Hi,

Some aloes are deciduous in the wild, growing in summer rainfall areas and
dying back in winter. They are typically hardy (as aloes go) for 2
reasons: 1)
the top dies back and the root behaves like a bulb, and 2) they typically
come from higher elevations.

I am growing several species of these "grass" aloes and have found the, so
far, to be easy and durable. They are not "bulbs," but because they die
back to
a perennial rootstock; because they leaf out in warm weather and have such
wonderful flowers, I think of them as bulb-type garden plants.

I purchased seed from Silverhill seed about 2 years ago of A. cooperi, A.
ecklonis, and A. myriacantha (apparently these are the more easily found
species). All of them should be hardy down to 15 F, and some are reported
hardy in to
zone 7.

I'm not sure what is a grass aloe and what is a bulb aloe, but they are
similar; it is my understanding that both are deciduous-but I'm not
sure. I think
that bulb aloes actually make a more pronounced storage organ. The leaves of
grass aloes are succulent. Here, near Houston, TX, the 3 species from
Silverhill germinated easily indoors under lights (room temperature), and
grew
easily. They really enjoyed our hot Texas summer, and the rain-never
seeming to get
too much water or sun. They responded well to fertilizer and really seemed
to enjoy it when I moved them from seedling pots/media into a 90% mineral mix
(30% lava rock, 30% perlite, 30% coarse sand, 10% humus). They are about
20-24
months old now and I've potted them up several times. I plan to keep to or 3
of each type and find homes for the extras.

Last year I protected them from rain during winter; they never got bone dry
due to splash and spray but the leaves mostly died down. This year I will
let
them stay out in the garden, in 1- or 2-gallon containers over the winter.
Perhaps if we have mild frosts again they will remain evergreen or perhaps
they
will die down.

They are such strong growers that I'm hopeful some will bloom next summer.
If nothing else I want to try their pollen on the other aloes that tolerate
Houston (e.g., maculata, arborescens, striatula).

LINK: Aloe cooperi page at Plantzafrica.com
http://plantzafrica.com/plantab/aloecooperi.htm/

LINK: Aloe striatula page at Plant Delights Nursery
http://plantdelights.com/Catalog/Current/…

Oh yeah, I sure would like to find seed of more species of grass (or bulb)
aloes; if you have some to sell or trade please contact me.

Cordially,

Conroe Joe
ConroeJoe@aol.com
71 F high today in Conroe, TX: 55 F predicted for overnight low
humidity: 85% at 6:00 p.m.
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