FREE GARDEN ALOES PDF Gideon F. Smith,Estrela Figueiredo | 208 pages | 10 Oct 2015 | Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd | 9781431421077 | English | Johannesburg, South Africa Aloes: Plant Care and Collection of Varieties - Belonging to the Asphodelaceae family, Aloe is a genus of about species of succulent plants. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and Arabia, Aloes are evergreen succulents with usually spiny leaves arranged in neat rosettes, and spectacular, candle-like inflorescences bearing clusters of brilliant yellow, orange or red, tubular flowers. They exist in a wide range of sizes, colors and offer an amazing array of leaf shapes. Some make incredible landscape specimens, creating year- round interest. Smaller varieties are ideal to add drama, texture and color to containers. Easy care, waterwise, they brighten up the dull winter landscape and are fascinating. Easy to grow, Aloes generally require soils with good drainage and do best in warm climates. Very low maintenance once established, they are well-adapted to arid conditions. Their succulent leaves enable them to survive long periods of drought. However, Aloes thrive and flower better Garden Aloes given adequate water during their growing season. The fluid within their succulent leaves would freeze and rot. Below is a list of Aloes considered the hardiest. However, keep in mind that to survive cold temperatures, most Aloes must be planted in an area with excellent drainage. Few Aloes, such as Aloe arborescens or Aloe brevifolia, can tolerate wet soils. Garden Aloes, dry soils during the winter months are critically important. Prized for its colorful flowers and attractive foliage, Aloe arborescens Torch Aloe is an evergreen succulent shrub with branching stems holding many decorative rosettes. Each rosette consists of widely spreading, gray-green, sword-shaped leaves with conspicuous pale teeth along Garden Aloes edges. In winter, large, Garden Aloes, bright red to orange flower spikes are borne in profusion above the foliage, brightening up the dull winter garden. The inflorescences are usually unbranched, with two or more arising from a single rosette. Hardy and attractive, Aloe aristata Torch Plant is an evergreen succulent perennial forming charming rosettes, packed with fleshy, lance-shaped, incurved leaves Garden Aloes tufted tips. Pale green in the shade, the leaves turn dark green in full sun. Each leaf exhibits scattered white spots, raised Garden Aloes the base and becoming spiny towards the tips. They are lined with white teeth along the edges and tipped with a soft white spine. In winter, conical clusters of tubular orange-red flowers are borne in profusion above the foliage, 20 in. This Aloe offsets readily to form clumps. Low-growing, it is an excellent choice for containers thanks to its perfectly formed rosettes and bright flowers. Beloved for its attractive Garden Aloes, Aloe brevifolia Short-Leaf Aloe is an evergreen succulent perennial forming a carpet of decorative rosettes, 4in. Pale blue in light shade, the leaves Garden Aloes rosy-pink and golden-yellow in full sun, creating a very pretty display. Each leaf exhibits white spines along the edges and Garden Aloes few along the keel of the lower surface. In late Garden Aloes, spikes of orange tubular flowers are borne in profusion above the foliage, brightening up the garden. This Aloe offsets readily to form a tight colony. They are adorned with reddish brown teeth along the edges, which curl interestingly along the outer edges of each leaf. This Aloe develops a stunning, densely flowered, candle-like inflorescence, ft. Snake Aloe is usually solitary, but occasionally the heads divide to form groups of up to 3 rosettes. It is an ideal water-wise plant and it is frost resistant. A stemless Aloe, Aloe capitata var. Milky blue-gray in cloudy conditions, the leaves turn purple-tinged with brighter exposure. They are lined with small, triangular, dark red teeth. This Aloe produces a branched flower stalk, up to 3 ft. The buds are a vibrant glossy orange, while the open flowers are bright golden yellow. This Aloe can endure freezing spells if these are not too severe. Native to South Africa, Aloe ferox Cape Aloe is a large and showy, evergreen succulent forming a dense rosette Garden Aloes blue- green, lance-shaped leaves, often flushed with rose, Garden Aloes to 3 ft. Each leaf is adorned with dark brown spines along the edges and on the leaf surfaces, especially on the lower Garden Aloes. The Garden Aloes leaves remain after they have dried, forming a 'petticoat' on the stem. Single-stemmed, Cape Aloe produces bright red-orange, tubular flowers with dark orange stamens protruding from the mouth. Long-lasting, they are held above the foliage in a very showy, large candelabra-like inflorescence with 5 to 8 branches. Aloe hereroensis Sand Aloe is an Garden Aloes succulent perennial forming single erect rosettes, or Garden Aloes small clump or rosettes of