Aloe Species, Van Balen's Aloe

I bought mine from Ruth Bancroft Gardens in 9/05. It has a decumbant stem since its very long recurved leaves never touched the ground. ...Read More It hangs over a large pot. A regular bloomer and very pretty. Will cross with other aloe who bloom at the same time. Also has self fertile lower flowers that I am going to try to grow differently (wide shallow pot in hopes that they will grow up rather than over...). I live in NYS, so it only goes out in the summer...

I've been growing this for a few years now in the SF bay area and its been an easy keep. Its a delicate balance between holding back the ...Read Morewater in summer and getting maximum color,and going so dry it starts to shrink. The flowers can vary I found out..some like mine have a bi-color of orange and pale pinkish like color. The flower stalks are snail magnets..bait. The stalks also can be killed by 32f. This year mine bloomed despite the coldest winter in years..I think an overhanging Agave leaf protected the bud of the Aloe. Other years the near same temps seemed to have dry froze the flower stalk.
Its a good change of pace from the typical Aloe look.

This is one of the more curious aloes, having long, trailing leaves that only leave the ground once enough stem has formed. This is one...Read More of the best larger aloes for elevated pots, as the leaves will arch down several feet below the pot rim. They grow mulitple flower stalks- up to 10 or more (compared to one for most aloes) topped with simple yellow to yellow-orange flowers in winter. In full sun and little water these aloes get deep red near the leaf tips... in shade they stay completely green.

Temps into the mid 20s in southern California do mild to mod leaf tip damage to this species, and completely destroy the flowers. Other than cosmetic injuries, however, this plant seems quite hardy to the bottom of its zone range.