Aloe barberae / 5 seeds (Giant Tree Aloe)

Native to South Africa northwards to Mozambique, Aloidendron barberae was formerly known as Aloe bainesii and Aloe barberae. It’s a spectacular succulent plant with a gray, smooth trunk and a neat, rounded crown of fleshy, deep green, recurved leaves, arranged in a dense rosette.

The long narrow, curved leaves feature deep channels and toothed margins. Although in its native climate, it’s slow-growing, it can reach up to 60 feet (18 m) of height and 36 inches (3 feet) of diameter of stem. It’s Africa’s largest aloe-like plant and is typically grown as an ornamental plant. With its huge size and neat crown, Aloidendron barberae makes a stunning focal point in the garden. It produces very attractive green tipped rose pink tubular flowers in winter and is pollinated by sunbirds in its natural environment. The capsule-like fruits ripen in late spring and release seeds which are dispersed by wind.

Mary Elizabeth Barber, a plant collector in the former Transkei (now Eastern Cape), first collected Aloidendron barberae and submitted it for classification. Later the well-known traveler, painter and explorer, Thomas Baines also found the plant in KwaZulu-Natal in 1873. The plant was named differently to honor both the explorers, but the first name given Aloe barberae takes precedence according to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.

Aloidendron barberae grows well in warm, well-drained river valleys and coastal jungles where it can get mild climate with minimum rainfall of 1016-1524mm per year with little to no frost. If grown in a frost-prone area, it should be protected in the first few years of growth. Its seeds typically sprout in the shade of other plants and soon outgrow those plants.

Although Aloidendron barberae is extremely drought-tolerant, it thrives and blooms more profusely if properly watered and given enough compost. It needs to be watered weekly in the summer, while in the colder months of winter you can water once a month or not at all. While watering you should make sure the soil is completely dry before watering again.

Aloidendron barberae suffers from no serious pest or disease issues, but aphids and scale insects may attack its leaves. You can control them, however, with an oil-based spray.

Being a large tree, Aloidendron barbarae is hardly grown in containers and if grown in containers, they have to be transplanted soon. If planted in the ground, they have to be given enough space considering its mature size and it should not be planted near any building. Also, it can reach ab unmanageable size when left to grow without grooming. To groom, you’ll have to remove dead leaves to allow for new growth. You can also trim the stems back to limit the height. But growing Aloidendron barberae in a container helps you manage its huge size and allows you to overwinter indoors if your region is a cooler one. In that case, you’ll have to bring the potted plant indoors before temperatures start dropping below freezing.

You can easily propagate Aloe barberae with seeds, stem cuttings and truncheons.

The juice of this plant is believed to be laxative. However, before using it for medicinal purpose, you should consult with your doctor.