Aloe 'Doran Black'

This plant's offspring will remain true to its parentage whenever pollinated with another clone of Doran Black. I have a flat of them fr...Read Moreom the orginal breeder and namer of the plant.

However, while its interbred offspring will show a different set of characteristics contributed from one of the 6 different constituent Aloes hybridized to make the result; all of the results will have unifying characteristics and be recognizable as Doran Black.

This makes it truly a man-created cultivar species!!

Several such hybrids in other succulent and cactus genera are suspected to be cultivated by man, then placed in the locale of its parents, then "discovered" by the person(s) who bred them, then named and described to be given a name that lived on through the 'discoverer' breeder.

I know it sounds unlikely, but there is evidence to support such unlikely happenings in the succulent world.

Corn is a perfect example of a plant that was hybridized by pre-columbian dwellers in Mexico and is true to its hybrid parent crossing.

I suspect some of the exotic cactus rarities discovered in Mexico as well as some of the Echeverias discovered in the 1970s are such examples.

The plant is marginal in temperatures into the low 20-degree F. So says the breeder and gentleman who named the plant after one of the early cultivars that later became a parent to Doran Black's ancestors. He has hybridized Doran Black with many different miniatures and has over 5000
super-selected different (only a half-dozen named) miniature Aloe taxon (cultivars). He is not selling any of these.

Dick Wright bred the result that is Doran Black and named it after one the breeder of one of the constiuent parents. A John Bleck hybrid is also one of the contrubuting parents. Dick has named another plant after John Bleck.

The so-called 'Dorian Black' came about as a typo on labels that were made and printed at Grigsby's Cactus and Succulent nursery. I talked to Mad. Lee, owner/operator of Grigsby's. She said that all she sells is the one clone and it is a rather unique version of Doran Black. It was apparently selected for its uniqueness from a group of Doran Black seedling. I have quite a few of that clone.

bob

This is becoming a very commonly sold Aloe at home garden centers and is popular because of its nearly white coloration with green to bla...Read Moreck spots. It is not a great species for full sun, at least here in So Cal, as it burns badly and looks sad. Flowers multiple times a year simple racemes of red-orange, with yellow. Plants sucker, but are sometimes slow to do so... a stemless, fast-growing hybrid excellent for pots and shady areas in warmer climates. It's a bit marginal for my climate, and probably a true 10a aloe... at least it doesnt do well exposed to the elements in zone 9b.

Sometimes erroneously called Aloe Dorian Black