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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Aloeaceae (now Asphodeloideae) |
| Origin: Socotra Island (Yemen) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Red & Yellow |
| Bloomtime: Winter/Summer |
| Height: <1 foot |
| Width: <1 foot |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Aloe forbesii - A small multi-stemmed aloe with short decumbent stems holding rosettes of 6 inch long blue-green leaves that have pale closely spaced small teeth along the leaf margins and that blush reddish brown and curl inward in dry conditions. In winter through spring into summer appear the foot long, unbranched or few branched horizontal inflorescences of bicolored flowers that are orange-red and green in bud and becoming more yellow near the flower tips by the time the flowers fully open. Plant in full to part sun in a well drained soil and irrigate infrequently. Has noted to be cold hardy to around 25° F. This is a prolific and easy to grow aloe that is fairly rare in cultivation and works well in a well-drained spot in the garden or as a hanging pot where stems and flowers hang out over the edge of the container. It is native to native to the island of Socotra, Yemen where it grows on crevices and ledges of rock outcrops in the Haggeher Mountains at an elevation of around 3,000 feet. It is considered to be amongst the smallest of the Arabian aloes that are currently recognized. The plant was discovered in the last years of the 19th century by a Royal Society of London expedition to the islands of Socotra and Abd al Kuri that was led by Henry Forbes and William Robert Ogilvie-Grant. Forbes published "The Natural History of Sokotra and Abd-El-Kuri" in 1903 with plant descriptions described by Isaac Bayley Balfour of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh that included this species that Balfour named for Henry Forbes. Other authors later synonymized the species with Aloe perryi but it was returned to specific level in 2011 with Susan Carter's treatment of the Socotran aloes in Aloes; The Definitive Guide. We thank John Miller of the Institute for Aloe Studies for providing up with our initial stock plants of this tidy and attractive small aloe.
Information displayed on this page about Aloe forbesii 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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