Aloe polyphyllla

I’ve had this plant for over seven years now. I bought three TINY seedlings from a passionate seed grower. One promptly died, but two are still alive. We first saw this spiral aloe in a garden in South Africa. I was smitten. Never mind that we live at the 47th parallel north…I was determined to grow it. There is precious little light for it in the winter….even directly under a skylight. It is supposedly very hardy (coming from the Drakenberg mountains) and appreciates more wet than the average aloe, but I am worried about our cold winter winds. We bring it in each fall and take it back outside in the spring.

Slowly, it has put out new leaves and for the first time, this year, we can see that this one is going to spiral clockwise (look carefully). Each plant has a determined direction, spiraling either clockwise or counter clockwise. Perhaps, if I am still doing Blipfotos in another four or five years, its spiral will be more evident. Stay tuned!