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Aloe plicatilis
Kumara plicatilis, the fan-aloe, is a slow-growing succulent from the Western Cape of South Africa that can grow as a multistemmed shrub or small tree with fan-shaped grey-green leaves. It needs full sun, excellent drainage and protection from frost.
Kumara plicatilis, formerly Aloe plicatilis, the fan-aloe, is a succulent plant endemic to a few mountains in the Fynbos ecoregion, of the Western Cape in South Africa. The plant has an unusual and striking fan-like arrangement of its leaves. It may grow as a large multistemmed shrub or as a small tree. It is one of the two species in the genus Kumara.
Kumara plicatilis is an attractive and interesting accent plant to have in a sunny garden. As such it is increasingly used as an ornamental plant for drought tolerant landscaping and rockeries. However it grows very slowly and consequently, outside of its natural habitat, it is often in danger of being overgrown, smothered and killed by faster growing plants in its vicinity.
In cultivation in the UK, this plant must be grown under glass as it does not tolerate freezing temperatures. However, it may be placed on a sunny terrace during the summer months. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
In the wild, Kumara plicatilis is confined to a tiny area in the Western Cape, between the town of Franschhoek and Elandskloof. Here it grows in well-drained, sandy, slightly acidic soil on steep, rocky, south-facing slopes. It also seems to have a notably disparate distribution pattern, with 17 different populations that are often separated from each other by over 10 kilometres (6.2 mi).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Kumara plicatilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
