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Aloe suzannae (A youn specimen)
The species is only known from a handful of herbarium specimens collected more than 50 years ago from areas that have subsequently suffered considerable degradation to the natural vegetation. The Aloe suzannae is known to exist in only about a handful of botanical gardens, and those specimens are all less than 50 years old. The slow growth rate and rarity of the plant make it a particularly expensive specimen.
 

Scientific name:  Aloe susannae
in: Bull. Econ. Madagascar 18 (1): 26 (1921).

Common Names include: Tree aloe

Conservation status: Listed in CITES appendix 1.

Origin:  Ambosary region and Itampolo in Southwestern Madagascar.

Habitat: It occurs in sandy shore or sometime on large rooks. Aloe suzannae is very rare, it is said, there are only very few (maybe five) plant back in the nature!

Description: It is a very slow growing tree aloe, that stay solitary or branches at the base when it become older. This is one of the larger Aloes, and is user-friendly (nothing sharp or dangerous).
Stem: The stem (trunk) will grow to more than 20 centimetres in diameter and it rises to more than 3 meters (may be up to 8 m tall).
Leaves: 80-100 cm long, with rounded tips and yellowish teeth arranged in a rosette (90-150 cm wide) at the top of the stem.
Flower: This species produces spectacular more or less erect racemes (axillary spike) that looks like immense poles sometimes 1,5 to 6 m tall each raceme bears up to 1000 (or more) single white to yellow-crème flowers. The perianth is regular with segments nearly free. There are 6 stamens and a superior ovary consisting of 3 fused carpels. This flowers are supposed to be pollinated by bats and birds.
Blooming season: Late winter or early spring. Flowering is a rare event in this species with only maturing plants flowering (at least 20 to 30 years old), and that is infrequent (every 3-15 years).
Fruit: The fruits normally open into 3 pieces to release the seeds

Cultivation:  It is a versatile plant and requiring little care. It can be grown in large containers. Always use a good quality, loamy sandy soil with plenty of drainage chips at the bottom of containers. It tolerates weekly watering in the summer; once a month, or not at all in the colder months of December and January. Can withstand long periods of drought, but they will thrive and flower more profusely if watered in the correct season. Incorrect watering, poor drainage or too much shade can lead to attack by pests and diseases. They can take a few degrees of frost in winter as well, but prefer hot summers. It grows much better outdoors in spring and summer.
In mild climates it can be cultivated outdoors for use in landscaping, preferably planting it in hot and dry rock gardens. They will grow best in regions with a climate close to that of their native deserts – not too cold, and not too wet. They grow slowly, but not agonisingly so – being able to increase their height by 5-10 cm per year under favourable conditions.

Propagation: Almost exclusively by seeds planted in autumn, in trays of coarse river sand. The plant on the trade are often from micropropagation.

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.