Scientific: Aloe x 'Safari Orange'
Common: safari orange aloe
Family: Asphodelaceae (formerly Xanthorrhoeaceae)
Origin: South Africa, this is a hybrid selection by South African horticulturist Andy De Wet.
Pronounciation: AL-o HIGH-bread Sa-FAR-ee OR-an-ge
Hardiness zones:
Sunset 8-9, 12-24
USDA 9-11
Landscape Use: Accent, border, edging, rock gardens, oasis or xeriscape design motifs, attracts hummingbird.
Form & Character: Upright, tough and rugged, yet domesticated, spreading, spiked, colorful.
Growth Habit: Evergreen, succulent, herbaceous perennial, moderate growth rate to 24-inches tall, moderately clumping and spreading from stolons and shallow rhizomes to 4-feet wide.
Foliage/Texture: Leaves succulent, upright, dull green without markings, acuminate narrowly-lanceolate leaves to 12- to 18-inches long with subtle greenish-yellow serrations, leaves turn slightly reddish purple when plant is under drought stress; coarse texture.
Flowers & Fruits: Tubular orange flowers to 1-inch long on spiked racemes (flowers borne on a spike without pedicels) to 3-feet long; fruit multicarpulate, rare because of hybrid sterility.
Seasonal Color: Orange flower stalks in February to March as weather warms.
Temperature: Cold hardy to 26oF, heat intolerant above 118oF. Heat stress injury occurs above 112oF, especially if located in full sun.
Light: Full sun to filtered shade or some shade from western summer sun, no full shade.
Soil: Tolerant
Watering: Only occasional supplemental irrigation is needed during the summer to keep safari orange aloe looking great. Foliage becomes flaccid and glaucous when cold or drought stressed.
Pruning: Divide and thin crowded clumps about every 3 to 5 years to reinvigorate.
Propagation: Extremely easy by division.
Disease and Pests: None
Additional comments: Similar to Aloe vera, this is one of the best aloe species for outdoor landscape use in Phoenix because of its greater environmental stress tolerance and relative nice form. In the landscape, this plant attracts hummingbirds when in bloom.
There are several other wonderful cultivated hybrid aloe selections in the Safari series.
These include: