Aloidendron barberae - Tree Aloe

Aloe barberae (Tree Aloe) - A large succulent that grows into a tree 30 feet tall or more with upright-growing thick mottled gray stems. The terminal branches hold rosettes of recurved, dark green leaves. In late winter, the rose-pink flowers in a tight inflorescence rise above the foliage. Plant in full sun or light shade in a fairly well drained soil and irrigate only occasionally to infrequently. It is moderately drought tolerant in our mediterranean climate and overwatering of heavy soils, particularly in shady locations, seems to promote a black leaf spot. Hardy to about 25 degrees F and reportedly survives short durations down to 22 degrees F - our large specimen had discolored the foliage but was not severely damaged in the January 2007 freeze event that had three nights that dropped to 25° F. It is a great tree for the succulent garden and is fairly clean so good near a pool and can be kept many years in a large container. It does get a thick buttressed base with age so make sure to given it enough space to grow. This large tree aloe grows naturally in the eastern part of southern Africa in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, eastern Swaziland, Mpumalanga (Barberton District) and southern Mozambique where it is found in evergreen and margins of dry deciduous forests. It was long been known by botanists and horticulturalists world-wide as Aloe bainesii. William Turner Thiselton-Dye, the man who originally described and named the species, published the name Aloe bainesii and Aloe barberae in the same paper, then published a note a few months later that united the two taxa and chose Aloe barberae as the proper name. The later note was overlooked until attention was drawn to it by Gideon Smith in a 1994 article in Bothalia, the South African journal of life science research and conservation, and later in in 1996 in Smith and Ben-Erik Van Wyk's book, the Guide to the Aloes of South Africa. This plant was discovered by Mary Elizabeth Barber, a plant collector in the area formerly known as Transkei, who sent specimens of the plant and its flowers to the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. Dyer named it in her honor in 1874. Plants were also sent to Kew in 1873 by the explorer and painter Mr. Thomas Baines who collected it in Natal. In an interesting twist of nomenclature, an article in the Journal Phytotaxa 76 (1): 7-14 (2013), titled "A revised generic classification for Aloe (Xanthorrhoeaceae subfam. Asphodeloideae)" proposed that this plant actually be taken out of the genus aloe and given the name Aloidendron barberae (Dyer) Klopper & Gideon F.Sm., comb. nov. Other major name changes proposed in this article include the other tree aloes (Aloe dichotoma, A. eminens, A. pillansii, A. ramosissima and A. tongaensis) also being placed in the genus Aloidendron and the scrambling aloes (A. ciliaris, A. commixta, A. gracilis, A. juddii, A. striatula and A. tenuior) being put in the genus Aloiampelos and the Aloe plicatilis, the popular Fan Aloe to be renamed Kumara disticha, a name that was used to described it by the German botanist Friedrich Kasimir Medikus in 1786. This plant is listed as Aloidendron barberae in Ernst van Jaarsveld and Eric Judd's 2015 book Tree Aloes of Africa. We have grown this great plant at our nursery since 1987. The information presented on this page is based on research that we have conducted about this plant in our library and from reliable online sources. We also consider observations we have made of it growing in the nursery's garden and in other gardens we have visited, as well how it performs in our nursery crops out in the field. We will incorporate comments that we receive from others as well and welcome getting feedback from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if they have knowledge of cultural information that would aid others in growing Aloe barberae.

[@thatsme2557]

Good job beautiful tree and planter

[@juanramos.jr.7948]

Loved the windswept look . I love all of the aloe varieties. The rock dressing was a good selection 👌

[@SundreamSucculents]

Thanks so much Juan 😊

[@elmundodelasplantas1726]

Hello Increíble que Aloe tan hermoso Saludos des de Colombia

[@georgeramirez5225]

Liked the video, good chose with the pot.

[@paco2035]

Wow

[@iimv]

I just saved a similar tree from neglect. Now put it in pon and under a grow light. Hopefully gets a nice crown like yours has :).

[@SundreamSucculents]

Hello Ivaylo! Happy to hear you saved a tree from neglect! I am sure it will grow beautifully! Thank you so much for watching! 😌

[@kiwibonsai2355]

I've been told don't plant next to any foundations or pipe work as the roots are crazy.

[@SundreamSucculents]

Hi Kiwi! Yes that is absolutely right! We made sure to plant this one in a really large planter and once it out grows the planter we will make sure to plant it away from any pipe work! They grow into massive trees. 😊 Thank you for the advice.