Few polyphylla questions

[NSH]

Hello guys, just fast question regards size of new pot. Im upgrading from 25 cm pot to 40 cm pot. Will you consider too big for aloe or will be fine. Im also putting some lava rocks on bottom for better drainage as height of pot is little bit big. Thanks

[johnbecker]

I would say, especially with polyphylla, that bigger is better as far as pot is concerned. They like having room, and root temperature is one of their #1 killers. I would also personally argue against rocks in the bottom of the pot--my understanding is that they don't improve drainage and instead just raise the water table and increase likelihood of rot. Alan Beverly knows more about them than anyone he recommends a soil mix of 1 part potting soil to 1 part pumice and 1 part 3/8" lava rock. He told me that 1:2 soil:pumice is also fine. So I would just increase soil volume as much as you can--as you can see here on some of the other polyphylla threads, they grow FAST! Alan Beverly's website is https://www.ecotree.net/about/aloe-polyphylla" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; if you want to check out more info.

Good luck! Post pictures. I'm going to be repotting mine in a month or so and it's stressing me out cause it's gotten so big...

[Steph115]

Agree with bigger is better. I just potted my polyphyllas up less than a month ago, and the roots are already poking out the bottom! I think I'm going to pot them up again right now honestly

Regarding soil, agreed about not using rocks at the bottom. And something I've noticed is that my polyphyllas do not like pumice. Maybe it's only important for the younger ones, but I noticed a significant dropoff in growth when I substituted pumice for perlite, and they took off immediately after I put them back in 50/50 cactus soil/perlite. Yours might be substantial enough that it makes no difference though, mine are only a year old.

[Spination]

Excellent advice given already. Go through the Allan Beverly website links - read it all and you will know about as much as anyone on the subject. If you read through the "Can't Keep Up With This Polyphylla's Growth" thread, the main message from what I learned with my biggest one is that I constantly underestimated the size of the new pot when upgrading (at least once) every year .

As has been echoed already, and AB himself warns against - do not use rocks at the bottom of the pot. After you read all the Ecotree information, you will have run across that and know why.

In looking at the photo of your plant, it's my opinion it's not getting watered enough. It's otherwise healthy, but the leaves look thin and not all plump and full of water like they should. I think that also contributes to what may be the premature retiring of leaves towards the bottom of the rosette.

By the way, from sufficient experience of anyone growing plants or other aloes, that new pot looks big enough. However, you will find, and especially if you water the plant as it should be watered, in a year's time you will be kicking yourself that you didn't go with an even bigger pot yet. Kudos on the white color, which avoids a common problem when people use black pots - cooking the roots when the sun heats up the black pot.

[Stan]

Mine,I'm going for one more year in the pot its in. Next year,its going to be the plastic half barrels. Yes,I might lose some faster growth. But,its big enough to notice and it will grow. I haven't read Beverley's primer..but I know mine jumped when fertilized in summer a couple of times.

[Spination]

It's more than a primer. It's his whole website featuring a wealth of information that includes a copy of his thesis - on Aloe polyphylla. Also his expedition to the habitat. Also, care and cultivation. And more...

I just looked at the site again, it's been a while. The website has had a make-over. Links for all the information available are not that obvious. One tip - click "About", then click "polyphylla" to arrive at a page of convenient articles linked... When I have time, I'll have to explore the new website as it looks like there could be all sorts of new information tucked in there that I might not have read before.

[NSH]

Thank you guys on great advices, i m reading AB site, it is a real knowledge walt, also i have read topic on this forum (can keep up ....). I have major guidance that i will be folowing, major concern to me that i dont have available perlit here, only vermiculite at home rhat we mix to other succulent and agaves too. Insted perlite and orchid bark i will use as suggested 3/8" vulcan stones, hi quality cactus mix (perlit is included) and some vermiculite. Hope for best result. Also tomorrow i will repot her and will wait a little bit before watering or can do that next day? With agaves i usually wait for a week before water after repoted

[johnbecker]

Another interesting thing that Alan told me over email recently is that polyphylla actually prefers a high-nitrogen analysis fertilizer--he himself uses Miracle Gro and compost tea to fertilize his plants.

