In the minds of most people, aloe is associated with a dull spine sticking out of a pot and traditionally used to disinfect wounds and other medical purposes. Meanwhile, there are very unusual species of this plant that can become a real decoration of the home interior. One of them is motley aloe, also known as brindle. We will tell you more about it.

Botanical description of the plant

The Latin name for motley aloe is Gonialoe variegata, but in everyday life this flower is sometimes called a "partridge" or "falcon feather" for the colorful color of the leaves. The historical homeland of the plant is South Africa, first of all, the territory of modern Namibia and South Africa.

Aloe refers to succulents, that is, it has the ability to accumulate water in its tissues, thus experiencing prolonged droughts. Falcon feather is a compact bush with neat, spirally dense leaves. As a houseplant, this type of aloe is used not only because of its medicinal properties and decorative variegation of leaves, but also because of the rather spectacular flowering. Unfortunately, it arrives quite late: the plant does not bloom for the first 4, and sometimes 6 years, but most other aloe species do not throw flowers at all when grown as a houseplant. The flower stalk grows from the middle of the outlet, forming at the end a single inflorescence in the form of a tube.

Photo gallery

The botanical description of tiger aloe is given in the table:

Maximum sizes	25–35 cm long, 4–5 cm wide
Root system	Powerful, fibrous type, roots long and straight, shaped like cylinders
Stem	Absent
Leaf shape	Triangular, with denticles along the edges. Leaves are straight, up to 15 cm long, come out of one outlet with a beautiful regular spiral in 3 rows
Leaf color	Motley, alternating symmetrical white stripes and spots on a dark green background, the sheet border is also white. Sometimes the main color of the sheet has a burgundy tint
Leaf structure	Thick, fleshy
Inflorescence	Single, peduncle long, up to 25-30 cm, erect, pink bract with green stripes
Flower shape	Tubular bell-shaped
Flower sizes	Small
Flower color	Red, pink, orange, yellow
Fruit shape	Box
Fruit color	Green

Healing properties

Like other types of aloe, this species has numerous medicinal properties, among which it is important to name:

• bactericidal;
• diuretics;
• healing;
• restorative (included in the composition of the preparations for the symptomatic treatment of rhinitis and respiratory infections);
• anti-inflammatory (especially often used for various eye inflammations);
• cosmetic (improves the quality of the skin, helps get rid of acne);
• antidiarrheal (helps with intestinal disorders).

Such a multifaceted healing effect that the plant has on various organs and systems is due to its unique chemical composition, rich not only in vitamins (primarily ascorbic acid and carotene) and minerals (zinc, iron, potassium and others), but also containing amino acids (like interchangeable and irreplaceable), saponins, enzymes, flavonoids and essential oils.

Did you know? The human body needs 22 amino acids to function properly. Twenty of them are in aloe juice. Moreover, out of 8 amino acids that we cannot synthesize on our own, 7 are present in this unique plant.

Growing conditions

In nature, tiger aloe grows on stony soils under conditions of a constant lack of moisture. This feature of the flower must be taken into account when growing it as a houseplant.

Accommodation

Perhaps the most important thing that this type of aloe needs is good lighting. Even in extreme heat, such a flower does not need shading, and this compares favorably with most other indoor plants.

Of course, a constant stay in the scorching sun can lead to the fact that tiger leaves begin to lose their decorativeness, but, on the whole, windows facing the south are still the best choice for a succulent.

Important! Drops of water should not be allowed to fall on aloe leaves at a time when they are illuminated by the sun. The effect of the lens, which occurs in this case, will inevitably lead to a burn of the sheet. In the summer, a flower pot is very useful to take out to a well-lit balcony or even transport it to the cottage, highlighting a sunny place for it among other flowers.

Temperature mode

The optimal temperature regime for the plant is the range between +12 and +18 ° C. However, in the summer, the African flower tolerates warming up to +26 ° C; in winter, a temperature drop of up to +10 ° C is acceptable. I must say that since in winter the amount of light that can be provided on the windowsill naturally decreases, a decrease in air temperature is even desirable for the flower (otherwise aloe need to provide additional artificial lighting for at least three hours a day).

