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Category: Succulent |
Family: Aloeaceae (now Asphodeloideae) |
Origin: South Africa (Africa) |
Evergreen: Yes |
Flower Color: Orange & Pink |
Bloomtime: Winter/Spring |
Parentage: (A. cryptopoda x A. arborescens) |
Height: 1-2 feet |
Width: 2-3 feet |
Exposure: Sun or Shade |
Summer Dry: Yes |
Deer Tolerant: Yes |
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Aloe 'Giddy Flame' - A neat clustering non-trunk forming aloe with 2 foot tall rosettes of narrow gray-green leaves. In late winter into spring arise the branched inflorescences hold conical racemes of pinkish orange flowers that are darkest in bud near the top of the inflorescence and lighter as they open from the bottom up. Plant in full to part sun in a moderately well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to infrequently. It is hardy to frost and short duration cold down to the low 20s. This is a very nice strong and showy aloe that is useful in smaller gardens as it doesn't get as robust as its one parent, the common Aloe arborescens. It has been growing since the mid 1970s in the Huntington Botanic Garden Desert Garden (as HBG 32489) and was received by them it in 1973 without a cultivar name just as Aloe cryptopoda x Aloe arborescens from the late Cynthia Giddy (1933-1998). Giddy was a South African conservationist and horticulturist who had a nursery called Umlaas Nursery in Natal, South Africa. The Huntington Botanic Garden released this plant through their International Succulent Introductions (ISI) program in 2001 as ISI 01-18 Aloe cryptopoda x Aloe arborescens and we were fortunate to get this plant from them to build up stock on. Much like another aloe that Cynthia Giddy did not actually designate with an appellation but bears her name, Aloe 'Cynthia Giddy', this plant is thought to be one of Giddy's own hybrids, but it seems that this information is no longer verifiable. Other plants we grow that came from Gidddy's Umlaas Nursery include Aloe 'Rooikappie', Aloe 'Tingtinkie' and Gasteria croucheri 'Cynthia Giddy'. This wonderful Aloe cryptopoda x A. arborescens hybrid plant has gone nearly 50 years without a cultivar name but it was also not widely circulated commercially. In 2020, as we put out the first crops of this plant to sell in our field, we hereby name it 'Giddy Flame' to honor Cynthia Giddy and also to reference its fiery red hot poker like flowers. The images showing this plant flowering in the Huntington's Desert Garden courtesy of John Trager.
This information about Aloe 'Giddy Flame' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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