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Please find for sale 15+ seeds for Aloe Spectabilis, a beautiful succulent that produces spikes of orange flowers.
Native to South Africa, this Aloe is mainly grown in the UK as houseplant, albeit one that can spend its summers in a sunny spot on the patio. Please not that this Aloe is extremely drought tolerant but is NOT front hardy.
PLEASE NOTE: ALL ORDERS RECEIVED BEFORE 8PM (MON-FRI) WILL BE DISPATCHED SAME DAY
SAVE PACKAGING MATERIALS - SEE OTHER INTERESTING & UNUSUAL SEEDS & PLANTS IN MY SHOP
INSTRUCTIONS - TO SAVE PAPER I NO LONGER SEND OUT WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS TO CUSTOMERS. INSTRUCTIONS ARE BELOW SO PLEASE BOOKMARK THIS PAGE. FEEL FREE TO MESSAGE ME WITH ANY GROWING QUESTIONS.
Germination Guide
- Prepare a seed tray or individual pots with a moist, gritty, free-draining compost. Gently firm down and level the surface. Scatter your seeds over the surface, taking care not to sow them too thickly
- Potting mix should be moist but not wet
- Gently sprinkle a thin layer of vermiculite or fine grit over the seeds, covering the whole surface of the compost. Leave the pot in a greenhouse or on a warm windowsill, loosely covered with a clear plastic bag to preserve soil moisture.
- Seedlings will develop within a few weeks. Remove the plastic bag and water when the compost becomes dry, but spray the surface with water regularly, to keep it moist.
- Transplant / pot on the seedlings carefully the following spring using seedlings to avoid the spikes
- Fill around the seedling with compost and water well. Add more compost if necessary and then use the spoon to arrange gravel around the seedling. Keep in a sunny spot such as a windowsill, and pot on as and when you need to.
- Allow the compost to dry out completely over winter to reduce the risk of rot.
Olly's General Guide to Seed Sowing!
I love sowing seeds and it runs in the family - dad, granddad and finally my great-granddad for whom the hobby helped him get over his experiences in the Great War. I still get a big kick when I see the first seedling poking through from a new plant that I have never sown before or been successful at. However, even the most experienced gardeners draw "blanks" from time to time. Whilst I sow all the seeds that I sell so I know that they are viable, some are trickier than others and problems can arise so here are some tips to make "blanks" few and far between:
1) Don’t Rush! Tempting though it is when that packet arrives in the post to simply bung the seeds in some compost!
2) Google and YouTube are your friends! Take some time so see the methods other people use to germinate the seed.
3) Think Nature! What conditions do seeds face? For example a seed from a tropical plant will fall to the warm, wet and dark jungle floor. A seed from the mountains of Europe will fall to the floor in Autumn, then have to endure months of freezing temperatures before germinating in the spring. So as growers, what we are trying to do is to simulate the conditions that the seeds will naturally experience and there are plenty of tricks that can be done to short cut the processes somewhat.
4) Good compost pays dividends. The best investment you can make is to purchase three bags - one of potting compost, one of vermiculite and one of horticultural sand. With these three bags I can make up whatever soil type a particular seed likes (although for most seeds I find a 50/50 mix of compost and vermiculite works just fine)
5) Rot is your enemy. The single biggest danger to seed germination is rot - either before or after "damping off" the seeds germinate. To reduce the risk, ensure you have good free draining soil mix and that it is moist but not wet. Unless the seed variety absolutely requires it I prefer NOT to cover my seeds trays with plastic bags, Whilst germination is often faster this way, it greatly increases the risk of rot. I prefer to place my seed trans inside a watertight plastic tray and water from the bottom - airflow over the surface reduces the risk.
Overseas Orders
Buyers please note that they are responsible for any local customs duties or other taxes in their local country and should also ensure compliance with an biosecurity regulations.
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