I was astonished by the beauty of this species when I unpacked it a year or so ago, having known little to nothing about it aside from the few (crap) photos I had seen. This plant originates in Angola, according to Aloes the Definitive Guide, in the Cuanza Norte district, Pungo Andongo, which I can find little about, aside from the fact that it seems to enjoy an altitude of about 900m and contains the incredibly strange Black Rocks formation.
Aloe Andongensis is a variable complex with a subspecies called repens; AtDGuide reports that the latter lives at 1-1500 m on granite hills, has prostrate stems, glaucous-looking leaves and a wider, laxer spread. So my plant is the species proper and not the repens variety: it scarcely merits that epithet anyway, being bolt upright.
Angola is generally moderate-tropical with a hot wet season and a cooler dry. Surprising then that Andongensis is doing so well in a place where some southern species purportedly much more equipped to deal with low temps have failed. The altitude suggested by the little I can ascertain about its native province must put it in the same class as the montane Madagascan aloes which thrive here, so I've once again struck it lucky.
Aloe Andongensis is a variable complex with a subspecies called repens; AtDGuide reports that the latter lives at 1-1500 m on granite hills, has prostrate stems, glaucous-looking leaves and a wider, laxer spread. So my plant is the species proper and not the repens variety: it scarcely merits that epithet anyway, being bolt upright.
Angola is generally moderate-tropical with a hot wet season and a cooler dry. Surprising then that Andongensis is doing so well in a place where some southern species purportedly much more equipped to deal with low temps have failed. The altitude suggested by the little I can ascertain about its native province must put it in the same class as the montane Madagascan aloes which thrive here, so I've once again struck it lucky.
Aloe Andongensis is an extremely ornate, almost jewelled plant that takes on a pronounced golden hue in warmer weather and bright sunlight (these pics were taken in autumn when the phenomenon is not so marked). At the peak of summer it almost seems to glow against a dark background and this colour combination is pretty unique amongst aloes, setting it aside from anything else in my collection, anyway. Its waxy emerald leaves are edged with small stud-like yellow teeth and are spotted pale gold, apparently reaching an ultimate height of about 80cm and forming stalky clumps on which the stems are largely bare. Mine is currently about 50cm high, having almost doubled its size in a single growing season.
Even without curatorial attention it has a bonsai-like demeanour with stratified rosettes and plump, plasticky leaves. It would certainly look beautiful massed in a planting and I intend to do this seeing that there is, in fact, a cactus palace on the cards after all, in spite of my protestations to the contrary. Mine has yet to flower but the images I have seen show something like the semi-capitate, bicolour orange/green heads of Aloe Mitriformis, which is definitely something to look forward to. I moved it to the pot you see here from something half the size upon arrival and it has responded to the extra root room in short order. The recipe is very porous; half large-grade pumice, half cacti mix. I watered about once a week in summer and finished up late autumn; it's had nothing over winter, being dormant, under cover in half-shade but still exposed to low ambient tempts (down to about 2ºC) which doesn't seemed to have bothered it in the least. No shriveling, discolouration, black spotting or necrotic tips. So possibly a species to try for those of you who linger, like moi, on the edge of climatic viability. I will add flower pics to this post when my plant obliges.
Even without curatorial attention it has a bonsai-like demeanour with stratified rosettes and plump, plasticky leaves. It would certainly look beautiful massed in a planting and I intend to do this seeing that there is, in fact, a cactus palace on the cards after all, in spite of my protestations to the contrary. Mine has yet to flower but the images I have seen show something like the semi-capitate, bicolour orange/green heads of Aloe Mitriformis, which is definitely something to look forward to. I moved it to the pot you see here from something half the size upon arrival and it has responded to the extra root room in short order. The recipe is very porous; half large-grade pumice, half cacti mix. I watered about once a week in summer and finished up late autumn; it's had nothing over winter, being dormant, under cover in half-shade but still exposed to low ambient tempts (down to about 2ºC) which doesn't seemed to have bothered it in the least. No shriveling, discolouration, black spotting or necrotic tips. So possibly a species to try for those of you who linger, like moi, on the edge of climatic viability. I will add flower pics to this post when my plant obliges.
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