I started collecting some fancy Aloes last year and have kept them in pots. I am thinking of planting them into the garden this spring. I know that the location I choose will have to be on the dry side and drain well. I still worry that the rainy season may be to much. Anyone growing Aloes in ground here in FL that can give some tips?

I have had) the plain old A. saponaria and it thrived for a good 15 years in soil that could stay very wet after storms. Otherwise it was not irrigated at all. The recent freeze took it all out. I had been trying to figure out how to remove or at least thin it, the patch was about 8' across. The soil here is heavy and digging it out was really difficult. I don't think your fancy hybrids are as tough as this one was but you might try a few pups and see how it goes. Beware of these unprecedented freezes though.

I'm in north central florida a little more than an hour nw of tampa and I planted my aloe in the ground last year. I had to cover it during the hard freeze that we had but it is doing fine. I did plant it in a raised bed area where the roots will stay dry.

There's one type of Aloe that grows in-ground over here on the east side of the state and we do on occasion get frost and an occasional freeze and they seem to survive fine. In the mid 1970's a co-worker gave me a single small pup that I planted in the ground and they spread profusely over the years, to the point that 12-15 years later, a huge area of the side yard was covered in them. One year we decided to do some major landscape changes and dug out hundreds of large and small Aloe plants; giving some to neighbors and throwing the remainder away. I kept one medium sized pup and potted it into a container and it has grown and multiplied. I left it at our house in Sebastian when we moved back up here to the Daytona area a few months ago but before we sell that house I'm going to bring it back here. Years ago, I was told they were Aloe saponaria but later someone said they were definitely not A. saponaria but they didn't know which one they were and I've never found out the exact species.

These were growing in a neighbors yard in Sebastian, photo taken Oct. 2016:


My plant, which is the same type of Aloe; photo from March 2013:

They look like what I call A. saponaria but I see it is A. maculata now.
Soap Aloe (Aloe maculata subsp. maculata)

Alice, that sure looks like the Aloes I see around here!

Yep, just another annoying name change. These taxonomists need to get a life.

Thanks for the replies! The common type green was in the landscape when I purchased here 20+ years ago and still survives. I just hope the fancier leaf types will also succeed. I think I may have a perfect spot as It is a drier well draining area.

I'd think they would do fine if you have a well draining area in the yard ... maybe during the rainy season if we get torrents of nonstop rain you could rig up a tarp or something to keep them from staying too wet for too long?

ScotTi said: Thanks for the replies! The common type green was in the landscape when I purchased here 20+ years ago and still survives. I just hope the fancier leaf types will also succeed. I think I may have a perfect spot as It is a drier well draining area.

Sorry but just seeing this post, these are aloes I have in the ground for many years and they've all survived temps down to mid to upper 20's, with minimal damage, mostly just color change.

Aloe ciliaris (climbing aloe), Hedgehog Aloe humilis, Aloe maculata, Aloe vera

The rest are in pots but do stay out in cold weather but are under cover protection from rain. Only thing about many aloes is too much water will do them in, so a well drained or rain protected area might work. Absolutely no irrigation.