It makes sense when you think about it: a lot of succulents, aloes included, grow in arid, mineral-based soils where few other things grow. Hence, they don't like a lot of nitrogen in their soil or their fertilizer. Polyphylla, on the other hand, grows in wet, grassy slopes high in the mountains of Lesotho. There's a constant stream of water from uphill, and the natural ecosystem is full of decomposing grasses that create a natural high-nitrogen compost tea swirling around polyphylla's roots.

Plants are so cool!

Re: your question about watering NSH, if there's moisture in the soil, I think you're fine to give it a few days or a week to settle in. But as long as the soil has good drainage, polyphylla loves water. I agree with Spination that yours is looking a little parched at the moment. Not sure of your latitude (I'm very near San Francisco), but this time of year I'm watering once a week. When it really heats up in July/August I might even go every 3-4 days. But the air is very, very dry here in the summer, so the soil dries out quickly. If it's more humid in summer in Croatia, you could maybe stretch it out. Alan said one wants to let the soil moisture drop for several days between waterings. Which reminds me that I need to get a moisture meter.

[Spination]

I water.... every day. Haven't drowned them yet.

I had mentioned Miracle Gro on some thread hereabouts not too long ago, and it was mentioned that Miracle Gro is not the best (or even good at all) - something about the N not being released easily (?). Now, I use liquid fish emulsion. It stinks, but it's a good and natural source of N. I think it's something like 5:1:1
Here's one link of many that can be found which slam Miracle Gro as a product:
http://www.organicagardensupply.com/why ... racle-gro/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I used to use it, now I don't.

Regarding the soil - even straight cactus mix is fine for a plant that size. As long as it drains well, that's the main point.

By the way, for my newest "pot" for the big polyphylla I have, I used AB's recommended mix of Perlite, Super Soil, and I substituted 3/8" lava rock (because it was easily available locally) for the last ingredient. If I recall - it was 2-1-1. (SS, perlite, lava). Actually, it was much cheaper to make (in a wheelbarrow) than buying even economical large bags of Cactus Mix, which was a bonus since I needed a lot of it for my big permanent polyphylla enclosure. A huge bag of perlite was $20. 2 L bag of SS is about $8 (??), and the small uniform lava rocks were $4 a bag (fill yourself bags at the garden materials place).

[NSH]

Guys you are fantastic! As for himidity, right now ecery morning we have high humidity but when sun goes out it become dry wery quickly, agaves are dry after day or two. I will get a grip just like with agaves, and you all helped a lot

[Stan]

Avoid vermiculite..unlike perlite,it will break down into sort of a goo. Gravel is better then vermiculite.

[NSH]

Ok, perlite, lava rocks and hi quality cactus mix fast drainage soil. Here is how looks outside pot. Cleaned up dead roots, i see nwe ones. How she looks to you guys? I know that she was keept outside planted in soil, little water over winter. Also should i put on clean ground or like with agaves on lava stones and not on direct soil. Thanks

[Steph115]

Most of those roots look pretty unhealthy. They should look bright yellow/green and fade to a lighter brown with time. But like you said, you have at least two points of new root growth that I can see, and these plants are so resilient I bet in the right conditions it will perk up in no time. Alan Beverly actually recommends trimming roots (you can find a video in another thread if you search his name on this forum), but I've never done this and would be too chicken.

If I were you, I'd add significantly more perlite, at least 50%. I plant them straight into soil on a little but of a mound. Then make sure to water a lot. Like Spiny I water every day and with the amount of perlite I use I've never seen any signs of damage. On the contrary if I miss a day, I often see them begin to retire more leaves.

Here's a photo of my plants' roots during their repotting this spring.

[NSH]

I have added more perlite and little bit more lava. Remove dead rots with hand and planted. I always see that kind of roots with agave so no worries here, we will see how it goes. Will update soon. Now will wait few days and watered good. I have put her to mornin sun and after week i will put on 6h sun.

