I love the spiral alloe. What's the name of that geometric spiral pattern that artists like Dali have used. Fabricci?Those alloes come from a small kingdom in southern Africa. There are still many areas in Africa that haven't been botanically explored. Do any southern African succulents struggle in the UK with all it's rain and fog Lol.

Aloe polyphylla is high on my list of must have plants! But the ones offered for sale here are small and still pricey. Not sure I'll be around long enough to see them actually get some size and develop that spiral. They grow very slowly!!

Are you thinking of fibonacci sequence?

I feel the same way about Frasera carolinianus. They are monocarpic and can take anywhere from 12 to 30 years to bloom. You could still enjoy the beauty of a smaller Alloe polyphylla ? They don't take multiple years to bloom do they?

The Fibonacci Sequence is what you're after Jay.

Intergral to the plot of "The daVinci Code".

I still find is surprising how many succulents will grow outdoors, here in Cornwall.

The Gulf Stream helps keep it mild, but sticking out into the Atlantic, like a sore thumb, means most storm systems pop in to visit here first, before attempting to drown the rest of the country.

Flowering is not my concern :-) It is developing the spiral pattern. Small plants just do not develop that pattern readily.......that takes some age.

"The spiral aloe grows in high, mountainous, grassy slopes at altitudes between 2,000 and 2,599 m (6,560 and 8,530 ft), and sometimes higher on east-facing slopes. Here it clings to rocky crevices and well-drained scree slopes. The climate is cool in the summer and in the winter the aloes are often covered in deep snow. The region also has a very high summer rainfall and this moisture is augmented by the clouds which engulf the Lesotho mountain peaks." Wikipedia

GardenGal, I’ve tried Aloe polyphylla outside here, and it froze solid in 2015. I now have on in a pot. They actually grow pretty quick and develop the spiral about a year or two after being quite small.

Your plant list makes me quite envious. I’ve tried all of those plants, most of whom croaked during some drowning wet or cold snap…

Thanks Carol and thefof for helping me clear the cobwebs out of my head. How much is the price of a baby Alloe polyphylla?

Alloe polyphylla birthplace

A Sansevieria new to science collected in Tanzania. A friend Barry Yinger is on a mission to scour the entire country to rescue rare Sansevieria species that are threatened by agriculture and developement. Barry has kept Sansevieria and ignored using Shefflera, so out of respect I must also stick with Sansevieria. Appearance-wise they both are so different looking. I still adhere to the nonmenclature ruling of Shefflera scientifically. Everyone immediately knows what Sansevieria is. It's a Mother in law's Tongue, Snake Plant. Same thing with Cornus. I can easily adapt to Swida and Benthamidia, but the new name for Cornus canadensis is impossible to remember and a waste of time looking up, not to mention spelling and pronouncing. The new nonmenclature must be used for the science, but who actually knows if the common folk will ever come to accept it? Sorry for going off topic a bit.

Dancing Oaks usually has some. Their website only has 2gal size for $85, but the 1gal pots at Hortlandia were $25, I think. I think Cistus sells them too sometimes, and Rare Plant Research. I paid $20 for mine at Hortlandia a few years ago. It’s coming out of its winter doldrums now and should be spiraling away again soon.

For comparison, it’s still in this same pot that I put it in when i got it.

Ah.......but I don't think macranthos' spiral aloe looks anything like the Cornish one. 🤔 I find it almost impossible to detect any spiral. What I want is one that is already the size and with the fully established pattern of the Cornish one but I don't want to have to pay hundreds of dollars for it.

Maybe I'm expecting too much.