After many travails I finally procured a taurii and it's quickly become one of my faves, for it's...Read More weird octopoid elongation (mine has this anyway, I see some plants are far more tentacular looking than others) and the amazing bakelite red colouration, down here in response to UV rather than cold. While my other reddening aloes just sort of go coppery, this one really pulls out the stops and turns ruby.
The only thing that comes close to it's dramatic shade is my capitata, which turns such a deep amethyst purple in spring that it looks like I sprayed it with car paint!
No dramas so far, spent winter outside without damage, looking forward to some good growth this summer.
Will report back if anything funky strikes, but apparently this species has been reliable in a coastal NZ situation, and many survived the big 07 freeze in the States so could be a good beginner's plant. Deserves to be grown far more widely but is oddly difficult to get hold of.
This species is superficially similar to Aloe spicata, and for a while was lumped under that species until a fairly recent treatment of t...Read Morehe Aloe genus in Zimbabwe where it was restored as a valid species. This is a blushing Aloe that turns red under cold conditions or in times of drought much like Aloe vanbalenii or A. dorotheae. The nectar of Aloe tauri is clear whereas the nectar of Aloe spicata is brown. Aloe tauri also seems to have leaves that are more recurved with a stronger tendency to blush than A. spicata.
Zone 9b coastal otago NZ
After many travails I finally procured a taurii and it's quickly become one of my faves, for it's...Read More
This species is superficially similar to Aloe spicata, and for a while was lumped under that species until a fairly recent treatment of t...Read More