Aloiampelos
Aloiampelos is a genus of seven scrambling and rambling succulents commonly known as the climbing aloes, split off from the large genus Aloe in 2013. Unlike the tidy rosettes of a typical aloe, these plants build long, flexible, sprawling stems that lean, clamber and tumble through surrounding shrubs, giving the group its distinctive shrubby, vine-like habit.
Description
The defining trait of Aloiampelos is the elongated, pliable stem. Where a classic aloe holds its leaves in a compact ground-level rosette, climbing aloes carry small rosettes at the tips of slender stems that can stretch to a metre or more, branching and reclining on neighbouring vegetation for support. The stems are often clothed in the dried remains of old leaves and, in several species, marked with fine green stripes along the internodes; the leaves themselves are narrow, softly toothed along the margins, and unspotted.
Flowers are borne in slim, cylindrical to conical racemes, usually in warm shades of orange, red or yellow, and are attractive to sunbirds and other nectar-feeders in habitat. As a group the plants are frost-tender but tough, coping with wind, poor soil and periods of drought.
Distribution
The genus is native to southern Africa, and is especially well represented in South Africa — from the fynbos and thicket of the Cape through to the eastern grasslands and coastal scrub. Climbing aloes typically grow among rocks, on slopes and within dense bush, where their scrambling stems can find purchase and their rosettes reach for light above the surrounding cover.
Notable species
- Aloiampelos ciliaris — the common climbing aloe, a fast, slender scrambler with soft white marginal hairs at the leaf base; the most widely grown member of the genus.
- Aloiampelos striatula — the hardiest species, with glossy green-striped stems and leaf sheaths; tolerates hard frost and even light snow, and is popular in temperate gardens.
- Aloiampelos tenuior — the fence aloe, a wiry, densely branching shrub often used as a living hedge.
- Aloiampelos commixta — a Cape Peninsula endemic of rocky slopes, with sprawling, green-striped stems.
Cultivation
Climbing aloes are among the easier succulents to grow and are forgiving of beginners. Give them a sunny, open position and a free-draining mix; they are less fussy about staying bone-dry than many rosette aloes, but still resent waterlogged roots. Water regularly through the growing season and ease off in winter (see Watering).
Because the stems are long and lax, plants benefit from something to scramble over — a wall, a shrub or a support — or can be left to form a loose, mounding thicket. They respond well to pruning, which encourages branching and keeps growth compact, and are excellent for hedges, banks and informal screens in frost-free and near-frost-free climates. A. striatula is notably more cold-tolerant than the rest and can be grown outdoors in milder temperate gardens. Repot or divide crowded clumps as needed (see Repotting).
Propagation
The scrambling habit makes these plants very easy to propagate from cuttings: sections of stem root readily when allowed to callus and then set into a gritty mix. They can also be raised from seed. Because cuttings are so reliable, most garden plants are increased vegetatively.
Hybrids and cultivar notes
Climbing aloes cross readily with one another and, in cultivation, with true Aloe species, contributing their sprawling stems and slender flower spikes to many garden hybrids. A handful of selected forms and colour variants are grown, but the genus is valued more for the reliable landscape performance of its wild species than for an extensive named-cultivar tradition.
See also
- Aloe — the genus from which Aloiampelos was separated
- Aloiampelos ciliaris · Aloiampelos striatula
- Propagation - cuttings · Soil and potting mix · Watering · Pests and diseases