I have 2 plicatilis plants. They are in pots, outdoors without shelter from about April to November.

"Winter growing" means they are not active when it is too hot or too cold. They do not need summer heat for growth. This is when they become semi-dormant.

For me in Zone 7, where it rains equally all year, that is usually adequate water. I do supplement as needed, especially during the summer. Drought will cause the leaf tips to turn black. In the winter, I keep it in my cold garage with minimal watering. You will find them most active in the spring and fall.

Make sure you use a super well drained mix with minimal to none organic content. Occasional well-balanced light fertilizing. They flower in early spring. I have not found them to be any more difficult or temperamental than any of my other "regular" Aloes.

I would imagine that they would be quite difficult to grow in Florida or other areas in the SE USA, where the excessive heat, humidity and rain would be harmful.

I don't know where you are, but in a Zone 6 the plicatilis may very well grow through the whole summer if it is not too hot.

Thank you for the advice.

So, when do they grow?

I am in Zone 6. How long should I leave my plant outside? What is the lowest temp it can take? Can it survive a frost?

I am not familiar with Zone 7. So, when you say it rains equally all year, does that mean a lot of rain? Do you think that I could leave mine out in the spring and summer exposed to rain, etc? How can you tell if it is getting too much water?

I am in Ohio. Sorry for so many questions. This plant is great and I want it to grow and thrive!

Daniel

In NY we average about an inch of precipitation per week, and there's no dry season or anything like that. Each month gets the same amount of rain. You probably have very similar rain patterns in Ohio.

I don't know what your potting mix is so I can't say that it is safe to leave it out in the rain, but my mix is about 50% Turface and 50% Perlite and I have no fear of overwatering.

What makes plicatilis different from the more common Aloes is that they prefer more water and less heat. If too hot and/ or dry, the leaves can quickly lose their succulence and turn black, especially older leaves.

The problem with hot weather is that they become dormant and should not be watered because they are more prone to rotting, but the result of reduced watering is uglier leaves. That is why they are difficult to maintain in the hotter areas.

They are fine for me with the occasional heat wave where we see 90's+ F for several days with hot muggy nights. But that is probably their limit.

The leaves are also more "fragile" than other Aloes and are more easily damaged by frosts. The plant won't die, but the leaves will and then the plant has to recover.

Mine is unprotected from rain for about 9 months outdoors.

I keep my Aloe dichotoma in a container right next to plicatilis. I almost never supplement rainwater with the dichotoma, but with the plicatilis I probably water well about once a week during the warmer months unless we have an extended rainy period.

Here you can see the dichotoma. In the 2nd image you can see the plicatilis peeking behind the dichotoma. Would you like me to take a better photo?

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Aloes are great plants. Many are very tolerant of abuse and have no problems remaining cold and dark all winter, as well as having their roots hacked away if needed.

Other than maybe plicatilis, dichotoma + pillansii and polyphylla, they are all simple to grow nicely.

There is a wonderful hybrid called 'Hercules' that is vigorous and becomes a monster tree. It has dichotoma and bainesii in its parentage.

Here's an A ferox that I have grown from seed:
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And a baby 'Hercules':
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Any other fans of tree aloes out there?

Here in SoCal we would (and did so!) kill A. plicatilis by regular watering in summer. But they get all winter rain which is on the average only 10" though. The four nights of frost down to 24F we had in January '07 didn't do any harm to the plants.
My plants are growing in kind of clay. When dry even a pickax has problems to penetrate.

Jordi

Jordi

On those frosty nights did the temps quickly warm up the following day with sun?

It's so difficult to try and compare growing regimes between SoCal and other parts of the US.

A 24F night in the Northeast generally means that the following day it will be about 40-45F at best.

Our max temps these 4 days January 14th to 17th in '07 stayed well below 60F.
But as I mentioned in TGF already, my A. bainesii died due to this frost period and A. pillansii had leaf damage. Pachypodiums, Welwitschia and Alluaudias were severely damaged or even killed like Alluau. ascendens.

