Plant Profile: Aloe maculata (Soap Aloe)

Latin name: Aloe maculata ("AL-oh mack-you-LAH-tah") (syn. Aloe saponaria)
Common name: Spotted Aloe, Soap Aloe, Zebra Aloe
Originally from: Southern and eastern South Africa, south-eastern Botswana and Zimbabwe.
Blooms: Int he bay area springtime is when the plant sends up tall, flat-topped clusters of coral/peach/orange colored flowers which are awesomely frilly!
Light: Full sun to part shade
Water: Rain is plenty.
Height x width: 24"x18" - flowers can reach 36" tall
Zones: 8b-11
Where to find in P. Garden: We have a group by the bench, another group near the top of the steps, and some in the brights bed.

Have you always wanted to try Aloes but afraid to kill something expensive and finicky? Are you extremely frugal and love plants that pop out little clones of themselves all the time? Do you just like spotted things? Or plants that have crazy peachy orange flowers that hummingbirds love? Aloe maculata is your friend.

This species was previously known as Aloe saponaria, a name that came from the Latin "sapo" meaning soap, as the sap makes a soapy lather in water which is used by local people in South Africa for cleaning.

Now it's called Aloe maculata ("maculata" means speckled or spotted), and it's a dry garden rock star.

Salt tolerant and highly adaptable, it is naturally found in a wide range of habitats across Southern Africa, from Zimbabwe in the north, to the Cape Peninsula in the south. It's also naturalized in some areas of California - that's everything you need to know about how easy it is to grow here!

It is also a very variable species and hybridizes easily with other similar Aloes, like Aloe striata, sometimes making it difficult to identify.

The leaves range in color from purple and reddish when very drought or heat stressed, to light green when they are getting lots of water and shade. They always have distinctive flat-topped flower spikes. The color of the flowers may range from red to yellow, but is usually peachy orange or persimmon color.

This Aloe will grow to an impressive but manageable 2' wide quite quickly, and will offset mini versions of itself so you always have more coming. What's not to love?