Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
Plant · P-913
Cape Aloe
Aloe ferox
Cape Aloe is a single-stemmed succulent shrub of southern Africa, growing slowly to several metres on a trunk ringed with the dried remains of old leaves. Bitter yellow sap drained from cut leaves is dried into a purgative used medicinally, while the clear inner gel goes into jam, herbal tea and skin and hair preparations, and the winter flower spikes draw nectar feeders. It needs full sun and well-drained soil, tolerates poor and dry ground, and is slow to reach its mature size.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 9–12
- Soil
- Sand · Loam
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 6.1–7.8
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 6.5–12 ft
- Mature spread
- 3–5 ft
- Plant spacing
- 3.9–7.9 ft
- Root type
- Fibrous-shallow
- Spread pattern
- Seed
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
African Blue Basil
Ocimum kilimandscharicum
African Blue Basil is a sterile hybrid between camphor basil and the purple-leaved Dark Opal basil, propagated from cuttings rather than seed…
Shrub · USDA 10–11
Agarita
Alloberberis trifoliolata
Agarita is a dense, spiny-leaved evergreen shrub of rocky limestone hills, slopes and thickets from south Texas through the Trans-Pecos to…
Shrub · USDA 7–9
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
American Beautyberry is an arching deciduous shrub of rich woods, moist thickets and swamp edges across the southeastern and south-central…
Shrub · USDA 6–10
American Hazelnut
Corylus americana
American Hazelnut is a thicket-forming shrub that bears small, thick-shelled nuts good raw or cooked, and it pollinates itself, so a single…
Shrub · USDA 4–9
Annatto
Bixa orellana
Annatto is a small tropical evergreen tree or shrub grown for the red-orange dye pigment bixin coating its seeds - the source of the food…
Shrub · USDA 10–12
Autumn Olive
Elaeagnus umbellata
Autumn Olive is a nitrogen-fixing shrub that partners with soil bacteria to feed itself and boost the fruit trees planted nearby. It carries…
Shrub · USDA 4–9
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference