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 mitriformis derived its name from the shape of its rosette that resembles a mitre or a bishop’s cap, especially so during times of drought. It’s not a threatened species but only occurs naturally from Nieuwhoudtville to Genadendal where it is found growing on granite outcrops & rocky ridges. It has short leaves that are broad, fleshy and bluish-green to blue-grey in colour, depending on the amount of light it receives. Most leaves are without spots or lines but have prickly margins that are white to yellow in colour. It bears dull scarlet bird attracting flowers, from early to mid-summer. Aloe mitriformis is extremely drought resistant.