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 petricola, commonly known as Rock Aloe, is a South African indigenous Aloe that forms densely leaved rosettes. Scattered thorns are sometimes present on the leaves. From mid to late winter the long and narrow flower racemes which attracts birds to the garden are produced. These are tightly packed and usually bi-coloured. The buds are red and the open flowers greenish white or in some plants, the buds may be orange and the open flowers yellow. Aloe petricola grows well in cultivation and is very striking when in flower.