Aloe volkensii
A tree aloe of East Africa, growing a single stiff trunk to 4 m or more (up to about 9 m) topped by a dense rosette of long, recurved grey-green leaves with brown-tipped teeth, and branched heads of red to scarlet flowers. It grows on rocky slopes in dry bushland, sometimes in riparian woodland, from southern Kenya across Tanzania to Uganda and Rwanda. In a pot it stays a rosette for years and needs full sun, sharp drainage and warmth.
Where it grows wild
Steep rocky slopes in dry bushland and bushveld, and in places rocky riverside woodland. Subspecies volkensii grows on rock slopes, often in dense riparian woodland; subspecies multicaulis, which branches from the base, grows in rocky bushland near rivers.
Subsp. volkensii from near sea level to about 1800 m in south-eastern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania; subsp. multicaulis at about 1150–1920 m in south-western Kenya, north-western Tanzania, Rwanda and south-western Uganda.
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The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:
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