[johnbecker]

Just to keep the party going, here's my baby looking pretty in the morning light today. I think it's getting too big for this mini-barrel AND it's right on the verge of being too big to easily repot, so I'm going to pot it up into a full half barrel in the next month. Definitely going to recruit a buddy to help--with the soil the pot weighs close to 100 lbs right now...

[NSH]

Uhhh johnbecker, yours is breathtaking. Really impressive aloe

[Spination]

I agree - very fine condition. Also, kudos to you for being proactive with the repotting. I see there's still plenty of room from the edges of the plant to the edges of the pot, and it wouldn't surprise me if that is a major factor of why your plant is so nice (no brown tips), because the roots have ample room below the rosette. I think repotting now while the plant is still manageable and into a new larger situation with even more room should keep your plant quite happy going forward - also good timing right now before the heat of summer comes on (or will it? ).

I noted that there was correlation between the propensity of my large plant's leaf tips to brown with the point it was at when it had obviously outgrown it's pot, with the outermost leaves already spilling over the pot edge. Also, a noted improvement after each repotting, until again the plant all too obviously had outgrown it's pot once again. The newest leaves of mine are looking better now than before I just placed it in it's new situation with more than ample root room, and I'm hoping too that the trend continues. I would definitely love to see it all green from top to bottom, without any brown tips at all.

Yours is definitely a plant to be proud of - super condition. Great job!

[Spination]

All this talk about repotting - I just repotted my 2 of my 3 largest seedlings too.
The one left rear got a larger pot I scrounged, the one right rear got the pot that left rear came out of, and now I just need to come up with a larger pot for the one middle rear. These aloes are so fast growing, it wouldn't surprise me if the rosettes of the two just potted larger are already filling their pots by the end of the year.

2018 05 19 Aloe polyphylla group.jpg (366.37 KiB) Viewed 5284 times

[johnbecker]

Thanks for the kind words, y'all. Complimenting my plants is one of the most direct paths to my heart.

Spination, you are a dragon, sitting on that hoard of polyphylla! All looking great. As you plan for putting them in the ground, you should plot them along a constellation or something. Go full Aztec temple with it. You've also given me an idea for another thread where people post pictures of their current crown jewels.

I found this picture of mine, the day it got potted into that little barrel. Not bad for a year and a half! I guess I'll keep it in this soil in its next home.

[NSH]

Guys you ruined me with polyphylla madness just ordered from reabile source 2 more cca 8" in size. They look good and eager to see how it will grow in my condition. This forum tought me a lot and it is neverending learning process. Thank you all for sharing your experiance and knowledge!

[Spination]

John, nice grouping of plants you had there at the time. Wow, what is that in the background - an Aeonium tree? (!)

To me, the most impressive improvement from the year and a half ago to now, is the rosette's morphosis from that open rosette to the compact and desirable version, telling me you found a nice situation with good lighting for that plant. Well done!

NSH - sorry about that! Actually, glad to have helped nudge you into Polyphylla Madness, along with the others here. I guess when we all ganged up on you, your fate was sealed.

Be sure to post pics of your 2 new ones after you get them!

[Stan]

Maybe in a couple of months I will pot up mine too. Heavy is right..but still in bounds. I know its about hit the limit on that 18" pot. Frustrating that they dont pup !when you want more.

[Spination]

It's definitely time Stan. With 100% consistency, I found that mine, by the time the leaves reached the edge of the pot, had roots that also very much had filled up what you can't see there inside the container below the soil line. As such, when the container starts restricting it's roots, it doesn't have a positive effect on the rosette above. Right or wrong, I have correlated that situation with a tendency for leaf tips to brown out, and once that gets going, it seems to get worse. Each time I noticed that and responded with a larger pot, the brown leaf tip effect ceased, and new green healthy leaves pushing out from the center eventually replace them.

[Steph115]

Well, with all this talk of overpotting I may have overdone it. Got some big plastic 10 inch pots for my 16 month old seedlings. Plenty spacious, but honestly given how fast they've grown since their spring potting up and move outside I think it's a good move.

[Spination]

I agree, and looks good (good too on the white pots!). Given the good draining mix, it's impossible to over-water these guys anyway. You'll be happy when you're not potting it bigger again way too soon.