Pushing the Limits in Cold Climates

[nsp88]

The jury is still out on that Aloe aristata. I bought a supposed 9000’ specimen from Ethical Desert and it definitely melted last winter under heavy snows and single digits temps. Another one is in the ground this winter to see how it does and I pulled another pup inside for a third and final try if it doesn’t stick. My guess is that it’s Pueblo hardy which means it can handle cold if it is bone dry but not snow.

The other aloes he claims are cold hardy are….mixed. The Aloe tomentosa was taking frost damage in the 20s and is probably mush now. The Gonialoe variegata he sells was good into the 20s but is currently buried so we won’t know for a bit. Probably won’t bother with those again. If they’re hardy they would probably require full covers and I just don’t love Aloe enough for that.

I read about aristata on PDN, and I thought they said it could handle down to 20 or so. While I would love lower temp tolerances, if I can get something that can handle 20 then I'd be good for about 98% of the time in my raised bed at my apartment. Every few years it might need some extra heat, but 20 for an aloe/gasteraloe is nice for me, thankfully. I love aloe blooms, so it would be nice to have an easyish one to raise here. I especially love echeveria blooms, so I'm really hoping I can have some luck with scrictiflora. But I digress...

Only concern is I just bought a cheap aristata from succulent depot along with some sedums, dudleya, etc. It doesn't say it came from high altitude or anything. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake, but we will see. I repotted it, and there were offsets starting on it, so hopefully I'll have some spares to experiment on next winter.

Every time I complain to myself about keeping some of these plants in this cold, I see you, westfork, and/or jnewmark talk about low temps and am grateful I'm only 8a. Y'all are devoted.

[Paul S]

In UK conditions the growth of Aloe (Aristaloe) aristata might be hardy to -7C/20F but if it is killed back by that temperature it is usually game over. The hardiest aloe by a mile is Aloe (Aloiampelos) striatula. Top growth is damaged by -6C/21F or so but it reliably resprouts in spring from the older stems. You lose that year's flowers but but the plant survives Established plants have been documented to regrow from underground after -18C/0F. If you can find it there is a var. caesia that is a teeny bit hardier. It has shorter greyer leaves and the flowers are mostly yellow. I prefer it as a plant, actually, but it is uncommon in cultivation - at least in the UK.

I very recently was given a tiny offset of Aloe aristata grown from seed collected at very high altitude. It is a very different looking plant, with thick, greyish leaves and extremely slooooooooow. If and when that ever gets big enough to try outside it will be interesting to see how it does as, in theory, it grows higher than most aloes along the top of the Drakensberg and should take colder temperatures.

I wonder how some of the grass aloes such as A. ecklonis or boylei might do in extreme cold. They are adapted to fire and have most of their important bits stored underground, a bit like bulbs. They do ok here but winter wet is an issue - I currently don't have any established plants.

[Gafoto]

The jury is still out on that Aloe aristata. I bought a supposed 9000’ specimen from Ethical Desert and it definitely melted last winter under heavy snows and single digits temps. Another one is in the ground this winter to see how it does and I pulled another pup inside for a third and final try if it doesn’t stick. My guess is that it’s Pueblo hardy which means it can handle cold if it is bone dry but not snow.

The other aloes he claims are cold hardy are….mixed. The Aloe tomentosa was taking frost damage in the 20s and is probably mush now. The Gonialoe variegata he sells was good into the 20s but is currently buried so we won’t know for a bit. Probably won’t bother with those again. If they’re hardy they would probably require full covers and I just don’t love Aloe enough for that.

I read about aristata on PDN, and I thought they said it could handle down to 20 or so. While I would love lower temp tolerances, if I can get something that can handle 20 then I'd be good for about 98% of the time in my raised bed at my apartment. Every few years it might need some extra heat, but 20 for an aloe/gasteraloe is nice for me, thankfully. I love aloe blooms, so it would be nice to have an easyish one to raise here. I especially love echeveria blooms, so I'm really hoping I can have some luck with scrictiflora. But I digress...

Only concern is I just bought a cheap aristata from succulent depot along with some sedums, dudleya, etc. It doesn't say it came from high altitude or anything. Hopefully that wasn't a mistake, but we will see. I repotted it, and there were offsets starting on it, so hopefully I'll have some spares to experiment on next winter.

