What Makes One Aloe Better Than Another?
Superior Aloe products rely largely on the species grown. There are many different species of Aloe vera. Wikipedia lists several hundred Aloe species. And each species may have many varieties, each with their unique nutrition profiles.
Rodney Stockton, the “Aloe Pioneer”, researched and tested hundreds of different Aloe species and varieties. There was one variety of Barbadensis-Miller that stood above the rest. He concluded that this particular plant had far greater “medicinal properties” than the others he tested (I consider these to be “nutritional properties” so as not to confuse the food, Aloe, with a medicine).
Mr. Stockton noted the distinct characteristics of this plant so as to identify it from others. Of course, Mr. Stockton named the unique variety after himself. Hence, the plant we use is the barbadensis miller-stockton species of Aloe vera. But more importantly, Mr. Stockton documented a protocol for maintaining the purity of the species by preventing cross-pollination with inferior Aloe plants.
Stockton Aloe 1 only uses the “barbadensis-miller stockton” Aloe plant. We continue to follow Mr. Stockton’s maintenance procedures of the species which includes cutting any flowers off the plant that begin to grow. This prevents bugs, bees, birds, and even the wind, from potentially cross pollinating our plants with other aloes which could give rise to inferior Aloe pups.
Barbadensis-miller plants are quite self reproducing apart from pollination. New branches bud off of the root system of the plant and develop their own additional roots capable of sustaining the pup apart from the mother. When the pups are pulled from the ground, separated from the mother plant, and put back in the ground in their own space, they have a tendency to thrive.
The mother plants also tend to flourish much more when their life sucking babies are taken from them. Separating mother and pup eliminates the competition for nutrients and water. The leaves of a single root system aloe plant grow much larger and fuller than aloes that were left together. Aloes left in a bunch grow more like a bush of scrawny Aloe leaves with multiple root systems.
If you have one of our unique barbadensis-miller-stockton plants and use it for nutritional (or even medicinal) purposes, you too should cut the flowers. If, however, you grow the Aloe simply for its’ beauty, feel free to let the flowers bloom and crown this tropical succulent with splendor. If you need a barbadensis-miller-stockton pup, we always have fields of mothers with pups desiring to leave home and live on their own. Call us and we’ll make the adoption arrangements.
I have 5 flowering aloes, the 2 largest have been getting action from the hummng birds and as the flowers dry and fall this year left behind are green pods. Ive had these plants for years an they have always flowered, but ive never seen a greenpod left behind.