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Aloe polyphylla (Spiral Aloe) - This aloe is stemless and usually has a solitary rosette to 1 foot tall by 1 to 2 feet wide whose leaves are arranged in a perfect spiral. This spiral may be clockwise or counterclockwise and is formed by five rows of leaves with each row having between 15 and 30 leaves each. The individual leaves are broad at the base and taper to sharp dark tip with irregular teeth along the margins. In late spring to summer mature plants send up a 2 foot tall branching inflorescence capped by a compact head of salmon-pink flowers.
Plant in full sun to light shade in a well-drained soil and water regularly (thirstier than most aloes!). Hardy to USDA zones 7b (5-10° F). This is a very interesting and attractive aloe that many, us included find difficult to keep alive. It seems to do best in cooler Bay Area locations.
This aloe is endemic to basalt rock outcroppings within grasslands in the higher elevations between 6,500 and 8,200 feet of the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho in South Africa. At these elevations plants are often under snow in winter and there is ample summer moisture both through mist and rainfall. This rare and beautiful aloe has become a prized collector's item and has also been used for African tribal medicinal and magical purposes (Muthi). Because of this, plants in the wild are now considered endangered and plants should not be purchased if it is suspected that the plant or seed has been wild collected. We grew Aloe polyphylla from plants propagated by tissue culture and from seed collected from cultivated plants.
The name Aloe comes from ancient Greek name aloe that was derived from the Arabian word 'alloch' that was used to describe the plant or its juice that was used as medicine and the specific epithet comes from the Latin words 'poly' meaning "many" and 'phylla' meaning "leaves". While this plant is called Spiral Aloe the world over for the arrangement of its leaves within the rosette, the Afrikaans common name Kroonaalwyn translates to "Crown Aloe". Though we like this plant and grew it
from 2007 through 2011 with nice crops and specimen plants in containers in the nursery, we eventually had production problems and many of our customers tell us that they couldn't keep it attractive (or alive), so we have discontinued offering this beautiful and unusual plant.
This information about Aloe polyphylla 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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