Aloe comptonii
Category: Small to Medium Clumping Aloes
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9a - 11
Overview
Aloe comptonii is one of the larger creeping aloe species from S. Africa. This species is a moderately-sized (the largest of the species), compact, South African aloe known for its growth habit of spreading along the ground via horizontal, sprawling stems, sometimes retaining a lot of leaves giving the rosettes a curious stacked look.Description
Aloe comptonii is nice looking very turquoise plant, but crawls all over the place leaving a long, sort of messy looking stem in it's wake. This Aloe forms a rosette of blue-green leaves that get to be about 20” wide. Aloe comptonii leaves are up to 300mm in length, narrow and triangular in shape, small sharp white teeth are present on leaf-margins. Leaves are thick and vary from deep green to pinkish brown depending upon sunlight and water exposure. As the plant gets older it will develop a creeping stem about 3’ long that gives the plant a very lazy, laid back appearance as it trails along the ground.
Flowering
The inflorescences of Aloe comptonii are branched into multiple racemes that usually number from three to eight. The flower head is compact & has a spiky, fireworks burst look to it as the individual flowers develop. Flowers are red in color, thin in shape and pendulous. Flowers are highly ornamental, colored orbs of spikes that look like an anemone or sea urchin. Blooms in late Spring or early Summer.Origin / History
Native to South Africa. Aloe comptonii was named after the second director of the National botanical gardens of South Africa, Professor R.H. Compton. Aloe comptonii has a large distribution area, from Montague in the Western Cape to Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape.
Care / Cultivation
Frost Tenderness
It seems to be fairly cold tolerant, not showing any obvious damage when we had a frost down to 25F.Use in the Garden
The attractive turquoise foliage and the spreading habit of Aloe comptonii make it an interesting choice for a ground cover.Find more Aloes that can be used as a ground cover in your garden
Learn More
The information on this page about Aloe comptonii has been gathered and summarized from the sources below. Visit these pages to learn more.
- https://www.succulents.co.za/aloes/creeping-aloes/aloe-comptonii.php
- https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60800/
- http://agaveville.org/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=847
- https://www.operationwildflower.org.za/index.php/albums/aloes/aloe-comptonii-il-1-2102
Aloe comptonii for sale
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