My Aloe is Blooming !

I have taken all my tender succulents inside for the winter.

I allowed them to dry out completely and treated for possible gnats as I explained in this post. ( So far, I have not seen any inside! Victory!) But to my surprise, I have seen a blossom stalk form on my aloe.

 

These plants are the ones I had indoors last winter. Well, most of them. There were some casualties. And some additions. I have plants that grew so much over the summer that they are filling up the pots. Almost all of these are in my styrofoam “almost” hypertufa planters, and a few more are in regular hypertufa.

Anyway, the bloom stalk was rising out of the middle of the aloe, a cream color stalk which was straight up at first. Then it began to curl over like a shepherd’s crook. And a few days after that has straightened up again. I tried to take a close up of the blooming end, but the photo is not very good.

I don’t know what to expect for this blossom since I have never had an aloe bloom before. And I guess I should say that I am pretty sure this is an aloe, but it resembles an haworthia too. I grow these succulents and sedum, but I am not sure about the identity of some of them. But I am guessing it is the aloe because the markings on the spikes are spotted as opposed to forming lines or rows. If you think this is wrong, please let me know. But for now, I will identify this as an aloe.

 

The Graptopetalum “Paraguayense” is in a white ceramic dish with a hole drilled in the bottom. It has multiplied a lot, and I have dropped so many pieces, there are many starts on the garden floor. I can’t keep them all!  The Sedum lineare is about 10x bigger after growing outside all summer. It will make a good spiller next year.

Another one with new starts is the Sedum morganianum or Donkey’s Tail . Every little piece dropped will sprout.

Mistletoe Cactus (Rhipsalis baccifera) is down here with us too. Hanging there in her hypertufa hanger which worked wonderfully over the summer. It’s waiting for some water. I keep these plants really dry at first, due to the possibility of the fungus gnats. Keeping my fingers crossed, but no evidence so far.

Have you brought any plants inside this year? Are you fighting gnats? How do you care for your plants in the winter season? If I get any more, I will need more room!