€7,95

Aloe ruffingiana — Ruffing's Aloe

🌱 Morphology
A small Malagasy aloe of extraordinary beauty, with dense rosettes that sprout directly from the base and can form numerous clusters. The rosettes reach about 25 cm in diameter and, when in bloom, up to 35 cm in height. The leaves, 10–15 cm long, are flat, fleshy, oval-triangular and long-pointed, pale green with a narrow reddish margin. The entire leaf surface is densely covered with white spots of varying size, one of its most distinctive characteristics. The margins have small, fine, and quite dense teeth.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is native to southern Madagascar, in the Androy region, where it grows on granite outcrops and rocky areas in open scrubland. The species was described by Werner Rauh and Hermann Petignat in 1999 from material collected between Ambovombe and Antanimora; the type specimen comes from Ampolonora, near Antanimora. The name Aloe ruffingiana continues to be widely used, although its taxonomic position has changed: a recent review treats it as Aloe subacutissima subsp. ruffingiana, while Kew/POWO maintains the taxon within Aloe deltoideodonta subsp. esomonyensis. It belongs to the Asphodelaceae family, tribe Alooideae, genus Aloe.

❄️ Temperature — USDA 8b
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to -7 ºC according to cultivation data published for A. deltoideodonta var. ruffingiana. When kept in a pot, it is recommended to keep it dry during cold spells and especially to avoid the combination of low temperatures and damp substrate.

☀️ Lighting
During growth, a PAR DLI of 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended. Abundant lighting promotes rosette compaction and maintains the contrast between the pale green of the leaves and their numerous white spots. It tolerates direct sun, although in Madrid it is recommended to protect it from the most intense sun during the central hours of summer.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Summer dormancy. It is recommended to water abundantly during growth periods, allowing the substrate to dry completely before the next watering. During peak summer heat, water intake is reduced, and keeping the roots damp is avoided. In winter, watering is spaced out, especially when temperatures are low.

🌸 Flowering
The inflorescences rise clearly above the rosette and produce tubular flowers of approximately 2.5–2.8 cm, with shades ranging from red or brownish-red to lighter tones at the tips; flowers with a red base, whitish body, and green lips have also been described in cultivation. The species presents the typical protandry of Aloe: the anthers protrude before the stigma does. Sufficient documentation has not been found to state that it is repeat-flowering with several pulses within the same season.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, Desert CHOICE® Aloes, Haworthias & Co. is recommended, with a high content of potassium and bioavailable calcium. It is applied with watering, reducing or suspending fertilization during summer dormancy.

9x9 cm gourmet black pot

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot, with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the specimen sent may vary slightly from the product image. The plant's measurements are specified in the photo description, but this may also vary slightly because, after all, it is a living being! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.

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