Hi, I have a succulent (houseplant) that was given to me (I have 3 of them, actually) and have been wondering what the name of it is. The person who gave it to me only said that it was related to aloe vera (but wasn't aloe). The reason why I want to know is because I have parrots and some houseplants are poisonous to them, so I have to make sure they don't come into contact with them. This is the only plant I own that I don't know the name of so I can't look it up on my 'poison vs. safe' plant list. Here are some pics. It grows pretty long: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annette_omura/7155514146/in/photostream http://www.flhttp://www.flickr.com/...hotos/annette_omura/7155515752/in/photostream In this last photo, there is a different succulent in the pot with it, in the back. It grows short (its the dark one with the white dots on it). If someone could ID that one too, that would be great, thanks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annette_omura/7155516348/in/photostream Appreciate any help anyone can give. Thanks. Annette
I'm sorry, two of my links mulched into one that I see isn't working right. Here are the other two pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annette_omura/7155515752/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/annette_omura/7155515004/in/photostream/ Thanks, Annette
The long one is an Aloe of some kind; there are various plants with that kind of general look (especially in not-quite-enough light), like A. juvenna, A. 'Minibelle,' and A. congolensis. The dark one with dots is a Haworthia (or maybe Gasterworthia), but I couldn't tell you which one. Someone else will be able to, though.
Hi, Thank you. Do you think it's not getting enough light? I have it in the sunniest spot of my house, right in front of a very large west facing window on the second floor. That room gets so hot I often have to draw the sheer curtains mid-afternoon. I have 2 very large ficus (fiddle leaf figs) there as well and I worry they will get too much light (that is the only place in the house where I can put them because they are so tall and I've got a vaulted ceiling in that room and yet they have brown on their leaves - too much sun?). How much light does the aloe need? It tends to turn a bit brown and I thought that might be from too much light or not enough water?
I don't know what, precisely, would be enough light; I just know that my plants have stubbier leaves and a more compact look overall when I first get them, but over time the internodal distance increases and the leaves get longer and narrower, like yours, which I've assumed was a light issue, since I've seen outdoor-grown specimens of the same plants that had long stems with compact growth the whole way. The brown leaves could be a suntan (or the plant equivalent): a lot of Aloes will turn different colors in bright light. It might also be related to heat or cold, since a lot of them will change colors for that too. Ficus lyrata (fiddle-leaf fig) get brown spots on the leaves for all kinds of reasons, but in the wild, they do grow out in full sun, so it must be capable of handling it, especially since indoor full sun is a lot less intense than outdoor full sun. You'd still want to increase the light gradually, and it might need more water more frequently if it's getting brighter light (especially if that room gets hot). So if you're happy with the way it's growing now and the amount of care it needs, there's no compelling reason to change the light situation. (Same goes for the Aloe, as far as that goes.) But you could.
