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Aloe 'Carpinteria Gem' (Carpinteria Bicolored Aloe) - A clustering and branching shrub aloe to 4 to 5 feet tall by 6 to 8 feet wide with rosettes of gray-green long tapering leaves that are mostly held erect when young and arch over gracefully with age and have pale teeth along the margins. In late winter to mid spring appear the very attractive flowers in tall slender branched racemes - the flower buds are at first a dark orange-red and then turn to yellow as the flowers open from the bottom of the inflorescence up creating a distinct two-toned effect.
Plant in full sun to light shade in a well-drained soil and water occasionally to very little. Hardy to at least 25 °F – undamaged in freeze of January 2007 with 3 nights in a row down to 25 °F. A very attractive aloe that forms a large clump.
We were given this plant tentatively identified as Aloe lutescens, the Malapati Aloe. It was thought to be this species because it was a more clustering plant with multiple caulescent rosettes compared to the similar Aloe wickensii that is more solitary. We noted however that it branched and grew upward in a manner more similar to Aloe arborescens. We queried numerous aloe growers about this plant and they agreed that it a very nice hybrid and likely a cross between these two species. Others commented about large stands of this plant growing in the town of Carpinteria, just south of Santa Barbara, with one particularly nice stand that lines Cravens Lane above Foothill. In honor of this small seaside town (with the "world's safest beaches"!), we are calling this plant Aloe 'Carpinteria Gem'. Our thanks go out to John Bleck for providing us with our original stock on this plant and also Tom Cole, John Miller, Quinton Bean and Andy De Wet who all shared their opinions on it.
This information about Aloe 'Carpinteria Gem' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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