My aloe vera is flowering

[Ridingthegravytrain]

As per the title my aloe Vera I have had for a couple of years is flowering. I am wondering how unusual this is in the UK in a cold draughty old house.

It's clearly very happy and I've had to re pot it a few times and it now has grandchildren. I can't keep up with all the babies 🤪

However the person who gave it to me has had them for years and they have never flowered.

Anyone else with random winter flowering aloes

Congratulations!
None of mine unfortunately but so happy for you

what does it smell like?

Nothing yet as the blooms haven't opened. I'm not even sure what colour it will be. I kind of assumed it won't smell but how exciting if it does!

A photo of the beast haha

I've had a cressula (crassula?), sansiveria, frizzle sizzle flower and those surprised me with their scent. in a good way.

What a treat ! Will you post a pic when it blooms? Hope so

Absolutely. And will update on any scent. As you can see it is temporarily living on the floor as the long stem meant it had to be removed from its home on a window sill

Oh that's interesting! I get a few things randomly flowering - but that is because I've set mine up with grow lights to mimic their preferred conditions. I've never seen an aloe flower! Please post a picture once it's open.

It's so bizarre as there is nothing even remotely mimicking it's natural conditions in my house. The bathroom, when the heating is off which is most of the day, sits at about a balmy 13 degrees. Maybe it is a very confused aloe

I'm actually really jealous. I feel I want to know the exact conditions it's kept in

Mine does the same! Freezing cold conservatory and it blooms like it's in a balmy climate!

Many aloes are winter flowering

A friend and I bought an oxalis triangularis corm at the same time. Hers flowered and grew many leaves, mine didn't until I moved it from indirect light, to a window sill. It's now flowering and growing new leaves, which is nice in mid winter

Please add any photos any of you have of your flowering indoor plants. I'd love to see

Oxalis triangularis

How unusual I wouldn't have guessed it would produce flowers like that. Very pretty

@Ridingthegravytrain - I've got an unhappy aloe. Please can you say what conditions yours has?

What direction does its windowsill face? (Before it got too big to be there.)
Was it still in the bathroom near the radiator?

How moist / dry is the soil? How much do you water it?

How big is the pot compared to its root ball?

Mine really isn't v happy and I'm not sure why!

@CorsicaDreaming I'm honestly not doing anything special. It spent the first two years on an east facing sill in my kitchen. When I had to re pot into the current pot spring this year it was too big for the kitchen so moved to bathroom south facing sill.

I'd say it a current pot is about 20cm diameter but no idea how that compares to its current root size.

I water frequently as mine seem to love water. I nearly killed it at first by not watering enough as I'd read you're not meant to. I also occasionally give plant food if I remember. Soil is always moist all over.

House conditions are boiling in summer and freezing in winter. Poorly insulated old house. I only put it by the radiator a week or so ago when it was too big for the sill so it's not had any impact on anything.

I noticed a while ago that one of my tradescantias was flowering, I had always thought of them as just a foliage plant and assumed any flowers would be tiny and nondescript but they are actually really pretty. I thought I'd taken a photo but I can't find it.

@Ridingthegravytrain - I think it may well be the watering, I had heard that too, that you aren't meant to overwater them, and I think ours is probably absolutely parched! I will see if I can give it a bit more TLC!

My thought was - not at all uncommon in the bright light of the greenhouse, less easy to get them to flower in the house, but clearly I’m wrong.

One of my aloe veras is flowering too. It's been in the conservatory all summer - moved it indoors when I noticed it was flowering. I've never had one flower before and I've had aloe Vera plants for years.
Mine doesn't have any scent.

Great photo @jackles I think that is what mine is going to look like

You sure it's not a triffid ridingthegravytrain? not sure I'd sleep well knowing that not so wee beasty was so close!
Congrats on getting the triffid aloe Vera to flower! 🌷

@timetofetgit haha I asked my daughter if I could put it in her bedroom for the time being as it gets the most light. She looked horrified and refused. Can't say I blame her