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 glauca commonly known as Blue Aloe is not easily mistaken for another aloe species, it is distinguished from other aloes by its large greyish-blue leaves. Aloe glauca varies quite a bit throughout its distribution area. Aloe glauca gets its species name from the greyish-blue colour of its leaves. ‘Glauca’ means grey. Aloe glauca can be found on rocky hills and mountain slopes. It prefers the drier parts of the south-western Cape from Swellendam in the south to Laingsburg in the north and Steinkopf in the Namaqualand. The inflorescence is simple, cone shaped; up to three inflorescences are borne on a single rosette. Flowers can be pink to pale orange in colour. The buds on the raceme point upwards while the open flowers become pendulous. Aloe glauca flowers during spring. This aloe requires full sun to flower at its best but will withstand dappled shade for part of the day.