A couple more new to me hybrids

[Spination]

Most of my Thailand acquisitions have been Sansevieria, a couple of Agave variegates, and only that one Aloe back in 2015. It's grown a lot since I've had it, as one can judge from the size of the pup in the photo above.
Here's a recent shot of the mother plant, which has a number of interstitial pups growing out of it, now getting bigger and bigger. As the older lower leaves eventually die off on the mother plant, the pups will get closer and closer to the soil line, eventually sink roots of their own, and then I'll harvest them too. On the one hand, it does have a certain appeal with a cluster growing together, but one can't deny either the clean look of a perfect single plant. Once I have a reasonable number of these, I'll let one just grow naturally as a cluster. One of the discernible differences between some of these similar looking plants is how they reproduce vegetatively. Only a couple will produce new ones right in between existing leaves in addition to the more usual base of the stem or roots, either directly or by rhizome/stolon. Aloe 'Sugar' does that (interstitial), Aloe 'Salt' does not.

2016 12 09 Aloe Paul Hutchison _ Thailand x750.jpg (261.57 KiB) Viewed 4074 times

That's one of my absolute favorites, and it seems to be a perfect match for info and photos I've found of the plant known as Aloe 'Paul Hutchison', so until I learn otherwise, that's what I'm calling it now.

I would not necessarily be fearful of buying from Thailand. However, I do advise you only buy from growers willing to provide a Phytosanitary Certificate. Some will provide it for free, some for a nominal fee (circa $15). Stay away from any who won't provide or those that charge way too much. Personally, I found the shipping fees charged from reputable sellers incredibly cheap. I've paid more for domestic shipping! That particular plant was about $30, but shipping only $11 (huh!!!). I did pay another $25 for the phyto though, because I really wanted that plant, and was prepared to go double my winning bid anyway. Getting the Phyto is the difference between receiving your plant, and receiving an empty box intercepted, opened, inspected, and forwarded from CBP with a form letter telling you that your plant was confiscated due to lack of the Phyto. Don't bother trying to risk it, because it's a fact that some country's exports are scrutinized, and other country's completely ignored. As far as pests, never had a single issue from any Thailand grower. They can't just "get" a Phyto...the plants are chemically treated as a requirement for that paperwork, inspected, and sent bare-root. I'd say about zero chance of introducing pests into your collection from such a source.

Yes, I have a few Aloe from Germany, along with Echeveria. The 2 sellers from Berlin are who I've bought from, and nothing but good to say about them. Only a couple of hybrids, most have been actual species I was looking for (like peglerae) that I couldn't find elsewhere when I was looking or that I found very appealing from their listings. Interestingly, none of those plants came with Phyto (nor will those sellers provide them as far as I know)...not a single one ever inspected, and not one single pest problem either down the line. I could only speculate as to why, but a package from Germany doesn't even get looked at by inspectors, but a package from Thailand gets instant automatic attention. My first one from Germany I just risked it, to see what would happen. Worked out, tried it again, and again, and again. Not one loss yet. In spite of my success, and due to the risk, I would not have more than 3-4 different plants shipped in one package. For one thing, tiny packages from there seem to go under the radar, and losing only a couple of plants wouldn't be the end of the world either.

The one Aloe pictured from Spain is the only one I bought directly from an Ebay listing, so it probably wasn't me bidding on the other ones you were looking at. I've also received plants from Hungary, Czech, UK...also never a problem. My experience and subsequent interpretation tells me SE Asia packages are of concern to Customs, but packages from Europe they don't seem to care about at all.

Regarding Wright... Mr. Dick Wright was an old-timer (and if I am remembering my info correctly, a student of UC Berkeley professor Harry Butterfield and I believe we are going back to the circa '50's with this). He was seriously injured in a fire back in '85 at his home and nursery, according to an article in the Cactus and Succulent Journal in 1996. Much of his work was destroyed, but he did continue afterwards in a limited capacity.
As far as I know, it his his son Kraig who operates the website/nursery. I sent an inquiry a while back using a form on the website, but never heard back. My suspicion therefor is the website still exists obviously, but the endeavor may no longer operate. I'm not 100% sure, but I do know I received no response, so I'm suspecting it's no longer going.

