A. zanzibarica - Care Question - Pictures

[Andrew Artichoke]

Hey Helpful Gardeners,

I was wondering if this was normal for this breed of Aloe, there is surprisingly little information on the internet about it. It is an Aloe Zanzibrica, and I have had it for more then a year.

I ordered the plant online, and it seemed to be a little damaged from shipping. But I planted it anyways. The little guy is planted in a pretty large pot, with succulent soil mix, and river rocks as ground cover. I also compacted the soil a little but just pressing down lightly on the rock surface. I water every other month, and the soil is well draining. I just watered, March 11th.

Since it was potted up, I found a bunch of the plants seemed to be rotting away at the base, and I ended up just cutting some off completely. This rotting was causing the plants to tip over. The tops are vibrent and growing!

I have a few questions:
1. What should I do about the decaying base of the plant?

2. Can I add nutrients, like a kelp fertilizer?

3. Is the fluorescent light (pictured) a good idea. The plant is in a shadowy part of my apartment.

4. Is my pot too big?

5. Should I prune the dead leaves?


[/img]

[UrbanGardenDiva]

First off, is there any way these can be placed in a window?

I have had success with aloe kept in the windowsill during winter. I always prune mine and have found that they do best with the rocks pushed a bit away from the base. When pruning try not to cut into the fleshy part. I dust all the dirt out of the creases with a soft paintbrush. I water mine about once every 3-4 weeks right now.

[Andrew Artichoke]

Hey Urban Garden Diva!

Thanks for your response. I have a Southern facing window, but it only gets a few hours of good light because of buildings. Do you think it is a lighting issue?

I will definitely try pushing the rocks back from the base.

Could you go a little more in depth on the pruning method? Do I leave the stalk at the base bare?

[RosemarieRo]

Quickly jumping in here...may be a bit of help.

1st, there is no such Aloe, although some nurseries are still tagging them as zanzibarica. What you have there is an Aloe juvenna, which is severely etiolated (thin & stretching for light). Good that you have the light directly over it, but it needs more. Any chance to get it outside in the sun?

Yes, the pot is too large. You need quick draining soil mix. Can't tell what you have through the rocks. More light could get to the plant if the pot walls weren't so high (if natural light, not the fluorescent).

Water when dry. If in doubt, don't. ..yet.

You don't have to prune the dead leaves, but, that's up to you. As for the decay...if it's in the stem base, you'll need to cut off the top (good) portion of the plant & try to re-root it. Le the stem callous over a few days before putting in soil & don't water much, till you see some growth -or know some roots are growing.

Good luck with your plants. You can find more info on the web, using search for Aloe juvenna.

[Sweyn]

2. Can I add nutrients, like a kelp fertilizer?

You can apply a fertiliser that is designed for succulents (that includes cacti and aloes). I use one on aloes and it helps a lot.

3. Is the fluorescent light (pictured) a good idea. The plant is in a shadowy part of my apartment.

It's probably not enough. Aloes need a sunny position, preferably south or west. They should be on a windowsill or very close to one.

4. Is my pot too big?

Probably. I have found that when aloes are in a pot that is much bigger than they need, they don't grow as much as others that are in a pot which is more in proportion to their size.

5. Should I prune the dead leaves?

Yes. I have found that they can be peeled off easily, by hand. You can cut them off with scissors, instead. It doesn't matter which method you use.

When you remove a dead leaf, a part of it can remain attached to the stem. It is important to remove that part as well but, do it without damaging the stem.

[Sweyn]

If the rotting continues, there is something that you can do. If the plant still has healthy stems up to their tips, you can cut them off and grow them in separate pots as cuttings.

How to do that is another question requiring further discussion.

[baileysup]

That pot is WAAAAAYYYYYYYY too big, and holding WAAAAAYYYYYYY too much water. That's why they are dying from the bottom up. Get some way smaller pots for them, and you should be good to go.

[lm122960]

Your Aloe is definitely not an Aloe juvenna. Aloe juvenna leaves stay short. Yours have gotten long, not because of the light, but because it is not short-leaved species. Your plant is probably an Aloe squarossa, as they start out small and get long as they grow new leaves. As far as there not being any such species as Aloe zanzibarica (Zanzibar Aloe), I am really not sure. When you do a plant search on Dave;s Garden and you type in Aloe zanzibarica, it goes straight to Aloe juvenna... They claim that Aloe zanzibarica is a synonym of Aloe juvenna. UM... Like you, I bought a Zanzibar Aloe who's leaves are getting longer like my Aloe squarossa. SO, in my honest opinion, if Aloe zanzibarica is a synonym of Aloe juvenna and they are the same, how come it's leaves are getting long? Because Aloe zanzibarica is more like A squarossa not Aloe juvenna. Because someone is wrong somewhere! I think someone needs to clarify that fact. These big commercial nurseries produce vast numbers of plants. They buy tags and labels by the thousands... Some of their employees just stick a tag in a pot because it looks like what they are tagging. The photos are of smaller plants and they have no clue what they look like when they get older.

The moral of this story is, Aloe juvenna (Tiger Tooth Aloe) has short leaves, even at maturity, and no matter how many leaves it produces. Aloe squarossa may start outwith short leaves as a "pup" or offset, byt the leaves get longer and sometimes curve down with age. As far as Aloe zanzibarica... well, supposedly they come from different locations. But close enough that they could be the same as the species juvenna... If that's the case, then a whole lot of pots got the wrong tags! So, thousands of pots bought as Zanzibar Aloe are really Aloe squarossa.

[lm122960]

I was just talking to an Aloe expert... I stand corrected and need to "lick my calf over". I stated that Aloe juvenna leaves are short and the A squarossa laves are longer... Well according to the expert, no matter the age of the plant, he says that A juvenna leaves are rough and bumpy (especially on the underside of the leaves I think). Aloe squarossa leaves are smooth...

[lm122960]

So, my apology to RosemarieRo. She is probably right and it is Aloe juvenna. The "expert" just told me my Aloe squarossa was Aloe juvenna.

[baileysup]

I have one that I've saved from Walmart. There were 3 in the pot, and only this one survived. For some reason it was hacked off at the top, and you can see the new growth coming in on top. This is the only one I have of this variety, so I'm loving that pup it shot out for me. It has new growth through the center, but also a small pup to the side. Looks like I may have this plant after a couple years. The other plant in the pick is a normal aloe vera.

[RosemarieRo]

Here were are 3 months down the road. Did the OP, Artichoke Andrew ever come back to see replies?

As lm122960 has figured out, the OP's plant is Aloe juvenna (very etiolated -stretched for light). I grow mine "hard" (that is, full sun, very little water, often neglected), so the leaves grow very short & fat (compact). Sometimes the upper leaves have some teeth/bumps, but not always.

My plant, at various times (greener when new/young)...
Click for larger views/more details:



I have never seen Aloe squarrosa in person, mainly because it is not offered in the trade. You'd need to go to the land where it originates, I think. My friend & Aloe hybridizer, Kelly Griffin, shot this pic of one on a trip to Socotra:

click for larger view


Here is a link to several photos of the plant. Yes, it has smooth leaves, which are recurved.

https://www.arkive.org/aloe/aloe-squarrosa/

Hope this information has been useful.
Rosemarie

[baileysup]

Wow, you know Kelly Griffin? That's awesome! Thanks for the info