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Aloe speciosa (Tilt-head Aloe) - Generally a single-stemmed tall aloe growing to 10 feet or more that carries its massive rosettes of leaves at a tilt off to one side but can occasionally branch. The slender long (to 36 inch) bluish-green leaves have a pinkish tinge at their tips and leaf margins, which also have tiny soft teeth, and the older leaves form a dry skirt lying downwards along the stem. In mid-winter (Jan/ Feb. in Santa Barbara) appear the stout tight foot-long cone-like inflorescences that rise and branch close to the crown of the rosette. The flower buds are red and open a greenish white with dark reddish brown to orange protruding stamens, giving a definite tri-color look to the inflorescence.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to infrequently - this is a drought tolerant plant once established. Aloe speciosa is considered by some to be tender to frost since temperatures in its native habitat rarely are below 28° F but we have an older specimen in a cold spot in the nursery that has regularly survived temperatures in the mid 20°F and Brian Kemble of the Ruth Bancroft Garden rates it to 20°F. A great specimen plant for the garden that is quite attractive to hummingbirds.
Aloe speciosa is widely distributed in South Africa from the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape at elevations from between sea level to 3,300 feet. The name Aloe comes from ancient Greek name aloe that was derived from the Arabian word 'alloch' that was used to describe the plant or its juice that was used as medicine. The specific epithet given this plant by John Gilbert Baker when he described in in the 1880 in the Journal of the Linnean Society is the Latin word that means "showy" and is in reference to its beautiful flowers. Though not as common as some other aloes, this plant has long been grown in California gardens and was grown around Santa Barbara as evidenced by inclusion in Pearl Chase's Cacti and Other Succulents: An Annotated List of the Plants Cultivated in Santa Barbara that was published in 1930.
We first received a plant of this beautiful aloe from Santa Barbara plantsman John Bleck in 1988 and we grew and sold plants we vegetatively propagated from this plant from 1990 until 1997. Though we had discontinued growing this species, we later received additional propagation starts for the plants from John Goetz when he closed his San Simeon Nursery and sold us much of his remaining plants in 2005 and we vegetatively propagated and offered these through the closing of our nursery in 2025.
Information displayed on this page about Aloe speciosa is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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