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Aloe maculata 'Monstrose' (Monster Soap Aloe) - A stemless plant that grows to 18 inches tall and 2 feet wide and suckers freely to form a good-sized clump. The foliage is dark green at the tips with a reddish blush, while closer to the leaf base the color fades to a light green and is marked by faint white spots and the margins of the leaves are lined with brown teeth. In most respects this plant looks like the common soap aloe but in addition it has raised longitudinal ridges that run the length of the leaves on the upper surface and overall the plant appears to be more robust. The pale salmon-orange flowers appear in late summer in capitate heads on branched inflorescences over a long period.
Plant in a well-drained soil in full sun where foliage color and flowering is best but grows well in part sun too. This drought tolerant plant needs little irrigation. Hardy to about 20 degrees F.
The species was long called Aloe saponaria, a name based on the use of this plant for soap in its native South Africa. The current epithet 'maculata' meaning "spotted" is in reference to the white spots on the leaves. In "Aloes: The Definitive Guide" it is noted that the type locality of this wide-spread species is not known but it can be found growing in grasslands, scrub vegetation and rocky outcroppings from near the coast up into the Drakensberg Mountains from the Cape Peninsula east through the Cape Provinces into KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Our plant from the collection of Stockton succulent collector Alice Waidhofer whose tag indicates that she purchased the plant in 1998 from the late Rick Nowakowski's Natures Curiosity Shop. For more information about the species see our listing of for Aloe maculata.
This information about Aloe maculata 'Monstrose' 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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