Every time I complain to myself about keeping some of these plants in this cold, I see you, westfork, and/or jnewmark talk about low temps and am grateful I'm only 8a. Y'all are devoted.

Or deranged

It’s fun trying to grow plants that are unusual for this area. Quite a learning curve but the garden fills out a little more every year. Two steps forward, one step back.

[westfork]

Every time I complain to myself about keeping some of these plants in this cold, I see you, westfork, and/or jnewmark talk about low temps and am grateful I'm only 8a. Y'all are devoted.

Or deranged

It’s fun trying to grow plants that are unusual for this area. Quite a learning curve but the garden fills out a little more every year. Two steps forward, one step back.

I can agree with you, on both points
We can be called crazy for some of the plants we test, but it is very satisfying to find those that survive and even naturalize.

Enjoying the dry berm this sub-zero morning before the weather gets worse during the next couple days - Temperatures will drop another twenty degrees and winds will be over 40 mph. Rose cones are completely buried and only the bricks on top of them are visible.

Pleasant January morning with the agaves

IMG_5543.JPG (98.99 KiB) Viewed 810 times

OK, maybe just a bit deranged.

[Gafoto]

I think the snow + dry conditions are going to give your plants the best chance of survival there. Hopefully they’re ready for deep negatives.

I’m pleasantly surprised by how good my sheltered plants look. The problem is: if they live and unsheltered plants die do I try to do that in perpetuity or do I uncover them next winter and see how they fare once they’re established. Then I risk losing a plant that’s been in the ground for 2+ years and having to start over. Dealing with shelters every year will get cumbersome. On the other hand if I had covered some plants last (record snowfall) year I think they might be doing well even uncovered this winter.

[nsp88]

I think the snow + dry conditions are going to give your plants the best chance of survival there. Hopefully they’re ready for deep negatives.

I’m pleasantly surprised by how good my sheltered plants look. The problem is: if they live and unsheltered plants die do I try to do that in perpetuity or do I uncover them next winter and see how they fare once they’re established. Then I risk losing a plant that’s been in the ground for 2+ years and having to start over. Dealing with shelters every year will get cumbersome. On the other hand if I had covered some plants last (record snowfall) year I think they might be doing well even uncovered this winter.

I would probably end up playing it safe with anything that I really valued if I were you. Then again, I'm overly cautious like that. I ended up being a coward and covering everything, even things that I'm pretty sure will be safe, for this upcoming storm. Once things are bigger I'll be a little braver, though, I think

[nsp88]

...Aloe (Aristaloe) aristata...

Oops, I don't know why I put Gasteraloe...

...The hardiest aloe by a mile is Aloe (Aloiampelos) striatula. Top growth is damaged by -6C/21F or so but it reliably resprouts in spring from the older stems. You lose that year's flowers but but the plant survives Established plants have been documented to regrow from underground after -18C/0F. If you can find it there is a var. caesia that is a teeny bit hardier. It has shorter greyer leaves and the flowers are mostly yellow. I prefer it as a plant, actually, but it is uncommon in cultivation - at least in the UK.

That's awesome! I'm so new to aloes that I didn't even know about this one. Added it to my list. Kinda straggly, but looks good in big clusters. I wonder how fast it grows after freezing back. Either way, coming back from 0F is awesome.

I very recently was given a tiny offset of Aloe aristata grown from seed collected at very high altitude. It is a very different looking plant, with thick, greyish leaves and extremely slooooooooow. If and when that ever gets big enough to try outside it will be interesting to see how it does as, in theory, it grows higher than most aloes along the top of the Drakensberg and should take colder temperatures.

Looking forward to seeing updates on this one if it makes it. Do you have a photo of the parent? Or a photo of the offset now?

I wonder how some of the grass aloes such as A. ecklonis or boylei might do in extreme cold. They are adapted to fire and have most of their important bits stored underground, a bit like bulbs. They do ok here but winter wet is an issue - I currently don't have any established plants.

I never would have guessed those were aloe. Totally different look.
Google results show:
-PDN saying boylei is good down to zone 7b.
-San Marcos Growers saying ecklonis is good down to 17F (not as good as boylei, but still good)
---https://www.smgrowers.com/info/brian_aloe.pdf - linking this so I can find it later, because there is some other good info here
_{Also, just saw this and don't want to lose it so linking it here to look at later when not so tired: viewtopic.php?t=12085}