Gravity always wins, part 2

Once upon a time, we had a beautiful Aloe marlothii growing in the bed along the sidewalk. Its leaves were well armed with prickles on top and underneath, and in the winter, the whole plant flushed a stunning pink: 

And then one day (this morning, to be precise), the fairy tale was over:

The aloe was lying flat on its face, the stem snapped off at ground level:

The cause? Gravity, at least in part. This aloe, about 10 years old now, was planted on a slight slope. For the first few years of its life, it had been growing out towards the sun because its top had been shaded by a clumping bamboo. This year, even though its leaves were on the deflated side—the plant's water reserves fairly depleted after a dry winter and spring—the rosette on top of the 2-ft. stem was still heavy. Given these conditions, it wasn't that difficult for gravity to have its way.

A recurring irrigation issue may have made matters worse. Two sections of ¼-inch drip irrigation tubing inside the fence have repeatedly become separated, causing water to gush down the slope and into the street. As a result, the soil around this aloe and other plants in the area has gotten thoroughly soaked twice in the last three weeks. Combined with a couple of brief but intense heat waves, the excess moisture could have caused the stem to start rotting. I don't know for sure whether this has been a contributing factor, but it's possible.

If all of this sounds familiar, it's because it is. Last August, our Aloe ferox, also growing at a slight angle and leaning forward, had done a similar faceplant.

Here's the Aloe marlothii after I dragged it into the street:

A friend of mine will reroot it and plant it in his own garden. For now, it's resting in our garden cart:

To give you an idea of its size, the stem is almost two feet tall and the rosette another two. It's not a small plant!

My mother likes to say that bad things come in threes. Seeing how Aloe ferox fell over in the summer of 2020 and Aloe marlothii in the summer of 2021, I firmly expect a similar event next year. I hope it won't be Aloe 'Erik the Red', my favorite among the taller aloes in our garden!

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