What's THAT: Aloes, A Look into this Fuss-Free Plant

What's THAT: Aloes, A Look into this Fuss-Free Plant

What's THAT: Aloes, A Look into this Fuss-Free Plant
Close-up of multiple Super Red Hybrid Aloe plants.

Drove down the street and a flash of bright red or orange caught your eye?

It’s aloe season! If you need a fuss-free “what about January” plant for zones 9-11, these hardy, drought-ignoring flowering beauties are ideal. 

Aloes are in full bloom now with exotic flowering "candles" (just another word for spikes.) With vibrant shades of red and orange towering over grey, green, or burgundy foliage. We love them in containers and waterwise borders. With their no-hand-holding-needed nature, they're also perfectly suited to challenging areas, too. Put them where you aren’t going to water much and just leave them to do their thing. Here are five favorites.

Above:  Super Red® Hybrid Aloe

Hot red flowers for the cool season! Spectacular display from fall through winter. Forms sturdy clumps well-suited for mass planting. A favorite of hummingbirds. Full sun.

blueelfaloe

Blue Elf Aloe

Tough little heat-loving hybrid aloe with spikes of brilliant orange flowers from early winter to spring. Right-sized for small spaces where you need a punch of texture and color. Reaches only 2 ft. tall and wide; mass or pot them up. Full sun.

crimsonaloe

Crimson Aloe

(And that’s just the foliage–it has exotic flowers, too!) Leaves change from lime green to bright orange-red with white spotting as the season progresses. Use this smaller aloe (up to 2 ft. tall) in a rock garden for contrast. Partial shade to full sun.

christmasaloe

Christmas Carol Aloe

Pretty festive, right? Add some post-Christmas color to the garden. This container (reaching up to 1 ft. tall and wide) produces a deep-crimson color with vibrant pink to reddish-orange blooms. Partial to full sun.

guideoaloe

Retro Succulents® Guido™ Aloe

Firecracker-colored flowers are just an added bonus. Especially when you have a plant whose foliage is mottled in green and white like a spin-art painting. Slow-growing and smaller in stature, this one’s good for indoors, too. Partial to full sun.

Caring for Aloes

  • When caring for aloes, less is more.
  • Provide a well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade.
  • Once established (about two growing seasons),  water infrequently during the hottest days.
  • Dig up or re-pot and divide clumps every 2 to 3 years in early spring after they’ve bloomed.

Love it? Buy it! (Plus a few more we love.)

6049

Aloe 'LEO 3711'
Item #7911
Stunning Waterwise Bloomer

10598

Aloe 'Blue Elf'
Item #6408
Heat Loving and Waterwise

10164

Aloe dorotheae 'Crimson'
Item #41072
Waterwise

12513

Aloe 'Christmas Carol'
Item #6379
Festive Succulent Color

12512

Aloe 'Guido'
Item #7778
Attractive Succulent Foliage

9905

Aloe dorotheae
Item #6380
Waterwise

8116

Aloe polyphylla
Item #4732
Stunning Succulent Specimen

4557

Aloe 'Pink Blush'
Item #7517
Waterwise

5691

Aloe 'Donnie'
Item #7781
Waterwise

7568

Aloe maculata
Item #7912
Waterwise

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2017-01-09 01:56:00
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