Aloe hybrid 'Christmas Carol'
Aloe 'Christmas Carol is a popular small hybrid aloe grown for its festive colouring: neat rosettes of dark green leaves studded with raised red bumps (tubercles) and lined with red marginal teeth that flush to a vivid, holly-berry red under cool, bright conditions. It is one of the most widely sold of the modern small "collector" aloe hybrids, prized as an easy, colourful windowsill and container succulent.
Description
'Christmas Carol' forms a compact, mostly stemless rosette that typically reaches up to about 30 cm across, offsetting in time to build a small clump. The leaves are triangular and gently recurved, up to about 15 cm long, deep green as a base colour, and covered on both surfaces with scattered raised tubercles. These bumps, together with the toothed leaf margins, take on the plant's signature red tone — muted when the plant is grown soft and shady, and deepening to a bright festive red when the plant is given strong light and cool nights, which is where the name comes from.
Like many hybrid aloes it can produce slender flower spikes of tubular pinkish-red to orange blooms on established plants, though it is grown far more for foliage than for flower.
Cultivation
Care follows that of the small hybrid aloes generally, and broadly matches the parent Aloe group; see that page for background. Grow 'Christmas Carol' in a free-draining, mostly mineral mix in a snug pot, and water thoroughly only once the soil has dried, easing right off in winter. Overwatering and a heavy, water-retentive mix are the usual causes of rot and root loss — see Watering and Repotting for general technique.
The key to this cultivar is light. In dim conditions it reverts to a plain, soft green with only faint red markings; give it the brightest position you can, including some direct sun, and cool (but frost-free) winter temperatures, and the tubercles and teeth colour up to their full festive red. A little seasonal stress — bright light, cool nights and lean watering — is what brings out the "Christmas" display.
Propagation
The easiest and truest method is by offsets: as the plant clumps, established pups can be separated and potted on once they have a few roots of their own. See Propagation — offsets. Being a named hybrid, it is reproduced vegetatively rather than from seed, since seedlings will not come true to the parent.
Common problems
- Poor colour — the most common complaint; almost always too little light. Move to a brighter spot and reduce feeding for stronger red tones.
- Rot — from overwatering or a slow-draining mix; leaves soften and the base browns.
- Pests — mealybugs (white fluff in the leaf axils) and, less often, scale; check the tight centre of the rosette. See Pests and diseases.
See also
- Aloe — the genus overview
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Propagation — offsets · Repotting · Pests and diseases