Aloe peglerae / 5 seeds (Fez Aloe, Turk’s Cap, Red-hot Poker Aloe)

Native to South Africa, Aloe peglerae is a small but unique stemless succulent growing up to 30-40 cm tall and 30-40 cm wide. Since its glaucous leaves are incurved, its rosette is spherical and compact, looking like a soccer ball. Young leaves have whitish spines, whereas older ones have reddish brown spines. This aloe blooms in July and August, often consisting of a single cylindrical 30-40 cm tall spike sometimes forked. The buds are dull red to deep red in color and the visible parts of stamens protrude from the flower tube and are deep purple in color. The flowers are seemingly pollinated by wind, bees and birds.

The species is named after Alice Marguerite Pegler, a botanist and naturalist who discovered it at first around Kentani and later near Johannesburg and Rustenburg.

If grown indoors, Aloe peglerae should be kept in direct sun, but if it’s planted outdoors, it will need filtered light or partial shade at least in the hot summer days. In general, Aloe peglerae loves filtered light or partial shade more than other Aloes that thrive in direct sun.
Aloe peglerae has been listed endangered and is rapidly declining in the wild mainly because of habitat destruction and illegal collecting. It occurs only in Guateng and North West Province, that too only along the northern dip slopes of the Magaliesberg and the Witwatersand.
Although Aloe peglerae can withstand minimum temperatures of around 5-8-degree C above zero, ideal temperatures are around 20-24-degree C. in short, it cannot handle winter well and so, it’s recommended to move it indoors or a small greenhouse if it’s in a pot when winter arrives. If in your area, winters are cold, sheltering and protection may not be enough.

In the spring and summer, Aloe peglerae needs abundant but infrequent watering. But the soil should be completely dry between waterings. Leaves should not be wetted as it can cause rot. In winter the plant goes dormant, and so, watering should be completely stopped.
Along with offsets, Aloe peglerae can be propagated from seed. Germination rate is 60% to 70% depending upon the viability.

Aloe peglerae produces abundant offshoots. If you wish to have a single fully developed plant, you’ll have to remove the offsets sometimes unless the plant won’t grow in height due to the competition between shoots. Another maintenance task is removing old flower stalks, as they remain on the plant even after withered. However, if you wish to have seeds, you should leave the flower stalks until the seeds are ready.