Aloe ferox

bitter aloe

A tall, single-stemmed South African aloe, to about 3 m, with a large rosette of thick, spiny, grey-green leaves and branched candelabra-like heads of orange-red flowers in winter. It grows on rocky hillsides, in grassy fynbos and on the edges of the Karoo. It needs full sun, very free drainage and a cool, dry-ish winter, and it tolerates light frost.

Aloe ferox — Photo: Gregorydavid, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry

Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Rocky slopes and hills, grassy fynbos, thicket and the edges of the Karoo, often in large stands in open, sunny country. The stem is clothed in old dried leaves.

Few records carry an elevation; it grows from near the coast to inland hills and uplands in the Free State and Lesotho.

Cape ProvincesFree StateLesotho

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Aloe ferox? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Aloe

Aloe vera Aloe lettyae Aloe arborescens Aloe comosa Aloe globuligemma Aloe maculata Aloe petricola Aloe brevifolia Aloe buettneri Aloe divaricata Aloe juvenna Aloe lolwensis All 645 →

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.5 licence, unmodified.