Showing posts with label aloe marlothii. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aloe marlothii. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Aloe marlothii

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

One of the most stunning plants in Africa is the Aloe marlothii. It is found from sea level to high hills in South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. The plant usually grows to a height ranging from 5-12 feet, but have been known to reach 6m! (As it grows more tree-like, dead leaves remain on the trunk in habitat as a defense against animal munching.) They put out a flower that is a branched candelabra-shaped with yellow to orange flowers. The mountain aloe is undoubtablty one of Southern Africa ’s most rewarding aloes to grow and adds an interesting slant to aloe culture.

Given to me by a dear RedBubble friend, it has now survived three Tarlton winters and heavy frost and I am absolutely thrilled that it is now established - the flowers are wishful thinking on my part, I’m hoping for some flowers soon!

Common names : mountain aloe (Eng.); bergalwyn (Afr.); inhlaba or umhlaba (Zulu)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...