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Aloe distans commonly known as Jewelled Aloe or Golden Tooth Aloe is a sprawling aloe that crawls along the ground or climbs up over rocks or other obstacles with long trailing stems bearing blue green leaves tipped with a tight rosette of these leaves, which are about 12.5cm in diameter, which have golden spines on the margins. The plants sucker along its stems so that the many outwardly moving heads radiate a meter or more out from the center. The largest can be up to 3 meters across. Older stems are bare near the center showing silver gray stems clinging to the ground. In mid-summer to autumn appear the capitate heads of coral tubular flowers. Plant Aloe distans in full sun to light shade. It does best in cooler coastal climates where it requires little and only occasional irrigation. This plant is drought tolerant and fire-retardant and frost hardy to the low -5°C. It makes a great addition as a low plant in a large space where it has room to spread. More about the Aloe genus below. Aloes are very popular and some of the most rewarding plants to cultivate. They make excellent accent plants owing to their often strange and inspiring architectures, as well as the bright flowers that offset the grey-green leaves. They are also very suitable as container plants and small aloes can be used very effectively as border plants at the edge of a bed. Although aloes are most often included in rockeries, their application in horticulture is not limited to this feature and they can be used in almost any setting and in conjunction with most common garden plants. Their natural adaptation to harsh and often arid climates makes aloes outstanding subjects for the water-wise garden. Aloes can tolerate long periods of drought, but it is not true that watering should be withheld to obtain optimal growth. Stressed plants are more susceptible to insects and pests. Plants flourish, flower better and are more resistant when given adequate water during the growing season. However, be very cautious not to overwater aloes because they may rot if they stay wet for too long. Adequate drainage is essential. Plant smaller aloes in raised beds and only water them when the top 5cm of soil has dried. Even though there are some species that are challenging to grow, most of the aloes are easy and can readily be grown just about any place in the country. Aloes generally need soils with good drainage and do best in warm climates. When planted in rich soil that are frequently mulched they will do well for many years without interference making them very low-maintenance plants once established. Aloe is a genus in the Asphodeloideae family containing about 600 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera. The genus is mostly native to Africa with about 125 being indigenous to South Africa. About 405 species can be found in Africa while about 45 species are found in the Arabian Peninsula. Socotra has 4 natural species and the Mascarene and other Western Indian Ocean Islands share about 7 species. Madagascar, for its size, has a pretty extensive collection of about 145 species. |