🌱 Morphology

  It is a small Aloe, highly branched and densely clumping. Its stems, erect at first and then arching, can reach about 30–60 cm, and are completely covered by overlapping triangular leaves. The leaves are fleshy, bright green, speckled with numerous cream or greenish-white spots on both the upper and lower surfaces, and feature soft cream-colored teeth along the margins that resemble small tiger teeth. In bright light, they can take on reddish or brown tones. It produces abundant offsets and eventually forms large clumps.

🌍 Distribution, habitat and family

It is native to the southwest of Kenya and northern Tanzania, in seasonally dry tropical regions. It belongs to the Asphodelaceae family. Although it is extraordinarily common in cultivation, its natural distribution is much more restricted. 

❄️ Temperature

USDA 9b  It is considerably more sensitive to cold than its robust appearance might suggest. For container cultivation, we recommend keeping it above 5 °C, especially if there is moisture. It can occasionally withstand temperatures close to -4 °C if it is completely dry and protected, but it should not be exposed to regular frost.

☀️ Lighting

During growth, 20–30 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ of DLI PAR. It needs plenty of light to keep the stems compact and enhance the contrast between the green leaves and their light spots. It tolerates direct sun after proper acclimatization, but in Madrid it may be preferable to protect it from the most intense summer afternoon sun, especially in small pots.

💧 Growth cycle

Opportunistic, although in cultivation it may slow down during winter and in extreme temperatures. I would not consider it a strict summer-dormant Aloe. Water abundantly and allow the substrate to dry out completely before the next watering. During winter, if temperatures are low, space out waterings considerably.

🌸 Flowering

Adult plants produce simple inflorescences, erect on the stems, with tubular flowers coral pink to orange-red, generally with a yellowish or greenish-yellow center. Flowering occurs mainly during the warm months; in the Southern Hemisphere, it takes place between spring and summer. For Madrid, we can estimate it at approximately April–July, although in protected cultivation it may occur earlier or outside this window.

🌿 Nutrition

Fertilize during growth periods with Desert CHOICE® Aloes, Haworthia & Co., which is especially suitable for its calcium and potassium content. Reduce or suspend fertilization during winter or when the plant is dormant.

This is an inimitable xerophyte cultivated in Madrid in a technological square pot with substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

📏 The sizes of our basic collection xerophytes are as follows:

S -> 9cm x 9cm

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The photo description specifies the plant's measurements, but these may also vary slightly because it is a living thing! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.