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Aloe elegans 'Orange' - A medium size mostly solitary stemless aloe to 18 to 24 inches tall with open rosettes of upright fleshy green-gray colored leaves that are lance shaped with reddish teeth along the margins, particularly when plants are drought stressed. In late winter and early spring appear the conical heads of flowers on a few (2-4) branched inflorescences rising above the leaf tips. The flower color ranges from a pale yellow to orange-red and this selection, vegetatively produced, has pale mid-orange-colored flowers.
Plant in full sun to light shade in a well-drained soil and irrigate infrequently. Has proven to be fairly hardy, handling short duration drops down to 25°F and more prolonged temperatures of 27°F. A charming and colorful species that is most closely related to the spotted Aloe sinkatana.
Aloe elegans grows naturally in northern Ethiopia north (Tigre Province) into Eritrea, where it is very common on open stony slopes from 5,200 to 8,200 feet. This plant was described by the Italian botanist Agostino Todaro in 1882 from a plant grown from seed sent to him by the German botanist Wilhelm Schimper who collected it in the Tigray region around 1870 after settling in Ethiopia in 1836. It has also been known as Aloe aethiopica, Aloe abyssinica, A. vera var. aethiopica, A. schweinfurthii, A. percrassa var. saganeitiana, A. abyssinica var. peacockii and A. peacockii. The specific epithet refers to the overall elegant nature of this plant, particularly in reference to the attractive bright flower colors that range from yellow through orange to scarlet with all colors sometimes evident within a single population. Our plants were separated by color and vegetatively propagated from seedlings received in 2009 from the Institute of Aloe Studies as Aloe elegans IAS 09-40. Besides this orange flowering plant, we also selected out a nice yellow form that we list as Aloe elegans 'Yellow'.
This information about Aloe elegans 'Orange' 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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