Also, the name Paul Hutchison is associated with Tropic World Nursery, started in 1978, another connection to UC Berkeley (he was a botanist there). As such, I'm guessing DW and PH were friends, based on pure speculation on my part and the naming of the Aloe hybrid 'Paul Hutchison'.

Yes, Aloe 'Dragon's Blood' is on my wish list too. Great looking plant! There's one on Ebay for only $125 (cough...cough). I think I'll wait on that one! I'd love to have it, but I guess not quite that badly. That sounds like a lot, but I've actually seen something (and actually sell too, rather than just offered) go for more. It was a spectacular Renny (Haworthias) Aloe hybrid, called 'Python'. Waaay above my price range...

[Melt in the Sun]

Absolutely MITS, it will be fun to see how these three different siblings grow out.

No problem. First one has your name on it. I'll tell the plant to get a move on it too...

Thank you both!

[Spination]

Another thing I might add regarding the Dick Wright Hybrids. 4 of the similar ones I showed are attributed to DW (by the sellers), but in the back of my mind, I wonder how accurate and how pure (actual offsets, or might any be seedlings at some point produced from DW plants and therefor misrepresented subsequently?) those plants actually are. I tend to trust the source, but in the back of my mind goes a (?). The reason is, one can find these plants world-wide, in many cases years if not decades after the fact. The story behind my 'Paul Hutchison' is that it would have originated in California, went to a Japanese grower (in Japan), eventually wound up in a Thailand collection, and then I bought it on Ebay and it got shipped back to California. Do I really know how many hands it's gone through, and how many generations down the line my plant is? Is the integrity of the plant's original genetics and the information given preserved exactly?
It's similar to one person telling a story, that story told to another, and so on...and how the story changes with each telling. There's no way for me to know for sure the correctness of the information I got with my plant, or even if it's really a true descendant (an offset of an offset of an offset...).

Also, I recall reading a post somewhere a few years back written by someone who said he knew DW, and went on to describe how DW had thousands of hybrids, and saved the best, and discarded (believe it or not!) MANY of his "rejects" into a canyon off his property. The story goes, he did this until he caught wind that others were scrounging his castoffs in that canyon, after which he started destroying them instead.
The problem is, there is no book, catalog, database, or resource picturing, describing his creations (or anyone else's for that matter)...no way to verify or otherwise confirm what is or isn't something he made, or even something he intended to discard, but was salvaged by someone else. At this late date, years after the fact, one can only trust the source of the plant acquired and the information they offer. As it stands, information shared is essentially word of mouth, and we often do not know how many mouths over the years at that.

In the final analysis, it probably doesn't matter much, as what it should come down to are the qualities and characteristics of the plant itself, and it's resulting perceived desirability. However, if there are superb plants produced that merited names, and were subsequently distributed, it should make a difference that the plant is in fact an actual vegetatively propagated descendant of the original plant named to warrant the use of the name. Both for reasons of proper credit honoring the creator, and the correctness of the information associated with the plant in question.

An example is the case of 2 'Doran Black' I acquired. Both are different, most definitely not the same. I mean, to me... very different. The first was something that does match well the image of the famous A. 'Doran Black' shown on Wright's website still out there for view. The second acquisition were 3 plants, much larger, sold exactly as Aloe 'Doran Black', and actually even showing variation from one to another, which in itself seems quite wrong. My opinion is the first one is the actual plant (I trust the seller), the second some seed-grown misrepresentations. By definition, a named hybrid's subsequent progeny by seed are no longer what it was. It could be called a seed-grown propagate of the original named hybrid, but it most definitely should not bear the exact name of the original plant. Anyway, that is a good example of the (?) one must keep in the back of their mind when acquiring named hybrids especially more so in the case of hybrids from ever increasing yester-years. In this example, one was most definitely offered with the name it did not deserve, and for that, perhaps neither are true, as far as I really know.

