What is aloe Polyphylla used for?
Aloe polyphylla “Spiral Aloe” is used in African tribal medicine and magic. These plants are considered endangered in the wild.
How to care for aloe polyphylla?
The Aloe polyphylla is a hungry, thirsty plant and best kept outdoors. The perfect UK outdoor succulent, hardy to -15°C (on mature specimens). Plant in full sun on a mound and at an angle. Use a free-draining soil mix and add a natural feed.
How long does aloe Polyphylla take to grow?
With proper care, Spiral Aloe can be cultivated successfully outside of its native habitat. It is a fast-growing plant that can reach full size in 5 or 6 years. If plants do not receive proper growing conditions will die despite all efforts. It needs well-drained soil and grows best on a steep slope.
How tall does aloe Polyphylla grow?
1 ft. tall
Grows up to 1 ft. tall (30 cm) and 2 ft. wide (60 cm). Easily grown in sandy or gravelly, well-drained soils in full sun.
What is the national flower of Lesotho?
Aloe polyphylla
Aloe polyphylla is the National flower of Lesotho, apart from the most beautiful aloe it is a lovely garden plant especially on rock gardens.
Can you grow aloe Polyphylla indoors?
This is an outdoor succulent and does not do well growing indoors. It is quite a cold hardy, and adult plants can tolerate temperatures down to 20° degrees Fahrenheit (-6° C). In its native home of South Africa, Spiral Aloe endures temperatures of 5° degrees Fahrenheit (-15° C) and is often blanketed by snow.
When should I repot aloe Polyphylla?
Keep the soil evenly moist in the spring, summer and fall, and allow it to dry a bit in the winter. Repot your also polyphylla once every year so that it can have fresh growing medium and a larger container to spread out in.
How do you repot aloe Polyphylla?
To repot a spiral aloe, turn the pot sideways or upside down to gently wiggle the plant out of the container. Remove as much of the old soil from the roots as you can, being careful not to break the roots, and then move it to its new container. Add fresh soil around the roots and firmly pat into place.
Is spiral aloe found in Lesotho only?
The spiral aloe is unique to Lesotho and has not been found growing naturally outside Lesotho’s borders. The plants are distinctive with five ranks of leaves that are coiled in either a left-handed or a right-handed spiral and have been much sought after by plant enthusiasts.
How do you plant Polyphylla aloe seeds?
Remove seeds one by one as germination occurs and place into soil into which sand has been added. Bury seedling with the roots just showing. Grow on and re-pot as the plant grows. Once established it should cope with rain and cold, but perhaps treat with care whilst the plant is young.
How do you repot Polyphylla aloe?
What is the national animal of Lesotho?
black rhinoceros
What is the National Animal of Lesotho? Lesotho’s national animal is the black rhinoceros, whose conservation status is, unfortunately, critically endangered.
What does Aloe polyphylla look like?
Aloe polyphylla is a stemless aloe with short, thorny, grey-green, upright leaves arranged in a perfect spiral. The leaf tips gradually dry out and turn a purplish black colour. Light salmon to pale red flowers appear in September and October.
What does an aloe plant look like in the fall?
The leaf tips gradually dry out and turn a purplish black colour. Light salmon to pale red flowers appear in September and October. These breathtaking aloes are very rare in nature, but they are cultivated for the garden market and sold by some specialist nurseries.
What does Aloe look like in Lesotho?
The flat, thin leaves which are silvery-grey to greyish-green in color are stacked tightly and folded up at the edges, forming a perfectly square column. Aloe polyphylla grows in high, mountainous, grassy slopes of Drakensberg mountains in the Kingdom of Lesotho, near South Africa, where the plant is endemic.
How many rosettes does a Lobelia have?
Lobelia deckenii is a species of giant lobelia that grows on the mountains of East Africa. The plant usually produce multiple rosettes, consisting of between one and eighteen rosettes, connected underground.