There is one bonus, omnipotent and cardinal, for travelling gardeners, a compensation that should not be underrated, and that is coming home. – Mirabel Osler
Returning home from my recent Eastern Cape trip, I was fortunate enough to visit Jaap Viljoen’s Rooiklip Nursery in Swellendam.
Here an enticing array of aloes awaited me. Jaap, who is also a grower for Sunbird Aloes, has spent many patient years selecting beautiful specimens adapted to our winter rainfall area. Not only that, but he now has a range of plants that can bloom for longer than usual.
These hybrids are often more colourful too, with larger spikes of flowers than normal.
There are all shapes and sizes.
Tallest is the majestic Aloe Rex (A.dichotoma x A.barbarae), a tree aloe with a striking trunk. This is a more resilient form than the threatened Quiver tree.
At the other end of the scale, there are small, compact aloes, such as the A.peglerae hybrid “Mountain Gem”, which originated in the Magaliesberg area.
By growing these cultivars from offshoots, Jaap now has enough stock plants to supply the Western Cape too.
This little stemless aloe is perfect for pot culture, with a beautiful two-tone colour flower.
Then there is a long-flowering plant with the unusual name of “Slap Oranje”, so-called because it often produces such a wealth of flowers as to bow down the racemes.
This aloe can sometimes flower from February right through to August.
“Gemini” is another attractive aloe, that produces long-lasting pale orange flowers in early winter. It is a tough little hybrid.
Yellow-flowering aloes contrast well with the more common oranges and reds.
My favourite is “Bush Baby Yellow”, which has pale lemon flowers which mingle happily with other colours in the garden. Its smaller relative, “Bush Baby Red”, seems almost like a miniature Aloe arborescens.
This, like many others in Jaap’s nursery, is a neat, compact plant, perfect for those with small gardens like mine.
Aloes are waterwise plants with two main requirements – good drainage and plenty of sunlight.
Grow them in composted soil that is preferably neutral (pH 7), and water pots only when the soil is dry, as they hate wet feet. - Cape Argus