[Azuleja]

As recently as March/April 2016, you could still visit the nursery by appt. There are some photos on Instagram that can be found with the hashtag #dickwright. Here is one showing some of the aloes at Wright Nursery. Here's one of an unnamed hybrid which the purchaser was told to name herself. And here's one of Mr. Wright.

[Spination]

Thanks for that, very cool. That second link looks an awful lot like a couple of mine, give or take a few features, or mix and match. Love the fact he told her to name it herself.

[Azuleja]

Spiny, this haworthia was a dry papery little thing and as it's rehydrating I see it's actually very pretty.

[Spination]

Nice! I could tell mine was smaller than yours, but it's a freebie, so an unexpected and pleasant surprise just the same. And, that it's variegated, even more surprising. I haven't looked at it since I potted it, but it's safe and sound in a heated enclosure, so hopefully it will come around as nicely as yours is.
You know, some various variegated Haworthia go for really big bucks, more than most any other kind of plant I see.
So... not-very-big in size, but sometimes with some very big price tags.
Speaking of which... did you ever see this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Haworthia-maugh ... 7675.l2557" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wowee!

EDIT
By the way, the starting bid was $10

[Azuleja]

I think you'll be surprised when you see yours again. I don't know anything about haworthia, just that they don't usually appeal to me. It's funny what people will fight over and how value gets assigned. I would not have paid $10 for that 3k ebay plant. It looks like a sick alien.

[Epiphyte]

Also, I recall reading a post somewhere a few years back written by someone who said he knew DW, and went on to describe how DW had thousands of hybrids, and saved the best, and discarded (believe it or not!) MANY of his "rejects" into a canyon off his property. The story goes, he did this until he caught wind that others were scrounging his castoffs in that canyon, after which he started destroying them instead.

I read this a few days ago and it's been kinda lingering in my mind. Of course DW had every right to destroy the "rejects". And I do grasp the concept of wanting to have your name only associated with the highest quality hybrids. But... for some reason I'm really curious about the alternative.

I suppose the alternative would be to sell the "rejects" for whatever the market would be willing to pay for them. Or simply give them away? Personally, if I was DW's friend... and he offered me some "rejects" to have for free... I have a hard time imagining myself rejecting his "rejects". I'd take them and either keep them or pass them on to any of my friends who happened to be interested in them.

My friend Mimi comes to mind. She's a teacher and her school has lots of bare and empty spaces where any Aloe would certainly be better than no Aloe. Would any given DW "reject" survive in those conditions? If not, then oh well. But if it actually thrived in those conditions... and it produced plenty of offsets... and other teachers and/or students were interested in the offsets... then the "reject" would then be tested against all sorts of new and different conditions and care. The greater the variety of conditions and care that the "reject" thrived in, and the greater the interest in it, and the more offsets that it produced, then the faster it would proliferate.

And it's interesting to imagine a "reject" that really proliferated but was truly a "reject". Well... to be honest, it's not very difficult for me to imagine because I think I ended up with an Aloe that I might kinda consider to be a "reject". It's some kind of ciliaris type hybrid that I've had for years. I kinda consider it to be a "reject" because it's never bloomed. Yet, it grows like a weed so I've ended up giving away countless cuttings of it. Nobody that I've given it to has reported it blooming. Here's a picture of cuttings that my friend took from her plant... which I gave to her as a cutting years ago. Last year I decided to dig mine up from the front yard. It really wanted to be a fast ground cover. Which, in itself, is kinda unusual for an Aloe. I gave a ton of cuttings away but I didn't toss the substantial rooted portion. Instead I stuck it in a pot. Maybe it will make a cool bonsai?

