from offsets (little plants that form at the base of the mother plant), cuttings and seeds.

However, due to hybridisation, some seeds will not produce exact plants as the parents. A word of caution here, avoid collecting live plants as this causes a loss of biodiversity in our forests.

Rather purchase plants from nurseries or collect seed only with a permit having been obtained from the department of National Parks and Wildlife Authority.

In Zimbabwe we have about 43 species of aloes and many of them make excellent garden subjects. Aloe arborescens is an important plant popular in gardens because it grows into a lovely multi-stemmed shrub up to 3m producing a yellow inflorescence on each stem.

A common aloe is aloe chabaudii (gavakava, incena). It is a good subject for rockeries with or without flowers.

Aloe inyangensis, as the name implies, is endemic to the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. It grows best in a shady location and is usually found high on mountain tops tucked safely away from veldt fires.

The unique thing about this aloe is that it flowers throughout most of the year. Another aloe of interest is aloe ortholopha (the great dyke aloe), which is quite rare and occurs on the grassland plains of the great dyke. It is really under threat from mining and agriculture. The flowers are of interest here as they are one sided and are a deep crimson.

Aloe munchii is a large aloe growing up to 2, 5 m in height and branches from the base. It occurs in the Chimanimani mountains. Flowers are a deep orange. Munchii is an excellent garden subject growing in full sun.

Aloe pretoriensis also grows in parts of South Africa and its stem can grow to about a metre leaving dead leaves on the plant. It can grow in both full sun and shade producing an impressive tall inflorescence.

Aloe littoralis has the same habit of a single stem and height as aloe excelsa. It can reach a height of 3m and the leaves are marked with many white spots. Also worth of mention here is aloe tauri, which has green reddish leaves with bright orange blooms. We indeed have a rich plant heritage in the many aloe species.

So this winter take the time to enjoy this heritage. Also include other exotic aloe species like aloe vera, which is a very valuable herbal plant being known to boost the immune system, being incorporated into many products in our supermarkets such as lotions, drinks and yogurts. Indeed this is a genus worth of research as many health benefits can be derived from it. Happy winter with aloes!

 

Andrew is a horticulturist by profession and can be reached by email at [email protected]

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