smooth, pale blue-green leaves that curve inwards and are often rose-colored or bronzed in the sun. The Garden Aloes are adorned with H- shaped whitish spots arranged in transverse bands on the lower surface. Their margins are lined with small, sharp, red-brown spines. This Aloe Garden Aloes flattened, branched racemes, wider than long, of usually scarlet to deep red flowers, rarely orange or yellow. Up to three branched inflorescences can arise from a single rosette. Adding a majestic presence to the garden, Aloe marlothii Mountain Aloe is a large evergreen succulent forming a dense rosette of fleshy, grayish green leaves, up to 5 ft. They are covered with reddish-brown spines along the edges and randomly on their upper and lower surfaces. Single-stemmed, Mountain Aloe produces a spreading, branched panicle with up to 30 racemes borne more or less horizontally. The tubular flowers vary from orange-red to yellow or bright red. One of the most floriferous Aloes Garden Aloes South Africa, Aloe microstigma Cape Speckled Aloe is an evergreen succulent perennial forming solitary or small clumps of beautiful Garden Aloes of blue-green leaves, which warm up to reddish Garden Aloes if suffering from environmental stress. The leaves are adorned with conspicuous white spots, which contrast nicely with the reddish teeth along the edges. This Aloe produces several unbranched Garden Aloes of flowers, 3 ft. Noted Garden Aloes for Garden Aloes bicolor look, Garden Aloes cheerful flowers brighten the dull winter landscape with their towering warm colors reminiscent of flames on candles. Unique with its fan-like leaf arrangement, Aloe plicatilis Fan Aloe forms a remarkable shrub or small tree. At the end Garden Aloes branched stems, the fleshy, strap-shaped, round-tipped, blue-gray leaves, about 1 ft. Often the leaf tips display orange shades, adding further charm to the plant. Rather than clinging to the stems, the old leaves fall to the ground, exposing the attractive smooth gray trunk and branches. Many Fan Aloes remain shrub-like with sinuous Garden Aloes patterns. Spikes of vermillion tubular flowers rise out of each leaf cluster on tall, solitary stems in late winter to spring. Absolutely fascinating, Aloe polyphylla Spiral Aloe is a compact evergreen succulent valued for its foliage arranged in a perfect spiral pattern. The fleshy gray-green leaves form a tight rosette that becomes a beautiful spiral, either clockwise or counterclockwise, as the plant ages. A plant can count up to leaves geometrically Garden Aloes in 5 ranks. The leaves are adorned with white to pale-green spines along their edges and a dark, purplish brown terminal spine at their tips. This Aloe rarely flowers. When it does in spring and early summer, its red to salmon-pink tubular blooms are borne on a branching spike which emerges above the foliage. Aloe rubroviolacea Arabian Aloe is a particularly beautiful evergreen succulent forming rosettes of thick leaves which arch gracefully outward. Blue-green in partial Garden Aloes, with contrasting reddish teeth and margins, the leaves get purple tinged in full sun, a coloration which intensifies to violet-red hues in winter. Dense spires of red flowers are produced in winter atop unbranched flower stalks, up to 30 in. Aloe speciosa Tilt- head Aloe is a large and showy, evergreen succulent forming a decorative rosette of long and slender, blue-green leaves, often tinged pink at the tips and edges, up to 3 ft. Each leaf is adorned with small, pale to deep red, soft teeth. Generally single-stemmed, Tilt-head Aloe produces a short, conical raceme, 20 in. The buds are deep red when young and mature to green with white stripes. When the flowers open, the dark reddish brown stamens and style protrude conspicuously, providing a tri-color look. While the inflorescence is solitary, one rosette can produce up to 4 inflorescences. More frost hardy than most Aloes, Aloe striata Coral Aloe is an evergreen succulent perennial forming beautiful rosettes of flat broad leaves. Pale gray-green, the fleshy leaves warm up Garden Aloes pink in full sun or take on blue-gray hues in the shade. Toothless, Garden Aloes leaves exhibit subtle narrow stripes along their Garden Aloes and transparent pinkish red margins. In late winter into early spring, clusters of brilliant coral flowers are borne 2ft. Offsets will slowly appear around the Garden Aloes and form a small colony. Resembling an octopus, Garden Aloes vanbalenii Van Balen's Aloe is an evergreen succulent perennial Garden Aloes striking stemless Garden Aloes of long, deeply channelled, gracefully twisting and curling leaves. Bright green with copper-red edges in the shade, the fleshy leaves warm up to orange or dark red shades in full, hot sun with minimum water. Lined with Garden Aloes teeth, they emit a cinnamon or musky fragrance when bruised or damaged. Garden Aloes winter to early spring, slender, conical, yellow to orange-yellow, tubular flowers are produced on unbranched spikes, 3 ft.