Thus, the succulent is introduced into the phase of forced rest and, accordingly, it tolerates a lack of light more easily. In February, with an increase in daylight hours, the pot can again be placed in a warmer place.

Air humidity

Variegated aloe does not make high demands on the humidity regime, but dry air (relative humidity not more than 40%) is still more familiar and preferable for a flower; therefore, a falcon feather reacts poorly to showering procedures and watering on leaves, such measures should not be abused.

Did you know? Aloe can do without water for 7 years and still not stop growing. True, this is only possible in the wild. It is better to remove dust from beautiful mottled leaves with a slightly moistened cloth. This procedure is enough to perform a couple of times a month.

Home Care

Aloe is one of the most unpretentious plants. Experienced flower growers sometimes joke that it takes a lot of effort to ensure that such a flower dies. That is why even those who have never been breeding a home greenhouse and who have neither the time nor the desire to devote much effort to this can easily grow a small motley partridge on their windowsill.

But in order for tiger aloe to feel as comfortable as possible and at least occasionally please the owner with its flowering, certain requirements still need to be fulfilled.

Watering

Succulents rarely need to be watered, because in moist soil they get sick and can even die. The procedure is carried out only at that moment when the soil in the pot becomes completely dry. In summer, this can happen once a week or even two weeks. In winter, when the active phase of aloe vera life stops, moisture is applied once every 20-30 days, and its amount should also be reduced until the soil is slightly moistened.

He really doesn’t like aloe to get water in the middle of the outlet, so when watering, you need to try to moisten the earth along the edges of the pot, alternating this procedure with the lower watering (in the container in which the flowerpot is installed).

Important! Lower watering helps to wash out nutrients from the main part of the soil, where the roots of the indoor flower are located, so this method should not be abused. Water for irrigation must be slightly warmed up and, if it is taken from a normal water supply system and contains chlorine, it is good to defend it first.

Top dressing

Tiger aloe should be fed only by the root method, by adding fertilizer to the water for irrigation. Nutrient mixtures applied to the leaves are harmful to the plant. So that the mineral substances contained in the fertilizer are better absorbed and do not burn the root system, it is recommended that you first water the soil with a small amount of ordinary water and only then use a nutrient solution.

When choosing a specific mineral fertilizer, it is best to focus on funds intended for succulents.

Important! During the use of aloe leaves for medicinal purposes, fertilizers under the plant are not applied.

In the active phase of the life of aloe, fertilizers are recommended to be applied 1-2 times a month, during the dormant period (from October to February), top dressing is stopped. There are several important rules regarding the timing and frequency of fertilizing under the aloe bush:

• after planting or transplanting, the plant should not be irritated with additional additives for 6 months;
• the first dressing after acquiring a flower in a store is carried out no earlier than a month later;
• fertilizer application ceases during the period when the plant is sick or has been attacked by pests (the procedure can be resumed only after the bush is fully restored and begins to let out new leaves).

Video: Feeding indoor plants

Pruning

Features of the botanical structure of aloe do not imply a procedure such as pruning. The leaves of this plant themselves form a symmetrical bush, and additional intervention is completely unnecessary here. In order for the flower to always look spectacular and neat, you just need to carefully remove the lower leaves after they turn yellow and dry, as well as cut the peduncle after flowering.

Transfer

Tiger aloe develops better in a spacious pot, this flower does not tolerate crowding. As long as its active growth continues (a young plant can increase its height to 10 cm per year), it is necessary to transplant it into a new, larger flowerpot annually. Adult flowers do not need such a frequent change of the pot, but at least once every 3 years a transplant is still recommended.

Read more about how to properly transplant aloe at home.

Traditionally, the best time for transplantation is spring or the end of winter, when the plant leaves the phase of forced dormancy and begins active growth.