Even in this case, the "reject" sure does grow like a weed. And I think that, as far as a bare spot at a school is concerned, it would certainly be better than nothing. So if this is the worst case scenario, then it's not too bad. Or maybe there's a plausible scenario that's a lot worse?

What are the chances that any given "reject" that truly proliferates will truly be a "reject"? In order to truly proliferate, a plant has to survive a rather grueling selection process. Right? It has to end up in, and survive, lots of hands that really don't have green thumbs. And generally speaking, I get the feeling that it would be better, rather than worse, to have a wider variety of such Aloes. But in order to have a wider variety of such Aloes... lots and lots of different Aloes need to be subjected to the grueling gauntlet of gardeners. It's definitely a numbers game.

I'm guessing that the most proliferated Aloe here in SoCal is Aloe arborescens. It's definitely quite tolerant of a wide range of conditions. Not just tolerant though... it seems to thrive in a wide range of conditions. It sure would be nice to have lots of Aloes that were equally thrivy... but very different in terms of the size, shape and color of the plant and flowers. In terms of thrivyness, I can't help but wonder if any of DW's destroyed "rejects" would have held a candle to arborescens.

Hmmm... is there a more official name for "gardener gauntlet"? There's natural selection and artificial selection. Neither of those feels like a very good fit though. Maybe gardener selection? Or cultivation selection? Aloe arborescens is the product of natural, rather than artificial, selection. But it's also the product, in some sense, of cultivation selection. Maybe "trial" is better than "selection"? "Thrivy trials"? "Thrivy tests"?

Perhaps I should mention that I've only personally made one or two Aloe hybrids. Not too long ago I pollinated my Aloe tenuior with pollen from numerous different tree Aloes. Not expecting much, I didn't keep track of which flowers got which pollen. But now I have four seedlings that look pretty different than their mother. And... they are looking more and more different than each other. Maybe I've created four hybrids? In any case, my perspective on the topic is certainly colored by only having a very few hybrids under my belt. It's entirely possible that I'd have a much different perspective on the topic if I had created countless hybrids.

Still though, creating the next arborescens would be no small feat. I think anybody who managed to do so would deserve at least a gold medal. Gold trowel?

[Spination]

Just some commentary further exploring the idea and disposition of "rejects".

I think the semantics of the word "reject" in the case of the DW hybrids (or anyone else's) is limited here within the context of a breeder's process, efforts, and work endeavoring to create alluring (to the human eye) and distinctive tabletop/miniature Aloe hybrids, presumably for purposes of creating a portfolio of marketable creations associated with that person's name and efforts.

As far as the choice of that particular word, that was the choice of the person who was telling that story. Perhaps a breeder would use a different one, like "cull"?

Of course, the process of deciding worthiness would be subjective, and within the purview of the breeder's vision and imagination and goals, in view of efforts to blend, enhance, and isolate perceived desirable characteristics.

I would guess that someone making numerous crosses would also achieve a great many which fall short of desired expectations. That person in deciding to discard undesirable results might perhaps be thinking of protecting their work, their reputation, or even preserving available space if we're talking about thousands of plants.

I would not dare compare my own fledgling work thus far making my own crosses with the likes of various known breeders of the past and present. However, I'm already well aware that it takes a great investment in time, effort, and space. Years of dedication, efforts, record-keeping, growing, crossing, sowing, raising seedlings, knowledge accumulated and put to work, etc. I would say I have at the least developed a deep appreciation for the incredible accumulation of efforts and resources it would take to literally achieve thousands of plants on hand growing, deliberately created endeavoring to come up with special plants. Very difficult too to put a value on such a program and that body of work, and I'd be the last person to second-guess how a person might choose to dispose of quantities of plants that fell short of desired goals. In the case of the scavenged discards, there's the consideration that the original grower's name might be exploited with plants not intended for distribution by the grower, and even that person's work being subsequently pirated, inasmuch as even the rejects without the desired phenotypes may well contain the genetics which can be used by the unauthorized scavengers.

