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| Aloe aculeata | |||
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| Aloes with a short stem | menu | |
| The leaves of the Aloe plants forms a rosette in different shapes and shades of green. The aloe plants give a nice display in the garden even if they are not in bloom. There are aloes in different shapes and sizes for every taste and for every part of the garden . | ||
| All aloes need very little water. Only the difficult aloes or very easy aloes are pointed out in the descriptions. Difficult aloes grow much easier in a container that can be taken out of the rain when needed. | ||
| click on the photos to enlarge | ||
| Aloe aculeata | The thorns on the leaves have a thick base lighter in color. Plants are single. The raceme is long shading in color as can be seen on the photo. |
| Aloe asperifolia | The desert aloe which needs very little water, just a misting over once in a while.. The leaves of this aloe is rough to the touch. |
| Aloe comptonii | This is a very good garden aloe. Plant it on stones to keep the base dry. The thorns (or teeth) are short and blunt. Do not water more than the normal rainfall unless you are living in a desert area. |
| Aloe brevifolia | A small very hardy aloe. Well known as a pot plant. It forms offshoots readily. |
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| Aloe broomii | This aloe is from the arid Karoo. Plant it on stones in the garden. The birds love the nectar. A.boomii is frost resistant if kept dry. |
| Aloe chabaudii | Another very good garden aloe. The pale blue-green plant makes a nice contrast in a normal green garden. It send out offshoot to form a solid border. |
| Aloe cryptopoda | This is a neat plant that does not mind winter rain and it can go without water in our hot summer even though it is a summer rainfall aloe. Aloe cryptopoda should make it in any garden. |
| Aloe falcata | This aloe needs a dry climate or it may be planted in a pot protected from rain. |
| Aloe gariepensis | From the very arid Northern Cape Province. In the summer sun the aloe plants turn dark red. It will withstand frost if kept dry. |
| Aloe gerstneri | A very nice garden aloe. It is not very sensitive to water. Young plants are thorny. Overall the plant remains neat without a lot of dead leaves. |
| Aloe glauca | A lovely blue aloe. It grows to a nice size. Very good for contrast in a green garden. |
| Aloe lineata | Closely related to A. glauca but it is a bright green aloe with dark thorns. Very easy in the garden. The raceme is large in relation to the plant. |
 
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| Aloe hereroensis | This is a difficult aloe. It likes our dry summers but not our wet winters. It needs good drainage and add some dolomite stones or bone meal to keep the ground alkaline. |
| Aloe krapohliana | This aloe is from our region, dry summer wet winter. No water for this lovely but difficult little aloe in summer. It grows under bushes plant it in shade. This aloe does well in a container |
| Aloe lutescens | This aloe looks very much like Aloe cryptopoda but one easy difference is that it sends out offshoots. The long racemes with red flowers opening to bright yellow give an impressive display if a group of Aloe lutescens are in bloom. It is an easy garden aloe. |
| Aloe globuligemma | The raceme is horizontal with flowers that look like beads arranged from large to small. The pale blue-green rosette has a graceful shape due to the leaves curling in an "s" shape. This aloe does not need extra care in a garden. |
| Aloe melanacantha | Another winter rainfall aloe which is a challenge to grow in the garden, but it does well in a container where it can be kept out of summer rain. The long hooked black thorns makes this aloe something special. |
| Aloe mitriformis | This aloe is something different in the shape of the plant, thorns and flowers. Very special in the garden. |
| Aloe petricola | The rosette has thick blue-green leaves. This aloe gives a neat impression. Size about 50 cm. Very nice long densely flowered racemes. This aloe makes very nice hybrids. |
| Aloe striata | This must be the best garden aloe species. It is very attractive, medium size and easy to grow. |
| Aloe vanbalenii | This aloe is larger than the photo shows. The rosette forms offshoots to form a clump of plants which can make a good focus point in the garden with enough space. Each rosette is about 150 cm in diameter. The leaves are yellow-green with a reddish edge and in full summer sun the leaves will shade to a wine red hue. |