The right choice of pot is the key to the correct development of the flower in the future. You should not increase the volume of the pot too much, in this case, the period of fixing the plant in a new place will be much slower. It is ideal to take a pot that is 2-3 cm larger in depth and diameter than before.

Important! Aloe flowerpot must have large openings for water drainage, this rule is the same for all succulents. There are several opinions regarding the preferred shape of the pot: some growers claim that aloe prefers high capacities, while others advise choosing wide ones. The most correct point of view can be considered, according to which the shape of the pot should correspond to the formed root system of the flower. It is best to stock up on several options for flowerpots and, having pulled the flower out of the old container, orient yourself in which pot it will be more comfortable for it.

Clay pots are more suitable for succulents. Such a pot is more expensive, but in it moisture evaporation occurs faster and, accordingly, the risk of stagnation of water in the roots decreases. In addition, clay eliminates overheating of the root system. If aloe grows in such a container, it can be dug into the ground in the summer on a summer cottage with a flowerpot, without injuring the flower with an additional transplant.

The next important point related to transplantation is the choice of substrate. Falcon feather prefers soil with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction (pH level in the range of 5.0–7.0), however, much more stringent requirements are imposed on the permeability of the earth, succulent grows poorly on heavy soils. In addition to a thick drainage layer, it is useful to add small pebbles and coarse sand to the soil mixture itself.

Important! A feature of growing aloe in room conditions is to add a layer of pebbles or sand on top of the substrate. It should give the impression that the flower grows in stones. The transplant process is a sequence of actions:

1. About 2 weeks before the planned procedure, the flower should stop watering.
2. When the earthen lump finally dries, it must be carefully pulled out of the pot along with the plant. If this does not work out, first with a knife, the back of a tablespoon or wooden stick, you should separate the edges of the earth from the walls of the pot.
3. A new pot is filled with drainage material, after which a small layer of the prepared substrate is laid out on top.
4. Two options are now possible. The earthen lump together with the plant can be installed in a new pot as a whole, after which you can add fresh soil mixture on the sides and top (transshipment). This method is good in that the root system of the flower is not damaged. The transplant as such involves the careful removal of earth from the roots of the plant. In this case, you can see all the problems that have not yet begun to manifest themselves, but are already taking place. But the flower also tolerates a similar procedure much harder. If the root is accidentally damaged, before placing it in a new pot, it must be sprinkled with wood ash for disinfection.
5. After filling the earth into a new pot (both during transplanting and during transshipment), the soil is well compacted so that the soil layer, taking into account the stones, sand or expanded clay laid on it, does not reach the top edge of the pot by about 1 cm.
6. The newly transplanted plant should be placed for 5 days in a shaded place and not watered for the first day.

Did you know? Science knows about three and a half hundred species of aloe, and some of these plants reach a height of 15 m. Today, only a few varieties of succulents are used as indoor flowers, but even the vast majority do not bloom at home.

Breeding

Usually, not very experienced flower growers try to plant aloe by cutting off a leaf from a flower and putting it in a glass with water to form roots. In fact, this method of plant propagation is incorrect. A new plant can be obtained in two ways - by rooting cuttings and seeds, but in the first case, the procedure is carried out using a completely different technology.

Cuttings

Aloe propagation by a vegetative method is best done in the fall.

It is done like this:

1. Root or side shoots are very carefully separated from the adult outlet with a sharp knife.
2. The cut line is sprinkled with charcoal for disinfection.
3. Separated cuttings are laid out on a clean cloth and left to dry for two days.
4. While the shoots are dried, small pots are filled with a fertile and light soil mixture.
5. The substrate is abundantly watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate (it is necessary that at the time of disembarkation, excess water and chemistry from the soil evaporate, and the plant does not receive a chemical burn).
6. After the set time, a depression is made in the middle of the soil mixture, where a moistened mixture of peat and coarse river sand is filled (you can use clean sand).
7. The stem is buried by 1 cm in the sand and peat laying, the soil around is carefully rammed.
8. If you wish, you can drive a peg next to the handle and gently tie a shoot to it.
9. A pot with a handle is placed for germination in a warm and slightly shaded place (the sun should be enough, but its rays too hot should not burn the leaf). The optimum temperature for rooting is +25 ° C.
10. The first week the escape is not watered. It is not necessary to cover it with a film or glass to create a greenhouse effect, instead, you just need to spray the aerial part of the stem several times a day with warm, settled water from a spray bottle (however, some flower growers recommend refraining from this procedure).

