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Aloe komaggasensis (Komaggas Coral Aloe) - A nearly stemless (acaulescent) clumping aloe with broad a light gray-green colored leaves that have a whitish tinge with denticulate margins and fine light longitudinal lines on the leaf surface. Older plants have thick decumbent stems often covered by old drying leaves. The foliage margin often blushes a reddish color in summer when the yellow tipper light coral-colored flowers appear on multiple well branched racemes.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate infrequently. Cold hardiness is not well known but it is from a relatively high elevations so is moderately frost tolerant at least for short durations and recommended for USDA Zones 9 and above. This is a very attractive and rare aloe that when grown well has interesting foliage color and attractive summer flowers.
Aloe komaggasensis grows in dense groups mostly on high undulating hills of eroded quartz and granite substrates on the Namaqualand escarpment of the Northern Cape around Komaggas, where there are only a few populations known to exist. This aloe was previously known as Aloe striata subsp. komaggasensis from which it differs in having whiter leaves that are less striated and having denticulate margins where Aloe striata has smooth leaf margins. The flowers of Aloe komaggasensis are also yellower and shorter (3/4") than the darker and larger (>1") coral red flowers of Aloe striata. This plant was discovered by brothers P.Y. Kotze and S.D.F. Kotze of Springbok in 1979 while prospecting in the Komaggas district. It was brought to the attention of Kobus Kritzinger of the Cape Department of Nature and Environmental Conservation who shared the discovery with Ernst van Jaarsveld at the National Botanic Gardens, Kirstenbosch, who described it as a new species in March 1985. The specific epithet refers to the village Komaggas near where the plant was found. We first started growing this species in 2009 from seed collected at the type locality.
The information about Aloe komaggasensis 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.
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