For some, Aloes are far away plants, and that means southern Africa. For others, aloes mean Aloe Vera, the most popular aloe plant around the world. For me, aloes are plants I grow, and plants which offer me a gateway to understanding a significant species collection of our succulent family.
The title is the name of a video which I have on YouTube, but for the purpose of this blog I will offer a different justification for my chosen ten. Obviously, like most plants, aloes come in many sizes and although most species will be selected for their aesthetic considerations, there are other limitations to what we all can manage. I shall split my collection into three groups based on size, from petite to large, and that should allow any specie newcomers a very different vantage point from which to start.
You may be asking what is a small aloe. To me, in this particular survey, any plant where the main stems are below one foot as in A sinkatana, A bellatula, and the numeous diminutive hybrid aloes which are gaining in popularity. Of course, I exclude the flower spikes which can be quite arbitrary, and sometimes much longer than the actual stems. The large aloes are the tree aloes, as in A trashkii, A marlothii and A excelsa, which usually grow above five foot tall and which are perfect specimens in any landscape setting. I deliberately avoided naming the center group preferring to fit four species in between the small group and the large tree specimens. Not surprisingly, there are lots to choose from, and my aim is to avoid popular names.
Are Aloes worth growing? Definitely yes, and I would add they present you with an incredible choice. In fact seeking out new plants to grow offer you an education, as you will find lots of uncommon species readily available. Even if you are are unsatisfied with what comes up, you may also go the longer route by growing from seeds. Either way, the experience earned is truly rewarding.
SMALL ALOES Aloe bellatula Aloe sinkatana Aloe cv ‘Christmas Carol’
MIDDLE SIZE ALOES: Aloe suzanne Aloe camperi Aloe elgonica Aloe vanbalenii
LARGE ALOES: Aloe speciosa Aloe marlothii Aloe barberae
Now that you have seen my final ten, I should offer that even in a temperate London climate, I am able to grow all of these. Of course you have to be selective at the start, but I will place a lot of emphasis on the right soil and genuine protection from the weather elements. If you choose to winter your plants outdoors you will need a kind of greenhouse protection, but a practical alternative is to do like me and move them to a cool basement with a few fluorescent bulbs. And that works adequately for what I need.
Winston
kaowinston 