Seed cultivation

Growing aloe from seeds is harder and longer than rooting the shoot, however, in general, there is nothing complicated in this technology.

Flower seeds can be collected independently or purchased at a flower shop. The first option is considered quite problematic, since tiger aloe blooms still not very willingly and not at all. If this opportunity presents itself, the dried fruit box should be carefully opened and removed from it, soaked for several days in the open air so that the seeds do not start to rot or mold, and stored in a paper envelope or linen bag until next year. Planting variegated aloe seeds is best done in early spring or late winter.

We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the features of growing such succulents: adromiscus, astrophytum, adenium.

The sequence of actions to be followed is as follows:

1. Disinfect the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or in “own juice”: a small amount of aloe juice, which is an excellent bactericidal agent, must be added to a glass of water.
2. Wash prepared containers (drawers, cassettes for seedlings or plastic cups, if there is no other container) with soap and water. Pottery, in which other domestic flowers used to grow, is recommended to be additionally baked for 20-30 minutes in a well-heated oven. It is also important to get rid of any plaque on the walls of the container.
3. If necessary, make drainage holes in containers.
4. Sift the succulent substrate or sand mixed soil mixture through a large sieve.
5. Fill the containers with soil so that about 2 cm remain to the edge of the surface.
6. Put the seeds on the surface of the substrate and push a little deeper into the surface. If individual packaging is used, one seed is laid out in each cup. When planting in a box between the seeds, leave at least 2 cm of free space on each side.
7. Поверх семян засыпать тонкий (не более 1 см) слой предварительно просеянного речного песка. Увлажнять его не нужно.
8. Поставить ёмкость (или ёмкости) в поддон и наполнить его отстоянной водой. Глубину поддона нужно выбирать так, чтобы вода доходила до трети высоты горшка.
9. Накрыть конструкцию сверху плёнкой или стеклом и оставить для прорастания в светлом месте при температуре +25…+30 °C.
10. Не реже одного раза в день плёнку нужно снимать для проветривания, а поверхность песка осторожно опрыскивать из пульверизатора, не допуская его переувлажнения.
11. Всходы должны появиться примерно на четвёртый день после посадки. Плёнку в этот момент можно снять, а температуру воздуха уменьшить до +22…+25 °C.
12. Когда саженцы сформируют первую пару настоящих листочков, их можно осторожно, стараясь не повредить молодые корни, пересадить на постоянное место (в индивидуальный горшок).

Growing difficulties

Пёстрое алоэ болеет редко. Если не допускать переувлажнения земли в горшке и обеспечить растению хорошее освещение, проблем с цветком возникать не должно. Однако исключения из общего правила, конечно, случаются.

Disease

Сухая и корневая гниль, поражающие иногда хорошо знакомое всем древовидное алоэ, для его пёстрого «родственника» практически не характерны.

Ниже приведены возможные признаки, свидетельствующие о том, что цветок чувствует себя не очень комфортно, а также причины, которые их вызывают, и методы решения проблемы:

1. Скручивание листьев. Возможно, покрывающая листовую пластину пыль затрудняет растению дыхание. Протирайте листья сухой или слегка увлажнённой мягкой тканью раз в неделю.
2. Листья становятся жёлтыми и мягкими. Такой симптом обычно свидетельствует об избытке влаги в почве либо неправильном поливе. Сократите полив. Отстаивайте и подогревайте воду перед тем, как поливать цветок.
3. Подсыхание кончиков листьев. Обычно возникает, когда корневая система растения разрастается и начинает испытывать тесноту в прежнем горшке. Пересадите цветок в более крупную ёмкость.
4. Прекращение роста. Может возникать вследствие недостатка освещения, избытка влаги, дефицита в питательных веществах, неправильно подобранной почвы или тесного горшка. Проанализируйте возможные причины и откорректируйте уход.

