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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Aloeaceae (now Asphodeloideae) |
| Origin: Yemen (Asia) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Salmon |
| Bloomtime: Fall/Winter |
| Height: 1-2 feet |
| Width: 3-4 feet |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Aloe inermis (Toothless Aloe) A suckering small shrubby aloe that forms clumps to 2 feet tall of open rosettes of long narrow decurved pale olive green leaves on short stems that are smooth to the touch with a deep central channel and toothless margins. In fall into winter appear the 2 to 3 foot tall branching inflorescence with salmon red flower buds that are purple green at the tip and open with green stripped cream petal lobes. Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally to very little - quite drought tolerant and hardy to around 25 °F. This is an attractive and unusual aloe as a garden or pot specimen with no teeth or other sharp pointed appendages. This polyploid plant, one of the non-African species, is native to western Yemen where it has a wide distribution between Taizz and Dhala growing on rocky slopes at around 2,500 feet in elevation. It is related to a similar African species Aloe kahinii and to the mostly stemless Aloe fleurentiniorum, also from Yemen and which has rougher textured leaves and shallower channeled upper surface. In cultivation with regular irrigation the upper leaf surface of Aloe fleurentiniorum can be flat to even convex. The specific epithet is the Latin word meaning "unarmed" in reference to the toothless leaf margins. Our plants from cuttings off a plant in the garden of Jeff Chemnick that was originally given to him by Dylan Hannon, Curator of the Conservatory at the Huntington Botanical Gardens.
This information about Aloe inermis displayed is based on research conducted in our library and from reliable online resources. We will also note observations that we have made about it as it grows in the gardens in our nursery and those elsewhere, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others, and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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