Aloes are very popular and some of the most rewarding plants to cultivate. They make excellent accent plants owing to their often strange and inspiring architectures, as well as the bright flowers that offset the grey-green leaves. They are also very suitable as container plants and small aloes can be used very effectively as border plants at the edge of a bed. Although aloes are most often included in rockeries, their application in horticulture is not limited to this feature and they can be used in almost any setting and in conjunction with most common garden plants. Their natural adaptation to harsh and often arid climates makes aloes outstanding subjects for the water-wise garden. Aloe is a genus in the Asphodeloideae family containing about 600 species of flowering succulent plants. Aloes are sometimes confused with Agaves. Contrarily to Agaves, Aloe leaves contain a gel like sap. Another difference is that Aloes don’t die after blooming as most Agaves do.

Aloe affinis plants are usually solitary. The fleshy leaves are fairly broad at the base and tend to die back from the tip, thereby giving them a distinctly triangular look. Aloe affinis is a spotted Aloe with leaves that have dark brownish longitudinal lines on the upper surface. The leaf margins have a horny edge and reddish teeth. Up to three inflorescences, each with between three and ten side branches, are produced simultaneously or consecutively. Aloe affinis commonly known as Graskop Aloe is a fairly robust species and specimens with inflorescences of up to 1 m tall are common. The racemes are comparatively densely flowered and rounded or cone-shaped. The flowers are uniformly coloured but could be any shade of red, from pink to coral red. Aloe affinis is a winter flowering species worthwhile growing in the garden.