Pests

Чаще всего вредители попадают на алоэ с соседних растений, менее устойчивых к атакам паразитов.

Did you know? Победить паутинного клеща на комнатном растении можно, обработав цветок любым противоблошиным препаратом для кошек или собак, который легко можно приобрести в любом зоомагазине. Так, тигровое алоэ может подвергнуться поражению:

1. Щитовками. Присутствие этих мелких насекомых на цветке легко заметить по характерным коричневым бляшкам, появляющимся на листьях (это и есть вредитель, покрытый своеобразным щитом, отсюда его название). На ранних этапах поражения бляшки вместе с находящимися под ними паразитами нужно осторожно соскоблить, после чего хорошо промыть листья насыщенным мыльным раствором, в который также полезно выдавить несколько зубков чеснока. Действовать нужно осторожно, чтобы мыло не попало в почву.
2. Ложнощитовками. Внешне насекомые очень похожи на щитовок. Поражённый лист становится липким и мягким (вредитель высасывает из него сок), покрывается жёлтыми или коричневыми пятнами и в конце концов отмирает. Бороться с ложнощитовками можно при помощи того же мыльно-чесночного раствора, поэтому в точной идентификации паразита необходимости нет.
3. Мучнистым червецом. Эти подвижные мелкие насекомые, покрытые белыми ворсинками, заметны невооружённым глазом. Их нужно удалить с цветка, после чего обработать растение спиртом, перцовым настоем, мыльно-чесночной или мыльно-луковой кашицей. Для закрепления эффекта алоэ нужно убрать в тёмное место на 4 дня.
4. Нематодами. Эти мелкие черви часто поражают корни растения, особенно если почва в горшке слишком влажная. Бороться с ними нужно пересадкой, сопровождающейся удалением повреждённых корней.
5. Паутинным клещом. Паразит не заметен визуально, однако его легко «вычислить» по похожим на паутинки нитям, которые он протягивает между листьями растения. Заражённое растение следует поместить в хорошо проветриваемое место. Листья можно обработать мыльным раствором или спиртом.
6. Трипсами. Характерными признаками жизнедеятельности этого вредителя являются серебристые потёки на листьях. На первых этапах поражения упомянутые выше народные средства могут помочь решить проблему, при этом важно понимать, что благоприятной средой для трипсов является повышенная влажность почвы. Таким образом, как и в других случаях, корректировка внешних условий является лучшим способом борьбы с вредителем.

Видео: Болезни и вредители суккулентов

Если поражение цветка вредителями приобретает угрожающие масштабы, необходимо прибегнуть к применению инсектицидов. Для борьбы со всеми упомянутыми выше насекомыми (паутинный клещ насекомым не является) можно использовать такие препараты:

• "Aktara";
• «Видат»;
• "Decis";
• Inta-Vir;
• Karbofos;
• «Текта»;
• "Fosbetsid";
• "Actellik";
• Fitoverm;
• "Fufanon."

Последние 3 препарата в приведённом списке являются универсальным средством для борьбы с насекомыми и клещами.

Помимо них, к эффективным акарицидам (препараты против клещей), которыми можно воспользоваться для лечения пёстрого алоэ, относятся:

• “Akarin”;
• "Actofit";
• Apollo
• «Вермитек» и многие другие.

Пёстрое (тигровое) алоэ — довольно красивый суккулент, абсолютно нетребовательный к условиям содержания. Идеально подходит занятым и часто отлучающимся из дому людям. Всё, что нужно растению для нормального развития, — это предоставить ему хорошее освещение, изредка поливать и подкармливать, а также пересаживать в больший горшок хотя бы раз в 3 года.