Plant in full to part sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally spring through fall in our mediterranean climate. Though not particularly happy in high heat locations, it is cold hardy to around down to 10 °F. Unusual for and aloe, it will go deciduous at these cold extremes but remains evergreen in frost free areas - in our mild Santa Barbara climate this plant is a robust 4 feet tall and does not go at all deciduous. This unusual aloe is a great addition to a regularly irrigated garden spot or in a large container, where is quite attractive to hummingbirds and people, though many who see this plant question whether it is actually an aloe as it looks a bit more like a poker (Kniphofia).

Aloe cooperi is classified as a "Grass Aloe" and, as with most of these grassland aloes, it occurs in fairly moist habitats and in otherwise dry rocky areas, mainly in Natal, Swaziland and Mpumalanga in South African, but unlike many other grass aloes, this one is easy to grow. In its native habitat the young shoots and flowers of Aloe cooperi are cooked and eaten as vegetables by the Zulu people who call the plant isiPutumane and it is also used by them for medicinal purposes. It was apparently first discovered in 1814 by the English explorer Dr William John Burchell, but his discovery of this plant was lost and it was rediscovered in 1862 by professional plant collector Thomas Cooper, after whom it was named by English botanist John Gilbert Baker in his description of it in a 1874 issue of The Gardeners' Chronicle.

We received our first plant of Aloe cooperi in 2017 from Xera Nursery in Portland, California and though we isolated this plant and thought all seed produced was from self-pollination, the resulting seedlings were obviously hybrids. We have since received seed collected from plants growing in cultivation by Brian Kemble of the Ruth Bancroft Garden and these plants appear to be uniform and true to the species and we began selling these plants in 2021. 

The information about Aloe cooperi displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include 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 we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.