Aloes at a gas station. Home Depot stuff-bonus.

[Stan]

Dont know what variety. What do ya think?

[Geoff]

REally nice spotted aloe... could be Aloe harlana, though odd to find such a nice species at a random location unidentified. Too large for hemmingii and the other 'normal' gang of smaller spotted aloes. Looking forward to seeing the flowers.

[Agavemonger]

Looks like it could possibly be Aloe greenii or Aloe dyeri or one of the many hybrid types that are similar. It also could be Aloe pruinosa or one of the other "maculate" Aloes. I agree with Geoff; too large to be the Aloe hemingii / Aloe somaliensis group. Doesn't look at all like Aloe peckii or even Aloe harlana to me. A flower shot would definitely help.

Stan, is this your plant, and are the plants in the street planting photos the same as the plant in the first photo? Also, what is with the 'Always Red' caption?

The Monger

[Stan]

The potted plants are at HD. The in ground are at the gas station and I was using zoom from 4 lanes away. I always forget that last posted photos- show as first photos in the story. The "Always Red" was the name of that Aloe on the label. I would guess it has a long lasting red bloom.
I dont think of Dec as a good Aloe bloom season..but all over the bay area they look to be timed for that this year. Good for the Hummingbirds.

[Agavemonger]

Well, it is definitely not even remotely close to Aloe X 'Always Red'; that's for sure!

I am not sure what the street planting plants are; maybe you could get a "cutting" someday, or at least a close-up photo. They are probably either Aloe X 'Cynthia Giddy' or Aloe X 'Rooikappie'.

And yes; My "In-The-Ground" Aloes, and others around town in San Diego, seem to all be going off at once (well, over the last month or two). They are putting on quite a show this year!

The Monger

[Stan]

My mistake! I blew up the photo- The spotted Aloe is "Stingray". I looked online and Aloe Mutans looks like Stingray.
I have the photo of "Always Red" here. It came out a bit blurry.

[Azuleja]

That looks more like 'Erik the Red' to me. 'Always Red' has thinner leaves.

ETA it was HD where I bought Erik the Red and then discovered it had aloe mites.