Along those lines,in my case too, I'm ever aware of Isaac Newton's quote regarding "standing on the shoulders of giants". Today, people like me have the immeasurable advantage of using those breeder's past work, all right there within the genetics of plants even properly obtained that the original breeders deemed superior and worthy of naming and distributing. It's like getting a huge jump-start based on years and years and thousands of hours of prior work. Those folks were building masterpieces from scratch, but we have the opportunity to tinker and build from their creations.

I certainly understand though what you're talking about. First, there's the criteria of what may or may not constitute a "reject". Then, perhaps too there could be a better use for the culls, such as gifting to an elementary school for purposes of learning or enjoyment by children, as an example. Regarding that, I would support a grower's right to choose what they feel is best, without reservations.

[Viegener]

The reject conversation is related to the conversation around weeds, i.e., any plant growing where you don't want it. For me it's hard to truly disentangle how I feel about a plant from how I'm told to feel about it. My closest example is the monster Agave americana on my hill, one of the first things I planted, and which has, as it will, taken over more and more space. It's really a stunning plant (or now, clump, with two giants surrounded by rings of offsets). The color is remarkable, as is the form. But I often want to kill it. I think about roundup, and sharpen my machete. But then I don't do anything. I think about thinning it out, making it behave, etc. There's a lot of conditional love among gardeners.

In part I know that I favor the uncommon, rare, seldom-seen, difficult, obscure plants. But what's this about? It's some kind of competition with other gardeners, some way of proving I know better, have better taste, etc. My mother was always great about loving ordinary plants, marigolds and daisies, that no one else quite loved and often people would look askance at. It wasn't that she didn't understand (& even subscribe to) the idea of taste and snobbery, and while she had a rebellious streak she wasn't going to grow something just because other people disliked it. She wanted to see the world for herself, and assess things in the world by her own lights. For a long time she planted day lilies that were breeders cast-offs, and she liked them not because they were better than any of the famous ones, but because they provided variety & color in a pleasurable way. I often think of this when I walk past endless plantings of Iceberg roses or the pricey yellow clivias rich people like in So CA.

It's a little different from the perspective of plant breeders. They love their plants of course, but at some point they start to think about their reputation. I'd probably not destroy my cast-offs, but I'd want people who took them to take them not as my plants but just as plants that were appealing for whatever reason, and pretty much to separate them from me.

[Epiphyte]

Spination, it definitely is a grower's right to decide how they use/abuse their plants. Coincidentally, elsewhere I just shared this relevant passage...

So that, however it may be mistaken, the end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom: for in all the states of created beings capable of laws, where there is no law, there is no freedom: for liberty is, to be free from restraint and violence from others; which cannot be, where there is no law: but freedom is not, as we are told, a liberty for every man to do what he lists: (for who could be free, when every other man’s humour might domineer over him?) but a liberty to dispose, and order as he lists, his person, actions, possessions, and his whole property, within the allowance of those laws under which he is, and therein not to be subject to the arbitrary will of another, but freely follow his own. — John Locke, Second Treatise on Government

I certainly do appreciate the Herculean efforts of so many wonderful hybridizers. But... there's always room for improvement. Which is certainly the point of hybridization. It also means that hybridization itself will always have room for improvement.

In my little corner of the world, I perceive that there's a big shortage of fast growing Aloes that have lots of accessible branches that are suitable for supporting small orchids and other epiphytes. Aloe tongaensis comes to mind... but it's not nearly fast enough for me. Hercules is a lot faster, but its branches aren't very accessible.

So this is the scarcity that I had in mind when I tried crossing my tenuior with a bunch of different tree Aloes. My largest seedling grew around 1' in a year... with plenty of water and fertilizer. Unfortunately, then it started leaning... and leaning... until it just flopped over. Sheesh. Flopping kinda makes it hard to attach orchids to. The three other seedlings flopped as well. And I suppose I could simply trash them and continue the process until I ended up with an unfloppable seedling. How many seedlings would I have to trash before I found a beautiful outlier? Maybe 50... or 100... or 500 seedlings?

