Aloe cryptopoda
Horticultural Data | Shipping & Availability | Top
Aloe cryptopoda has long, olive-green leaves that grow about 18 inches and, in winter, produces some of the most beautiful tricolored flowers in the xeriscape. Aloe cryptopoda’s stunning flowers attract wildlife – hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. It does well in pots too, provided the soil drains well.
Aloe cryptopoda produces many basal offsets, and works well in all types of succulent gardens and xeriscape plantings. Use it for dry borders and rock gardens.
Aloe cryptopoda has long, narrow grayish green leaves with reddish-brown, small and pointed teeth along the leaf margins. The leaves are arranged in a rosette atop a very short, hidden stem. It has orange-red flowers in winter which are attractive to, and pollinated by, nectar loving birds. The leaves take on a yellow color when the plant is stressed.
Over time the plant forms colonies from offsets. Aloe cryptopoda has been used as a wool dye giving a reddish brown to purplish red color to yarn. In Zimbabwe the leaf juice is used to treat constipation and venereal disease.
It differs slightly from Aloe wickensii as that plant has long-acuminate, broad floral bracts and yellow and orange flowers.
Horticultural Data
Description | Horticultural Data | Shipping & Availability | Top
Names and Synonyms: Aloe pienaarii, Aloe wickensii var. lutea, Aloe wickensii
Common Names: Tweekleur-aalwyn, geelaalwyn
Family: Aloeaceae
Origin: Aloe cryptopoda has a wide distribution in southern Africa
Size Label: 1 Gallon
Height: 4′
Width: 4′
Cold Tolerance: 25 to 30°F; -3.9 to -1.1°C
Heat Tolerance: Very high
Light Requirement: Full sun to light shade in sunny, hot interior deserts
Water needs: Very drought tolerant but light summer irrigation is fine
Maintenance: None
Uses: Succulent and cactus gardens, xeriscape plantings. Dry borders and rock gardens. The plant’s flowers attract wildlife – hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. It does well in pots too, provided the soil drains well.
Propagation: Remove and replant offsets. Seeds can be collected after flowering and sown.
Research Links:
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/aloecryptopoda.htm
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/63250/
http://www.delange.org/AloeCryptopoda/AloeCryptopoda.htm
http://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=3516
Shipping & Availability
Description | Horticultural Data | Shipping & Availability | Top
There is a minimum purchase of any 4 plants for online orders. All plants shipped bare root. Other sizes may be available for pick up from our growing grounds in Fallbrook, CA. For more information, give us a call at 760-990-4762.
Click here for complete Price List.
