Aloe polyphylla

I have just spent the afternoon re-potting my collection of Spiral Aloes, or Aloe polyphylla which I started from seed over 2 1/2 years ago.

I am impressed with how they are taking shape in an almost sculpture-like form.
The bottom two photos show the same plants right from the beginning, where I germinated the seeds by floating them in a jug of water.

I potted them into a mixture of chip bark (orchid re-potting mix), perlite and cactus mix; the roots seem to love this soil mix since it creates lots of space around them and lets the water drain through easily.

Maybe in another 2-5 years they will take on their typical fractal spiraling pattern and go on to flower; the inflorescence stems upwards from the plant's center. I intend to keep them and enjoy the long-term reward of seeing them mature and flower.

In case you are wondering what the plants are at the front of picture 3; they a type of Bromeliad which come from Argentina - Puya yakespala, but I will spare the full details for another thread.

 

Nice collection Mark, I have Aloe Striatula and several Echeverias, Kalanchoes and Crassula.
I have also grown Puya and Dyckia in the past.

 

Very nice.
Those poly's look good.

I had a number of them at one point. But I over-estimated their hardiness and I lost all but one over the winter.
The sole survivor is doing well.
I still leave it outdoors over the winter, but I bring it in under the overhang by my front door. It has survived about 4 winters this way, including 2010.

 

They should be able withstand the cold down to about -15°C. Too much rain can sit around the stem and rot them, so sheltering them is best. Putting them in a very free-draining mix will help them a lot as well. I have pot mine into some Orchid Repotting mix. (graded bark, mixed with coconut fibre chips) and some compost or cactus mix and this seems to mitigate stem rot problems and also creates space for the roots.

Sheltering them can be a really good idea as scorching sun can also be a problem for these plants, even though they like plenty of light. When the plants are stressed they tend to close up to protect themselves, but they will recover if the once the stress is gone.

Another observation I have made is that on occasion the tips of the leaves can turn brown.
I strongly believe that this happens when the roots are cramped and are being starved of nitrogen. I have often seen them being grown overhanging the edges of their container, which probably means the roots are a bit cramped underneath.
The roots are used to growing in rocky crevices of broken sandstone on the Letharo mountains, so they like to be able to spread out.

 

Aloe striatula is not a variety I have grown or sold before yet I might have to give it a better look.

The next variety I am going to sow is the seldom seen 'Aloe suzannae' from Madagascar.

 

I had to google that Puya - spectacular!
I'm growing Puya coerulea var. violacea and P.mirabilis. They germinate easily but seem to take ages to get going. Then suddenly they're off.