Jordi

caudex brings up another point - temps can be below freezing but that does not mean there is frost. Frost means ice crystals form on plant surfaces, which can cause cellular damage. It is related to atmospheric moisture, not just the absolute temperature.

So not all 25 degree exposures are the same.

I think in places like Arizona, it can briefly drop below freezing at night and then quickly heat up into the 80's during the day. Plants are more likely to recover in those conditions.

Thanks for all of the great advice. I am a huge fan of tree Aloes and would love to learn more about them. If anyone has any starts to share, I would gladly pay postage.

Can you post a better pic of your Aloe Plicatilis? I bet it is gorgeous.

Daniel

Here's one of mine in a 24in wide bonsai pot
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and another in a 10in bowl
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I have 7 others and they all stay out year round, they are perking up after the recent heatwave.

Here's an update on my 2 Aloe Plicatilis Plants. When they arrived, the leaves were limp, etc. I planted them and watered them sparingly. Since then, I have brought them inside. They perked up and seem to be drinking water like crazy. I have them in a well draining soil and watered them yesterday. I put my moisture gauge in and they are almost dry. So, I may have to water again in a few days. The black leaves look awful. So, I have learned that this plant may not be like my other succulents. It seems to like water a little bit more.

Mine is a more established plant, I had since 1978, it does not like summer watering, the leaves turn black. It does not like to be cold and wet in the winter, We get very little rain all year, perhaps 9" if lucky, awe also have a record rain of 39" the 2 plants came to no harm. We also had 5 days of 20F and it just sailed through the cold weather, but then my plants are old, they are planted in very deep glazed pots with a coarse soil. Too much water can and will killl them in the summer months. Norma

Norma

What do you consider to be too much water?

Mine are outdoors in pots, unprotected all spring, summer and fall. We average an inch of rain per week all year, and even with that I still supplement with water during the summer.

x

I've had nothing like what I read in others posts. Mine actually need quite a bit of water in summer or I get those black leafs. The freeze of 07's worst bypassed the bay area..so temps of 30f only stressed it by the fourth night. Any other year a one night dip to that doesnt have any affect. I also read another here say they are hard to grow from cuttings,Again my magic dust must be at work as I have rooted them by sticking them in ground or normal potting soil..and they grow. I have a plant that I just put into a Bonsai pot since it was getting too much shade to flower well..plus I have the really big one already at the other side of the yard. Not a great Bonsai but okay.

"Winter grower" read that so many times..not applicable(applicatilisable?) here in Norcal,it's grow in summmer dry season or not at all. I always took that to mean in South Africa where winters are warm and dry,summers warm and wet. When Ron says he killed one last winter,then that tells me they do like winter rain also.No growth,but like it.

"winter grower" usually means the plant is native to SW Africa where in general summers are warm/ hot and dry with significant drops in nighttime temps, and precipitation (rain, fog, dew) usually occurs during the fall and/ or spring, depending on location. Winter temps are usually also warm, but cooler than the summer and many areas experience nightly frosts.

Some plants are so adapted to this that they become strictly dormant during the warmth of the summer, so watering at this time can lead to rot. Cold winter nights and watering are usually harmless as long as the days are warm and sunny.

plicatilis is found at higher elevations where it does not experience the same intense heat as the inland areas, and also experiences more moisture than inland because that's the way the rainfall patterns develop where it grows.

This plant is not accustomed to hot summers. Since it is adapted to regular precipitation, it's leaves blacken quickly with inadequate watering. So in hot areas, it needs a little extra water and if possible, less intense sun & heat...BUT...too much heat, which is hard to quantify, will cause the plant to become semi-dormant and non-responsive to water, which can lead to its demise.

It will be most active during the fall and spring in most parts of the US because that most closely resembles it's native land. During these seasons it can be watered regularly and should bloom in late winter/ early spring.

Both of my plants bloomed this past March.

x

That might be the best explanation of how plicatilits does in the bay area yet. Here ,no summer dormancy,or winter rot that i know about. Summers here(late May-Sept) are about 80f days and 60 f nights. Add Oct to this years summer.