I want you all to know that just because I write these blog posts in a first-person chatty style doesn’t mean that I’m a chatty AI bot, I’m a real person! I have real feelings and likes and dislikes too. And I like these Safari series Aloes. This one is Aloe “Safari Orange”.
Hello! I purchased a few succulents there about a month ago. They were doing great but when I went to check if they needed watering yesterday (they did) I noticed two had brown edges and the aloe was spotty. I think this just means the two just need more water but can’t remember if the aloe was always spotted. I attached a photo of each. Am I correct?
They’re all outside on our east-facing deck and get full sun until mid-late afternoon. Is that too much? We’re in Oakland so cool evenings and mornings but warm afternoons usually.
Thanks!
Tyler
Tyler,
The 2 Aeoniums look fine – a little browning on the leaves could be from being moved to your location – i.e. similar to transplant shock, but it looks minimal so nothing to worry about. Also, Aeoniums are winter growers so they will tend to lose leaves throughout the summer until about October anyway, and then the rosettes will start to grow big and full again through our winter rains.
The Aloe looks like it got some sunburn when it got moved. Even though you are very close to us in Oakland sometimes a change in sun/heat/location can cause some stress. That is what the spotting is. It looks like the spots are healed over, so as long as they don’t get worse over time eventually you will see new leaves grow from the center and the old leaves will get replaced – succulents do lose bottom leaves regularly.
You might want to pro-actively spray the Aloe with organic Neem Oil (in the evening out of full sun) just in case there’s any fungal infection from the spotting.
You can also bring any of the plants or all of them in to the store and we can take a closer look in person. Let me know if anything changes either way!
Maryann with the Marin Independent Journal wants to know about all the agaves blooming all at once all over Marin. Interesting!
I read that the American agaves really do die after blooming – but live on through their offspring. Is that so?
Yes, if they’ve had the offspring by then. Also, the giant bloom stalks are filled with hundreds of blooms which can be pollinated and develop seed and spread thousands of seed in every direction.
Do you know how long the current blooms will last?
It can take 4-6 months for the full bloom cycle
Could the large number of blooms be attributed to the heavy rains we witnessed this year?
It can be because they were popular to plant 25-30 years ago, or it can be caused by stress as well, which can be the aftermath of the drought, and even the heavy rains this winter.
If they really make mezcal from the plant, can I do that at home? 😉
It would be difficult, to say the least. Once they’ve bloomed it’s too late, but if you want to make mezcal from an agave you need to cut all those giant spiny leaves off and harvest just the heart of the plant. That’s a lot of work!
If your green thumb is nonexistent, but you still want to try your hand at growing beautiful plants, there is hope. In this lush nursery of both cacti and succulents, you’ll find low-maintenance plants of every color, height, and even texture — from the furry to the prickly. Glass terrariums dangle from the inside of the nursery’s shop, along with a collection of garden soaps and sparkling amethyst clusters, which can be placed outside or in one’s home. For the beginner botanist, terrarium-making classes are held monthly, where you’ll learn to craft a DIY miniature plant environment out of sand, succulents, and animal sculptures. There are numerous terrariums to choose from, including those made of both hand-blown and recycled glass. And the finished product can be easily used as a creative birthday gift for a friend or family member. Cactus Jungle also offers garden design and installation services, if you’ve been thinking about turning that shoddy front yard into something more similar to vibrant, tropical rainforest. Chances are, you can discover some type of plant suitable for your home here, whether or not you have the gardening experience to go with it. 1509 Fourth St, Berkeley, CactusJungle.com. (Cassandra Vogel)
We’re featured on 7X7 San Francisco’s favorite places to buy succulents and airplants in the Bay Area. They call our outdoor space “large”! And here we were all along thinking we were a pocket nursery….
Succulents and More has a new crop of Aloe babies received from a fellow collector found on facebook. Wait, you mean facebook is good for something?
While buying larger specimens provides instant gratification, there’s something even more special about young plants,barely out of seedlinghood. I think of them as the botanical equivalent of babies and toddlers—so full of life and promise, virtually all their life still ahead of them.
Click through for the pictures of the bare root baby Aloes. Fine.