Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil - in its natural habitat this plant grows pendant or semi-pendant on steep slopes but can tolerate level ground if soil is well draining. It is fairly hardy with foliage remaining undamaged down to 20° F and even resprouting from underground stems after colder temperatures but the winter flowers will freeze if temperatures drop much below 30°F. Protect from snails which can disfigure the attractive leaves.

Aloe rubroviolacea comes from steep and rocky areas above 7,000 feet elevation in the mountains of Yemen and Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Peninsula. The name Aloe comes from ancient Greek name aloe that was derived from the Arabian word 'alloch' that was used to describe the plant or its juice that was used as medicine and this plant's specific epithet 'rubraviolacea' is from the Latin words 'rubrus' meaning "red" and 'violaceus' meaning "violet" in reference to the red-violet color of the stressed and dried foliage. As the name would imply, this species is somewhat similar to the spring flowering Aloe pseudorubroviolacea.

We first received this plant from the late Leo Price at his Westside Nursery in Santa Barbara in the mid 1980s and began selling it in 2005. The second image of this plant on our website courtesy of Santa Barbara landscape designer Pat Brodie. 

The information about Aloe rubroviolacea that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.