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Aloe 'Flaming Conundrum' - A heavy bodied medium sized aloe to 3 feet tall with 2 foot long upcurved lanceolate leaves narrowing to a slender tip and dotted on both surfaces with sharp red tubercules and with red teeth along the margins. In winter appear the 3-foot-tall inflorescences rising above the leaves that can be solitary or few branched and hold dark red-orange buds that open as light orange flowers aging to yellow from the bottom of the inflorescence up to show off an attractive bicolored display.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. Requires little to no supplemental irrigation in coastal California gardens. Has proven hardy to 25° F and will possibly be a bit hardier still.
This attractive aloe was grown at the nursery from seed received from Brian Kemble at the Ruth Bancroft garden in May 2007. When we received this seed it was thought to be from a cross between Aloe marlothii and Aloe chabaudii. As plants grew on and flowered in our stock corral we noted it to be a very attractive plant with broad gray green leaves with many prickly tubercules similar to Aloe marlothii. Though lower growing than typical Aloe marlothii, it lacked any characteristics that might indicate it had any Aloe chabaudii parentage. We discussed this with Brian Kemble and circulated pictures to others and decided that if in fact we presume that the seed parent was correctly identified as Aloe marlothii, the best guess is that the other pollen parent is more likely Aloe aculeata or perhaps Aloe petricola. Given that we don't know the actual parentage of it we have dubbed this very showy plant as Aloe 'Flaming Conundrum' to recognize it for its beautiful yellow and red flame-like flowers and acknowledge the mystery about its parentage.
The information displayed on this page about Aloe 'Flaming Conundrum' is based on the research we have conducted about it in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about this plant as it grows in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant have performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we have received from others and welcome hearing from anyone with information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information that will aid others to better grow it.
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