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'. 

The information about Aloe elegans 'Orange' 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.