The thing about my little corner of the world is that... it's kind of a strange place. After all, it doesn't seem like too many other people really perceive a shortage of Aloes that are great for attaching orchids to.

And while I could live entirely in my little bubble, focused solely on my own quirky needs, I can't help but think about people like you and Stan that have to contend with regular freezes in your little corners of the world. In my little corner of the world it only occasionally freezes. So frost tolerance is not something that I could intentionally regularly select for even if I wanted to. Errr... other than sticking a bunch of seedlings in the freezer to try and find the beautiful outliers. Would that even work? Has anybody tried that?

My point is that even if none of the hypothetical 500 seedlings were winners for me, it doesn't necessarily mean that none of them would be winners for you or Stan. Maybe one of the 500 would be exceptionally cold tolerant.

Right now my largest seedling has 3 offsets that are almost large enough to come off and a dozen or so smaller ones. Theoretically I could eventually share one offset with every member of this forum who wanted one. And then each and every member who received one could decide on their own, in their own little unique corner of the world, whether or not the seedling was a winner. From my perspective, this group answer would be far more... errrr... trustworthy/definitive/reliable... than my own answer. My answer might be "trash" but the group's answer might be "treasure"... or vice versa.

In the multitude of judges there is safety?

The next time that I talk to Karen I might try and float this concept past her. Maybe she'll be like, "So, you're saying that you want my discards?" And I'll reply, "That's not quite what I'm saying... wait, yes, sure!?"

[Spination]

In part I know that I favor the uncommon, rare, seldom-seen, difficult, obscure plants. But what's this about? It's some kind of competition with other gardeners, some way of proving I know better, have better taste, etc.

That's an interesting comment, and thought provoking.

Somehow though, I believe you meant that last sentence quoted as a questioning of sorts, but not actually a definitive statement. I'll just say I don't really believe you believe that.

In giving that potential motive due consideration as applied to myself, I can say that has never occurred to me previously. For me, the sole reason for selecting what to grow and collect is because I simply like what I like. I'll bet, in reality it's the same for you too. If I like something a lot, I like to have it and grow it. And, the more the merrier. If it's hard to obtain, costly, hard to grow...those are deterrents, but that I'm willing to overcome if possible to satisfy my desire to grow the plants I find most appealing.

For example, I could consider one of my very favorite plants, Agave vic-reg white variegated (aka several other names). I like it because I find it a stunning visual treat, and I never get tired of looking at it, and marveling at it's beauty. The rarity is a happenstance or consequence of what it is. Would I still like it as much if it was as common as a dandelion? The answer is yes, yes...and yes! And, I'd have a lot more of them too then! If anything, those are more difficult to grow, do require more expertise, special conditions... but that is the cost of admission, not the reasons for collecting. Also, I'm totally fine with it if others don't share my enthusiasm, or even if there was a competition, that I would be the loser. Tell you what, let's have a competition. OK, I resign, I'll take last place! All good with me.

I think the same goes for everything I collect, and/or attempt to grow. I acknowledge though that it does seem true that the more I grow, the more I tend to refine what it is I consider more desirable, and the more I tend to gravitate towards those types of plants, and the more I wish to reserve and direct my energy growing plants I like best. In my case, they do tend to be "uncommon, rare, seldom-seen, difficult, obscure plants". But, I can assure you also, only because they appeal to me, first and foremost. Not the rarity of them, but the beauty. There too, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A perfect example is the link I showed for the H. truncata Maughanii Variegated that sold for really big bucks on Ebay. One completely legitimate reaction was that it was an ugly plant. I try to see the ugliness in it, but I fail in that endeavor. I see something very appealing, unusual, and very beautiful! I couldn't buy one, because the price range is way beyond what I would pay for a plant, no matter how fantastic I thought it was. But, at say $10 ea., I'd get a dozen!

