A number of Karen Zimmerman’s aloe hybrids, bred for their colorful, toothy foliage have been introduced to date and two more are offered this year. This one is named in honor of the late Jeff Karsner who served as the Huntington’s Children’s Gardener, creating whimsical plantings to delight visitors young and old with enough botanical interest to intrigue serious gardeners as well. The aloe that bears his name has rosettes to 10 cm. (4") of broadly lanceolate leaves with a bluish field studded with bands of longitudinally elongate tubercles with pale green to white bases surmounted by reddish-tipped teeth. The leaf margins bear red, trapezoidal teeth with lacerate tips. The hybrid was made August 3, 2006 with the following parentage: A. 'Confetti' × (A. Kelly Griffin # 5 × A. 'Paul Hutchison' [or similar Dick Wright hybrid]). HBG 119022, from tissue culture, $15.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 86 (2), March - April, 2014