A beautiful Rhodesian native that has a shrubby growth habit. It develops some unusually rich red tones when water is withheld. Provides a colorful focal point in the xeriscape.
Aloe cameronii (Cameron's Ruwari Aloe, Red Aloe) A medium-sized suckering aloe with many upright stems of open rosettes to 1 to 2 feet with lax narrow leaves that are medium to dark green and that turn a beautiful coppery red in summer. It bears 1 foot tall spikes of bright reddish flowers that appear primarily from late fall into early winter in southern California gardens. Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate only occasionally to enhance the red coloration of the foliage, which remains green if overwatered and in nursery conditions. Hardy to mid to upper 20's. This is one of the most attractive foliage aloes and it also bears very attractive flowers. It was first discovered in the central African country of Nyasaland (now Malawi) by Kenneth J. Cameron, an employee of the African Lakes Corporation, who first sent it to the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew in 1854 but was not described until it flowered there in 1903 when William Botting Hemsley (1843-1924), a longtime gardener and keeper at Kew, was able to fully describe it, though the original collection data was lost or not recorded. Theo Campbell-Barker wrote an article in 2003 for Haworthiad, the journal of the Haworthia Society titled "The type locality of Aloe cameronii Hemsley" where he thoroughly researched Cameron's whereabouts and determined the likely habitat of this aloe to be on a hill at Namadzi near Zomba, close to where Cameron had been working at a Cotton Research station. In recent years another form of this species has become popular in the Southern California nursery trade, radiating out from nurseries growing it in the San Diego, Califorinia. It is more robust and upright plant with greener summer coloration and bright orange flowers. This plant is often sold just as Aloe cameronii, with a common name Starfish Aloe, but it is certainly a different variant of the species from this reddish flowering form that has long been grown in California and we list this plant as Aloe cameronii 'Creme Tangerine'. The information provided on this page is based on research we have conducted about this plant in the San Marcos Growers library, from what we have found on reliable online sources, as well as from observations made of our nursery crops of this plant and of plants growing in the nursery's garden and those in other gardens where we may have observed it. We also will incorporate comments received from others and welcome getting feedback from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if this information includes cultural information aids others in growing Aloe cameronii.
These plants will sometimes come completely green. That is a sign of their health. The red color will come with time and temperature changes.
Aloe cameronii (Cameron's Ruwari Aloe, Red Aloe) A medium-sized suckering aloe with many upright stems of open rosettes to 1 to 2 feet with lax narrow leaves that are medium to dark green and that turn a beautiful coppery red in summer. It bears 1 foot tall spikes of bright reddish flowers that appear primarily from late fall into early winter in southern California gardens. Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate only occasionally to enhance the red coloration of the foliage, which remains green if overwatered and in nursery conditions. Hardy to mid to upper 20's. This is one of the most attractive foliage aloes and it also bears very attractive flowers. It was first discovered in the central African country of Nyasaland (now Malawi) by Kenneth J. Cameron, an employee of the African Lakes Corporation, who first sent it to the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew in 1854 but was not described until it flowered there in 1903 when William Botting Hemsley (1843-1924), a longtime gardener and keeper at Kew, was able to fully describe it, though the original collection data was lost or not recorded. Theo Campbell-Barker wrote an article in 2003 for Haworthiad, the journal of the Haworthia Society titled "The type locality of Aloe cameronii Hemsley" where he thoroughly researched Cameron's whereabouts and determined the likely habitat of this aloe to be on a hill at Namadzi near Zomba, close to where Cameron had been working at a Cotton Research station. In recent years another form of this species has become popular in the Southern California nursery trade, radiating out from nurseries growing it in the San Diego, Califorinia. It is more robust and upright plant with greener summer coloration and bright orange flowers. This plant is often sold just as Aloe cameronii, with a common name Starfish Aloe, but it is certainly a different variant of the species from this reddish flowering form that has long been grown in California and we list this plant as Aloe cameronii 'Creme Tangerine'. The information provided on this page is based on research we have conducted about this plant in the San Marcos Growers library, from what we have found on reliable online sources, as well as from observations made of our nursery crops of this plant and of plants growing in the nursery's garden and those in other gardens where we may have observed it. We also will incorporate comments received from others and welcome getting feedback from anyone who may have additional information, particularly if this information includes cultural information aids others in growing Aloe cameronii.
These plants will sometimes come completely green. That is a sign of their health. The red color will come with time and temperature changes.