About me

About me
🌿 I've been gardening ever since a child, when I spent time with my father in his vegetable garden. But my fascination with Echeverias started in the 1980's, when my father gave me a pot with five Echeverias, which turned out to be E. imbricata. At first I wasn't much interested in them and planted them in some obscure corner of the garden and completely forgot about them. How great was my surprise when, a couple of months later, I noticed that they had spread and made a beautiful display - I was hooked!

Sunday 29 March 2020

Aristaloe aristata, prevously known as Aloe aristata

We have finally moved into our new home and, of course, one of the first things I did was to visit the nearest garden centre. One of my latest acquisitions is a pot of Aloe aristata - Aristaloe is a genus of evergreen flowering perennial plant in the family Asphodelaceae, indigenous to Southern Africa. Its sole species is Aristaloe aristata, known as guinea-fowl aloe or lace aloe.


This semi-hardy succulent (does not tolerate frost at all) forms dense rosettes of fleshy, triangular leaves. These offsets that can be removed from the mother plant. Allow a day or two so that the wounds on the plants can callus, this will help prevent rot from setting in.

It grows up to 8 inches (20 cm) tall and about the same in diameter. The leaves are dark green, with small white bumps, bristly margins, and tipped with a soft white spine.


I have found that this little aloe does better in semi-shade or indoors, so my two are enjoying pride of place on my indoor plant shelf in my lounge, where it gets some great late-afternoon sun.


It will tolerate slight over-watering and drought conditions.But I would go slow on that "over-watering"! Just make sure the pot is well-drained and remove any water that might end up in the catch-plate under the pot.


This little aloe, although not threatened, is extinct in certain locations. It is found in the Eastern and Western Cape, Orange Free State and Lesotho.

Plants are stemless and form clumps of up to twelve rosettes that are between 100mm and 150mm in diameter. Flowers are a dull-red or pinkish colour, tubular in shape and slightly curved down.

A well drained soil is required, I use the following type of mix for Aloes that I grow in pots :
  1. 2 parts coarse sand.
  2. 1 Part well-sieved compost.
  3. 2 parts washed sand (from the garden).
If you are lucky enough to have one of these amazing little aloes, enjoy it to the full, love it a lot and it will give you lots of flowers!


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