Greetings. I am Bruno, the proprietor of Aloe Fresh. I have been in the Aloe business for 40 years. I brought plants to NZ back in the 1980's and was in the business overseas prior to that.
Here is some helpful advice and information. The Aloe business has become very popular in NZ in the past few years. This appears to have attracted many opportunists who would sell anything that's green with a spikey leaf as aloe vera.
Misrepresenting the plant varieties is the most common problem and unfortunately some of NZ's largest retailers are doing that. Trade Me is also a place where the aloe vera plant is poorly and usually falsely represented. Unfortunately our site is not completely cell phone compatible and is better seen on a standard computer screen.
I hope the following helps but please contact me if there is anything you would like to discuss. bruno@aloefresh.co.nz
Here is some helpful advice and information. The Aloe business has become very popular in NZ in the past few years. This appears to have attracted many opportunists who would sell anything that's green with a spikey leaf as aloe vera.
Misrepresenting the plant varieties is the most common problem and unfortunately some of NZ's largest retailers are doing that. Trade Me is also a place where the aloe vera plant is poorly and usually falsely represented. Unfortunately our site is not completely cell phone compatible and is better seen on a standard computer screen.
I hope the following helps but please contact me if there is anything you would like to discuss. bruno@aloefresh.co.nz
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THE PLANTS SHOW BELOW ARE Non-Medicinal AND NOT ALOE BARBADENSIS OR ALOE BARBADENSIS-MILLER.
This is common in NZ. It is not Aloe Arborescens but looks very much like it. Flower is more orange. Leaves are toxic in the long term to ingest. Unfortunately you won't realise that until you are having problems with your liver and/or kidneys. Please beware.
Pic of Aloe Arboresens below.
Arborescens Aloe - darker green leaf - more abundant flowering and longer stem of red flowers.
Arboresens Flower - Brighter vivid Red
Pic from Trade Me. Seen often in NZ backyards. It is an Aloe Peryie and has no medicinal value.
KINGS PLANT BARN
This is not the Aloe Vera Barbadensis.
It is probably a hybrid or Tissue-Culture aloe of some origin.
There are hundreds of aloes and the Barbadensis does not propagate like the plant above.
KINGS PLANT BARN TAG
From one of many web sites claiming Aloe Barbadensis but it is not. No medicinal or skin value.
Bunnings web site. Not Aloe Vera Barbadensis or Barbadensis Miller. No Medicinal value what so ever.
From M10 and The Warehouse.
Called Aloe Vera by them and even stated as Medicinal which it is not. It is either a hybrid or more likely grown from tissue-cultures of two different aloes.
Genuine Aloe Barbadensis and Barbadensis Miller Aloes do produce plantets (pups) at this size. It is also the wrong colour.
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Aloe Barbadensis and Aloe Barbadensis-Miller are probably the most maintenance free plants or crops to grow. They have no pest problems and even goats don't eat it. Snails can leave tracks on the outer skin but this does not affect the inner gel. It is purely a cosmetic inconvenience. Keeping plants weed free is advisable but beyond that there is little that needs to be done. There are however methods that will help to produce healthier plants and a more abundant harvest.
Growing for your own use The plant on the right is fully grown. It is over one metre tall and it's outer leaves are up to 90 cm long when picked. It is growing in Titirangi in Auckland with five other plants of approximately the same size. When planted they were about 20cm tall (about the same size as the plants we sell for $30.) and they reached their full size in the third Summer after planting. As you can see in the picture a number of pups (plant-lets, root-shoots) have grown from the root. This is their natural method of propagation. Most healthy plants will deliver an average of about 3 pups every one or two years, some 4 or 5, some one or two. The soil bed was built up about 30cm to allow drainage in the winter months. Titirangi, like much of Auckland, has a clay base (the NZ famous Crown Lynn pottery comes from this clay) about 20 cm to 30 cm beneath the top soil. Clay does not allow for good drainage so the area needed to be raised to allow the rain water to escape the roots of the plant. Roots don't grow very deep but rather laterally. Aloe Vera does not like wet feet. The roots can not sit for prolonged periods in very wet soil. They will eventually rot. It does, after all, have it's origin in tropical and arid environments. (Central Northern Africa originally however thrived in tropical climates when relocated through traders around 600BC ). It was found growing in Barbados by an English/Scottish botanist named Phillip Miller who, because of the plants extraordinary health and size compared to the original African aloe of the same aloe species. Hence, by the way, the name Barbadensis-Miller. Generally there is no need to water an Aloe plant - they are remarkably resilient. - however a slight watering once weekly during long dry periods is good. Water with a sprinkling watering can from above. Like rain. IF YOUR PLANT LEAVES GO BROWN AFTER PLANTING (see pics to right) Don't be too concerned. Your plant/s will recover. This can sometimes take six to eight weeks. Much more quickly in dry conditions. I have had plants that have been out of the ground with roots exposed for up to three months over the hot summer and then planted them. They looked like they would never recover however after about six weeks they started to green slightly and nine weeks later the leaves were full of gel and lush green. So - you have planted a small plant - now sit back and be very patient AND don't water it. As long as you follow the growing instructions and information, we will guarantee your plant. HARVESTING
It is not wise to pick leaves from young plants. Plants should be at least two years old or leaves about 30 to 35cm long (minimum) before you separate them. Ideally plants should be three years old before you harvest regularly. A mature plant will produce about 16 to 18 leaves a year. If you need ay advice or information my email bruno@aloefresh.co.nz but please bear in mind I am not a cell phone emailer as I am often amidst the plants and my hands are dirty. |
Mature plant approx 1 metre tall with leaves ranging from 60cm to 90cm in length ready to pick.
Section of one of our plantations. These are all approx 30 months old and 500mls tall.
Brown plants left unplanted for 3 months over summer
Six weeks later - with a covering of composted soil raked gently throughout the plantation
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