Don't bother with ice cubes...its just more potential harm short term then any long term help.

Kara- it can get close to 100F here in September or any summer fluke day. It takes that.

It really is crazy how many microclimates are in the SF bay. I just spoke with my friend who lives in Richmond it rained there, but go 15 minutes east and I can definitely say it has not.

That's why I asked about the ice cubes. I feel like something could go wrong:).

A great advantage with the Bay area is that no matter what the temp goes during the day it comes down at night so even if you go 100 or higher even several days in a row it is not constant and may be not long enough to do damage. This could be critical as compared to other regions where it stays hot during the nights.

Tell me about it. The summer nights are incredible:). Perfect temp. I don't have to keep the AC running all night either:). It's nice to open the windows at night:).

Vive la Bay!!

I found one at a shop called "shelf" in Castro Valley

Well that's exciting:). How big was it?

I think 5 gallons for $349

Holy smokes that's a lotta dough! Was it nice? Worth the $350?

Not for me but I'm a teenager working a minimum wage job

Maybe 10 gallons actually I don't remember

Well however big it was I'm sure it was beautiful:). Tomorrow's the big show. There will be lots of eye candy:).

Are you coming?

I wanted to go this morning, but things came up. I'm going tomorrow morning:).

Only one sighted this morning at the SF show, was gone quickly!

Anybody who lives in the SF Bay Area Annie's Annuals in Richmond has little Spiral Aloes in 4 inch pots. I believe they were $13 for one. Don't quote me tho. They aren't in the best condition, but with a little TLC they will be beautiful:).

Nice catch, Tara, was there a couple weeks ago :(

OOOPS! meant Kara, sorry :)

It's ok I've been called Sara/Tara my whole life:).

Maybe I can try one again, except this time planting it on a mound and mixing perlite and rocks into the soil to increase drainage.

Spiral Aloe flower didn't last long enough.... Here's what it looks like today. It takes a fair amount of effort to prune out the flower stalk.

I bet it is so beefy:). Your Aloe has totally inspired me. Thank you:).

Echolane, you mentioned that it has been blooming for the past three years, does it grow a new stem or does it branch out more every year with fuller bloom. How many years can this go on?

Does it set seed?

The flowering stem has come up in a different spot each year. I think the bloom is about the same each year.

i have not looked for seeds since it is not supposed to be self fertile. Nevertheless, I'll try to remember to double check on this....

I think you are right, cross pollinization is needed for this plant

Get another and you'll be rich in no time ;D

There's an idea. But if I have to wait 20 years for it to bloom, I'll be long gone....

You shouldn't have a problem growing this in the Bay Area. Think of it like the Aloe Arborescens and it should be fine. I would throw it in a spot where it gets afternoon shade and water it when the pot feels light and the soil looks dry and it will do perfect. Also, have you been to Succulent Garden in Castroville? It's huge! Now I know where my plants go when I loose them to being over loved. This place is amazing! I went for the first time over the weekend. They are having their plant extravaganza in sept. Debra Lee Baldwin will be there giving a talk!

i love Annie's Annuals BTW! I didn't get to go this season (I live inland about an hour and a half)

I haven't been to Succulent Garden in Castroville, but it has been on my list. It looks incredible. It would be a little over 2 hour drive for me:). Maybe I will go in September and get to see the one and only DLB:).

Both Spiral Aloes are doing good, no complaints here:).

The Castroville one is nice. Just don't take the class, it's for COMPLETE noobs.

Echolane, how wide was your a.p. when it first flowered? Unfortunately, mine can never be in the ground in my zone 6.

Thanks,

Rick in CT

About the same size as in the photo. I don’t remember what year I acquired it but just guessing I think it’s at least 25 years old and quite possibly older. It flowered for the first time three years ago and has flowered now three years in a row.

It's difficult to tell from the photo how wide that plant is. Do you know the diameter, or the approximate number of leaves?

Thanks!

It’s at least three feet in diameter.

There’s an uh oh this year. Unfortunately, it has started a second crown off to the side. I’ll try to get a photo in the next day or so, (it’s getting too dark now), but this is definitely not a development I embrace.

