Aloe arborescens flowers reliably
and spreads almost aggressively in the hot border. In just a few years it
formed a potent-looking mass of thick succulent leaves close to the parking
area. In its native South Africa it is often used for hedging. As with all
members of the genus, A. arborescens grows most satisfactorily
in very well-drained soil. I must admit here that the clump in the photograph
is growing happily in ordinary slightly clayey garden soil but it is sheltered
from excessive rain and is bang up against the house wall. The lows of January
2009 (-3°C to -4°C in this location) did little to dent its pride
apart from freezing off the ends of a number of leaves. The subsequent winters
of 2010-2012 gradually weakened most of the top growth with the result that
as I write (October 2013) most of the plant is still recovering from ground
level and has not yet re-flowered.
© Maciej Pomian-Srzednicki, 2013
25/10/2013
Telephone 01803 201813
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