[Viegener]

Yes, you're right, I basically like the plants I like. I was speculating about more subconscious motives that we might have. I've just been thinking about what drives our deep attractions and also repulsions to plants. I love a lot of "ugly" plants & have noticed that some of the collectors of caudiciforms, etc, are among the most passionate plant people. Obviously beauty vs ugliness are subjective, but they often shift. Plants I once liked are now unappealing & vice versa. I'd like to think I feel a connection to all growing things, but it's not exactly true.

[Spination]

A very merry Un-Birthday to me!
I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself.

2017 01 19 Aloe Dracula's Blood b X750.jpg (203.3 KiB) Viewed 4002 times

2017 01 19 Aloe Dracula's Blood d x750.jpg (221.66 KiB) Viewed 4002 times

2017 01 19 Aloe Dracula's Blood i a x750.jpg (329.38 KiB) Viewed 4002 times

[Melt in the Sun]

Cool! New camera?

[Spination]

No. Same Nikon Coolpix I've been using for the last year or two. I did use a unipod though, so perhaps a bit clearer for a change with no shaky hands? Although I can't explain the first pic...as that other hand was holding the plant! How does it go? Even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then? Or just blind luck...snapped that photo at exactly the right millisecond.

[Melt in the Sun]

Just looks brighter than usual for you! I'm trying to distract you from how much that plant must have cost you....

[Spination]

LOL, thanks. I've had that on my wish list for some time... finally found one. I did splurge a little, but considering that it must have taken a number of years to grow to that size, not to mention that it's in perfect condition, I think that wasn't such a bad trade for a Benjamin. I can always put up a White Rhino pup on Ebay to make up for it.

[toditd]

Dracula's Blood there is looking pretty nice! Happy Un-Birthday!

[Azuleja]

Wow, it looks like it arrived in perfect condition.

[Agavemonger]

Tom, if you want to send a few of your larger Whitey's this way I'd be happy to send you some more 'Dracula's Blood' plants, or other rare Aloes!

You will get a kick out of your new plant; It is easy to grow, relatively fast, and fairly prolific! Enjoy!

The Monger

[Spination]

Azul - definitely. A wonderful treat to find something wanted, but even more so when it's perfect. My kudos to the seller; it came in a huge box, well wrapped and protected. Not a spine out of place. Wonderful!

Monger - mmm "rare Aloes" (said attempting to mimic Homer Simpson when he says "foooood"). My eyes just glazed over I think.

Glad to hear it's fairly prolific. Can't imagine it getting very much bigger, but some spreading out with pups would be awesome. Every time I look at Geoff's Gallery photos for that plant, I go into some sort of stupor. Soooo beautiful!

Also, can't wait for it to color up some this year. Hopefully, I'll get the lighting right.

[Agavemonger]

The plant gets quite a bit darker in full sun; it is a pretty well-mannered hybrid with a semi-upright habit that fills in well with offsets.

It can be propagated easily both from cuttings and offsets. Thrives in full sun when properly fertilized. This plant (like most all Table-Top Aloe hybrids), must be protected from below-freezing conditions (And watch out for Rabbits, they can make short work of these plants).

The Monger

[Spination]

Great info, thanks. Definitely looking forward to a darker coloration, and I can't deny that purple/blue isn't what I found most irresistible perusing the Gallery photos. Well, that and in contrast to the red spiny borders, and prickles over the surface. It reminds me a bit of KG's Aloe Sunset on steroids.

When you say can be propagated from cuttings, do I assume correctly that it branches possibly, in addition to offsetting? Or...? The only other thing I can think of is actually cutting the stem and rooting the top portion, and letting the bottom remainder then branch out. But that almost sounds criminal...

No chance of this one freezing. It's already in heated quarters, and not likely to be taken for granted at any point in the future. As far as the rabbits, we have a deal. They can do what they like on the property (but they're on their own avoiding foxes and coyotes ), but they are banned from my greenhouses. So far, so good anyway...