It’s winter time and that means Aloes are coming into life to bring blazing colour to our gardens. Aloes can be quite dramatic with spectacular flowers, architectural shapes, as well as interesting and dramatic foliage.

Our gardening culture is changing as South Africans become more aware of our ever-changing climate as water becomes a scarce and valuable resource. We need to be environmentally responsible by changing our gardening habits.

Aloes range from small clumping plants, to rambling and larger Aloes, some with stems and others the size of trees! Below are some varieties to help you decide what Aloe you would enjoy for that hot sunny spot in your garden.

• Dwarf Aloes
  • Aloe hybrid ‘Twice as Nice’ – A small 25cm multi-stemmed Aloe hybrid ideal for pots and small gardens with strong bi-coloured red to white flowers.
  • Aloe hybrid ‘Little Joker’ – A small 25cm multi-stemmed Aloe hybrid ideal for pots and small gardens with many pinkish-red flowers.
  • Aloe Hybrid ‘Porcupine’ – A small 40cm multi-stemmed Aloe hybrid ideal for pots and small gardens with strong bi-coloured red to white flowers.
• Rambling Aloes
  • Aloe van balenii – A spreading Aloe about 1.5m in size is ideal in large pots and mass planting. Lime green leaves turn red during hot dry conditions. Flowers come in a range of colours yellow, orange and pink.
• Single stemmed Aloes
  • Aloe marlothii – A strong single stemmed Aloe that can grow between 2 to 6m in height with attractive grey/green leaves with spines. Flowers are orange to golden yellow.
  • Aloe ferox – A strong stemmed tree-like Aloe that grows 2 to 3m in height with green leaves and red spines along the leaf edge. Flower colours range from a yellow-orange to bright red.
• Stemless Aloes
  • Aloe chabaudii – a clump forming Aloe about 50cm in size. Green leaves with a red edge during hot dry conditions. The flower are multi-branched and the colours range from pink to coral red
  • Aloe wickensii – a clump forming almost stemless Aloe which can reach a height of 70cm with grey-green leaves with reddish-brown spines along the leaf edge. The flowers are bi-coloured red to yellow.
• Tree Aloes
  • Aloe barberae – The Tree Aloe is the largest Aloe found in Africa developing thick strong stems reaching a height of about 12m and a width of around 5m. Great to use as focal points. The flowers are multi-branched and the colours range from pink to orange.
• Grass Aloes
  • Aloe cooperi – is a grassland Aloe growing to a height of 60 to 90cm tall and grows in groups with shoots coming from the ground level. Flowers are yellow.
  • Kniphofia – not a true Aloe but resembles an Aloe and grows about 80cm tall, has grassy leaves. The flowers are strong bi-coloured orange to yellow.

Visit your local GardenShop to see our current selection of seasonal and flowering Aloes. Should any of the above varieties not be stocked we are able to order them in for you.

As a garden-lover, we know that you sometimes need on-site expert advice to talk through nagging garden issues or changes you may want to make. That’s where our GardenGuru comes in! Our qualified horticulturist will meet with you for a one-hour consultation service where you can discuss your unique gardening challenges and find solutions.

Get in touch
Email: gardenguru@gardenshop.co.za
WhatsApp GardenGuru: 072 200 5762

R450*secures your one-hour GardenGuru consultation, payable at any of our branches. GardenGuru will contact you during weekdays to make an appointment.

*Our fee refers to visits within a 10km radius of any GardenShop branch located in Parktown, Broadacers, Bryanston, Menlo Park and Boksburg. Our service does not include design sketches or drawings and we will happily refer you to a recommended landscaper depending on your requirements.