An African Sunset in Aloes

Aloes in flower can only be described as spectacular. Vibrant colour that glows in the twilight to inspire all to garden with these tough, rewarding plants.

- Wendy Moulton

Interestingly, an aloe makes it into the top plants that are viewed on the TikTok platform. With 8.2 million views and counting, Aloe vera is not only a cooling gel, but is more than ever a popular houseplant as TikTok users have declared. Now technically speaking, aloes should not be grown indoors, so let's go outside and see what wonders we can see at this time of the year.

Growing

To get started, the basic growing requirements for aloes is as follows:

Plant in full sun, although they can tolerate some shade. They will perform better in a sunny spot.

Choose aloes wisely. Stick to aloes that are common or endemic to your area. Aloes grow from colder mountainous regions, to misty grasslands and near the coast on beach sand. Some are more cold- and frost-tolerant than others. By choosing ones that are available in your area, there is a better chance of success.

Soil must be well draining. Add river sand to clay soils to improve drainage. Add compost and bonemeal or superphosphate to the soil when planting aloes in the garden to give them a boost.

Plant in pots if you have no space in the garden.

As with all succulent-type plants, they need minimum water. In fact, most aloes will be lost due to overwatering. They will usually take care of themselves with just rainfall, but will do with a good soaking during hot, dry spells. Water potted aloes that do not get rainfall every 2-3 weeks.

They do not need regular feeding but will appreciate a balanced slow-release fertiliser once in spring and in summer.

Unruly aloes can be pruned to keep them free of dead and damaged leaves or to keep them from overwhelming other plants.

A layer of stones around the base of aloes will act as a good mulch.