Well,Berkeley had a few fatties in the botanical garden for years. Last year I was there and they were gone.

They might not be "Century" plants long lived once they flower a few years in a row. But,just me guessing. Mine has already reached 7 years or so..time went by fast. It's in a 30" pot

HOLY MOLY! THATS a Aloe!

Just came across this. I grew some from seeds and was not too bad. Out of 10 seeds, I got 6 plants. Was too easy for me so I gave them away and started again. Purchased 100 seeds this time and got a bunch of hybrid aloes of all types. Still not too bad, I like what I ended up with. About 1/3 germinated. Purchased again, got wild grass seed, purchased again got more crap. Any thing from China with a cheap price is crap. 100 so called seeds for $5 with free shipping. The first seed was close to $1 a seed but was the real stuff.

Long story short. I purchased more seed this time about 10 seeds for about the $10 mark plus shipping. So wish me luck again.

I one thing I remember about this plant is they don't like their roots disterbed. I was extremely careful when transplanting them into their own pots after sprouting from the seed starting green house planter I used. They like shallow and wide pots.

Shush, too funny with your discretion and good luck my friend! Can't wait to see what those babies turn into))

Mike

I can start a new post about their progress on not. Thanks.

Mine is growing well but I don't know if it's thriving. Doesn't look exactly as the ones I see on other sites. But, other than that, it seems healthy

Cathy, yours is different but nicer. What every was the pollen parent gave this a special twist. I think it is nicer than the ones I have seen. Please post more pictures as it ages. Looks to be about 5 years old?? Did you buy it or grow it from seed?

Update on my seeds I just purchased; Bought from a US seller but got crap again. Seeds looked like pepper. Cold soaked for two weeks with 0 out of 22 specks. Told seller that they were not Aloe polyphylla seeds. I reorder from a source out of Africa that was less than the ones I just purchased. I am really getting sick of getting ripped off by these Ebay and Esty sellers who do this. I took pictures of the seeds and what they should have looked like, Guess what, no reply.

Sadly, my beautiful spiral aloe is rapidly becoming two plants and I don’t know what, if anything, I can do about it. There was no sign of it when I took the photo that started this thread, so it is progressing rapidly.

The two photos below show it first from the same position as in the photo of it at the start of the thread, the second photo being of the new interloper.

I am amazed at its size. It looks like a 5-10 year old plant.

What should I do about it! I’m tempted to just rip into it and root it out, but I think the mother plant will be permanently disfigured.

I'd let it be, looks pretty cool.

I agree, Looks great. I would learn to love it. I know I would. It is rare.

It might be a replacement for the original that's bloomed. Not that they bloom and die..but UC Berkeley had a herd of huge blooming age Aloe's..and last year all were gone but one mid sized plant.

Well I asked for advice, I guess I’ll take it. Just let it grow and see what happens. I don’t think it’s getting ready to die off like some cacti so I’m not worried about that. I think I might have to make more space for it by moving some plants out of its way. That might be hard to do as my garden has lots of plants so little room to relocate the plants around it.

I look at that photo of your plant and it's just like watching a Mandelbrot vid on YOUTUBE. Trippy.

That's an awesome plant to have. I hoped mine would look as nice one day before..but that double is fantastic. Congrats!

ps,I think soon you will be seeing your last two photos all over ebay on sellers advertisement.

Sadly they do steal photos and use for their advertisement. I can't tell by your photo but It looks like one is CW and the other is CCW which is really neat.

I want to update this thread with some photos taken today. I consulted with a spiral aloe expert and they said it could take about two years and the new plants look like they would want to separate from the mother plant. It’s been almost three years and it really looks like they are ready to do just that so I am trying to figure out where to stuff the twin “babies” while they recover from being moved. The twins still look very much inseparable so I suspect it will be another year before I can separate them. They look really heavy and they have thorns at the leaf tips so I’m not sure how we are going to manage this job....

Has anyone separated their spiral aloe and can offer some advice?