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Dear Aloe Friends

The fourth month of the year is upon us and everywhere the first signs of early winter flowers are showing in the plants. In fact the new year started with some nice colour from a large,  out-of-season inflorescence from ‘Ruby Blaze’ that drew a lot of attention from white-bellied and amethyst sunbirds, as well as the expected regular flowers from ‘Fireworx’, ‘Toffee Apple’ and ‘Ivory Dawn’. Both ‘Curvacious’ and  ‘Eland’ start their extended flower period very early in the new year, while the striking, eye level yellow of ‘First Gold’ complements the deep colours of the tall 'Totem' flowers. You can see pictures and descriptions of these plants on the website www.sunbirdaloes.co.za .


The smaller hybrid cultivars have also been delivering their share of colour for some months, notably 'Rocky', ‘Starfish’, ‘Campari’ and ‘Baby Bicolor’. Of late ‘Geisha’, ‘Oribi Gorge’, ‘Princess’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Topaz’ and ‘Bush Baby Yellow’ have also joined the riot of colour. Both ‘Fairy Pink’ and ‘Pink Pastel’ are already showing colour and will be in full, spectacular flight in the very near future. As far as the smaller aloes are concerned, undoubtedly the biggest news item of the year is the impending release of ‘Cupid’, one of the smallest but longest flowering of all the aloe cultivars.


If you have not seen these spectacular aloes in flower, or would like to introduce a friend or family member to their explosion of winter colour, you can visit Mara Petersen’s nursery in Cato Ridge, KZN, on any of her open days (see below). In the Western Cape, Jaap Viljoen and his wife Annatjie will welcome you to their Rooiklip Nursery in Swellendam, where June and July promise the spectacle of hundreds of aloes in full flower. If you are in the Eastern Cape, you will want to see what Sue Burden has been up to on their farm near East London. Her nursery will be filled with stunning flowers throughout the winter months. Please be sure to check with her before you drive out to the farm. The show of aloe flowers will be nothing short of breath-taking during the Sunbird Aloes Home Nursery open day and sale (see below). For more information about our growers visit our website www.sunbirdaloes.co.za

ALOE Dates for your Calender

Mara Petersen (084 223 3144), the Sunbird Aloes grower in KwaZulu-Natal, will have another open day at her nursery in the Cato Ridge Electrical gardens on 12 April. These events are immensely popular with families (or individuals) who find the amazing gardens an unexpected bonus when driving out to see the plants on offer. Be sure to obtain directions if it is your first visit.


Jaap Viljoen (082 900 5455), the Sunbird Aloes grower in the Western Cape, says that this year’s sale at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden on 18 and 19 April will be well worth the visit. A wide variety of Sunbird Aloes will be available. The sale takes place at the Stone Cottages opposite the Kirstenbosch entrance.


Sue Burden (084 462 2393), the Sunbird Aloes grower in the Eastern Cape, will showcase her considerable range of Sunbird Aloes at The Crossing Market, Beacon Bay on 2 days – the 18th of April and the 30th of May this year. Do not miss these events, and do not make the mistake of thinking that you have seen it all on the 18th. At this time of year there are new aloe cultivars opening  their flowers every few days so the selection on 30 May will be quite different.

 

In Gauteng there are three venues to take note of: Gariep Plants in Pretoria, Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery in Randburg and, of course, the Sunbird Aloes home nursery, also in Randburg.

  1. Kotie Retief (082 779 2612)and his team at Gariep Plants in Faerie Glen, Pretoria, kick off their AloExpo on Saturday, 16 May this year. Although their event runs throughout the colder months, the opening day is always a good time to secure some of the latest aloe cultivar releases that are in high demand.
  2. Malcolm Hepplewhite (082 900 8324) of Witkoppen Wildflower Nursery (near the Dome in Randburg) will have all the early winter aloe cultivars on sale at the first of his 2 Aloe Weekends on  29th, 30th and 31st May. His second Aloe Weekend, scheduled to showcase all the late winter flowering aloe cultivars, will take place from 31 July to 2 August.

The Sunbird Aloes home nursery (Leo on 082 824 6604) in Gauteng will have its annual open day and sale on the 20th June this year. This is later in the aloe winter flowering season than preceding years so there will be cultivars not seen in flower before. We are very excited about both the variety and quality of the plants on offer. This is our premier event of the year and definitely not to be missed.  Everybody welcome – from gardeners looking for the one aloe that will complement their garden to landscapers wanting to surprise a client with some stunning winter colour. Due to popular demand there will be some of the smaller (pot plant) cultivars available as well, apart from the medium to large growing aloe cultivars. Like last year the sale will take place behind the Fuchsia and Azalea nursery in Hyperion Avenue, North Riding. More details closer to the time.


Happy aloe gardening
Leo Thamm
Sunbird Aloes