|
Aloe mubendiensis (Mubende Aloe) – A medium sized stemless aloe that suckers profusely to form large tight groups of dense compact 12 inch wide rosettes of about 16 leaves that are about 1 foot long and 2 to 3 inches wide. The leaves are a dull gray-green color with a few scattered spots and light pink horny margins with widely spaced reddish brown teeth. In winter the leaves can often take on purple to orange-pink tones and in fall arise the 2 to 3 foot tall branching inflorescences bearing dark brick red flowers.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to infrequently. Has reported been hardy to around 25° F but we have not experienced temperatures this low since starting to grow this plant. It is an attractive low growing clustering aloe that has nice winter foliage color. If one could imagine an aloe that looks like Hechtia lanata, this would be the plant!
In its natural habitat Aloe mubendiensis has a restricted distribution from near Mubende, in the Toro District in western Uganda where it is most often found on isolated granite outcroppings, called inselbergs (a German term meaning "island mountain"), at 4,000 to 4,500 feet in elevation. The specific epithet comes from the location where it grows. It is a close relative to another Ugandan aloe, the larger 4287Aloe labworana, which has longer leaves and yellow flowers with smaller floral bracts. Gilbert Reynolds considered this plant to be closely related to Aloe schweinfurthii, which makes some sense as he also considered a href="plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=4287" target="_blank">Aloe labworana to be a variety of that species. We received our first stock plant of this great plant from Tom Cole, who operates Cold Springs Aloes in Montecito, California and co-authored the Aloes of Uganda.
Information displayed on this page about Aloe mubendiensis is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
|
