Thursday, December 6, 2007

Coral Aloe

Aloe striata


Unlike the other Aloes I have, this drought and frost resistant Aloe striata resides in my garden instead of in a container. Its wide, flat and spineless leaves have a pinkish hue, especially along the margins, because it receives a lot of sun. When shaded by a nearby Palo Verde tree, the leaves will take on a more blue-green shade. This fall, we had a few unseasonably hot days after the Palo Verde tree was trimmed, and this plant received some sunburn, which has detracted from its beauty. That sunburn shows up as the whitish areas on the leaves.

Better known as Coral Aloe, it does well in USDA Zones 9b-11. It is one of the stemless Aloe varieties. It grows two to three feet wide and up to two feet tall, and in mid-January, it consistently sends up a stalk with orange-red flowers that last for several weeks.

The name, striata, means marked with lines. The lines are somewhat visible on the unburned leaves of the Aloe in the photo. I’m not a huge Aloe fan, but of the ones I have, this species is my favorite. It was in a four-inch pot when I purchased it, and it has grown to its present size in just three years. With its good looks and consistent flowering, what’s not to like?

7 comments:

Julie said...

I agree with you...this aloe is very pretty! I would like to see it's flowers in January!

Anonymous said...

I didn't realise there were so amny varieties of aloe. They all look nice. sara from farmingfriends

forest said...

I wish that I could grow Aloes here in NM, but it's just too cold. A. striatula came back after being frozen to the ground, but only once.

Nice blog. Reminds me of when I lived in Palm Springs and there were boojum and Sausage Trees at The Living Desert.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for helping with identifying this aloe i received as a gift today. Do you know an aloe called Uncle Tom's of uncle Bob's (not meaning the person it was received from?
Helen, South Africa

Aiyana said...

Hi Helen,
I've never heard of these. If you give me a link with a photo, or else email me at x--6258hrc(at)cox (dot)net with a photo, I'll see if I can help.
Aiyana

ericat said...

Hi from South Africa. I am looking for a list of frost resistant aloes. I know there is one (at least one) but can not remember where I found it.
Can you help there, please.

Aiyana said...

Hi ericat,
I just emailed you a list of ones I know of that are supposed to take at least some frost. I have several of these and can attest to their hardiness. However, some of the rest are difficult to find, but maybe not in S. Africa. The address I used to mail to you was the Yahoo one I found on your website.
Aiyana