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Aloe bakeri 'Yellow' - A dense clustering aloe that forms a dense clump of a hundred or more tight rosettes growing up on short stems less than 1 foot long with dark reddish green 1 to 2 inch long recurved leaves that have light green spots and pink toothed margins. In fall appear the delicate 10 to 12 inch tall unbranched spikes topped with yellow buds and flowers with slightly flared green petal tips – as with the other form we grow with orange flowers it is a very pretty plant!
Plant in a well-drained soil full sun to light shade – in sun leaves will be shorter, more recurved and take on a dark reddish hue that otherwise would be green. Plants of Aloe bakeri proved hardy to 25° F, remaining exposed to the elements in the January 2007 freeze in Santa Barbara when temperatures dropped to this temperature 3 nights in a row. This is a beautiful small aloe with attractive foliage and showy flowers that makes a great container plant or planted in the ground in a small pocket in the succulent or rock garden that does not get out of bounds.
Aloe bakeri is endemic to the Taolañaro District (formerly Fort Dauphin) area in the Toliara Province in southeastern Madagascar, which was the first French settlement in Madagascar. It is found near the coast growing in large dense clusters in shallow soil in crevices in the rocky hills at around 130 feet in elevation. In exposed location Gilbert Westacott Reynolds in his The Aloes of Tropical Africa and Madagascar (1966) noted the stems to be 4 to 6 inches long but extending up to a foot in sheltered shady crevices. He also noted the flowers to be "one of the most beautiful in the genus" . The specific epithet honors John G. Baker (1834-1920) a British botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This species is noted in the landmark book Aloes: The Definitive Guide as being "an attractive species with no obvious close relatives". Our plants look very close to the species but might be a Aloe bakeri hybrid like the orange flowering form, which we list as Aloe bakeri.
This information about Aloe bakeri 'Yellow' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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