Aloe ankoberensis

[GreekDesert]

Aloe ankoberensis

[eremophila]

This is the real Aloe ankoberensis. The older photo above is a bakeri hybrid from long ago that went under this name in error.

[aldannyoe]

From habitat collected seed in Ethiopia

[Arinda]

Flowering Greenhouse Holland.

[Arinda]

Flowering outside full sun till noon, Netherlands.

[RCDS66]

This looks awesome.
How much time in the year your A. ankoberensis spends in the greenhouse?

[Arinda]

The aloes from outside go inside around mid-October. They go outside again when the chance of severe night frost is over. In the past +/- 20 years ago this was around 14 or 15 May. This year they could go outside after 20 April. In my case they were all outside on 30 April.

[mickthecactus]

About the same timing for mine.

[Geoff]

Aloe ankoberensis is a fairly large, solitary aloe from Ethiopia, where it lives on steep hills or even cliffs. This is why this aloe tends to grow tilted in cultivation (often pointing completely sideways, and if grown on a steep hill, even a bit hanging downhill. It is turning out to be a fairly fast grower (seems to recently become more commonly available in cultivation (post Covid). It has very wide, almost triangular leaves with bright red marginal teeth.. leaves are somewhat rubbery and bendable, lightly striated... definitely unique in my experience (closely related to Aloe steudneri but I have yet to see one of those in person). Flowers are single often or multi branched in old plants with a bright red fairly dense conical raceme. The flower stalk often grows in an arching shape, starting laterally (since most plants have a tilted rosette) and arching upright. This is one of the more beautiful North African aloes. I do not know its frost tolerance yet. So far it is an easy grower and tolerates full hot sun as a small seedling without problems. It seems to be happy with summer water as well.

[RCDS66]

Aloe ankoberensis is a fairly large, solitary aloe from Ethiopia, where it lives on steep hills or even cliffs. This is why this aloe tends to grow tilted in cultivation (often pointing completely sideways, and if grown on a steep hill, even a bit hanging downhill. It is turning out to be a fairly fast grower (seems to recently become more commonly available in cultivation (post Covid). It has very wide, almost triangular leaves with bright red marginal teeth.. leaves are somewhat rubbery and bendable, lightly striated... definitely unique in my experience (closely related to Aloe steudneri but I have yet to see one of those in person). Flowers are single often or multi branched in old plants with a bright red fairly dense conical raceme. The flower stalk often grows in an arching shape, starting laterally (since most plants have a tilted rosette) and arching upright. This is one of the more beautiful North African aloes. I do not know its frost tolerance yet. So far it is an easy grower and tolerates full hot sun as a small seedling without problems. It seems to be happy with summer water as well.

Thanks for the details Geoff. And great to see a post from you.
It's a beautiful agave and I have been looking for the seeds or plants but haven't found anything for sale so far.

[mickthecactus]

Hopefully it’s a beautiful Aloe!

And, yes, good to hear from Geoff.

[Arinda]

Habitat pictures of Aloe ankoberensis, photos from Thomas Cole. Close to Ankober, Ethiopia.

[Arinda]

May 2, 2026 outside in the Netherlands.

[mickthecactus]

Beautiful. Still on my wants list.

[Arinda]

In full flower

[RCDS66]

Arinda, this is a fascinating aloe. Too good.
Would love to get this one but didn't find seeds anywhere. Is there any authentic aloe seller who sells specie aloes with correct ids? I have been facing lot of id issues in the past and it is after a few year (when the aloe flowers) that one realizes the incorrectness of the id.

[Arinda]

Unfortunately, the fact that aloes were/are often sold under the wrong name is a major problem.

I got my Aloe ankoberensis from KissyFrott in France.

[RCDS66]

Unfortunately, the fact that aloes were/are often sold under the wrong name is a major problem.

I got my Aloe ankoberensis from KissyFrott in France.

True, there are lot of wrong ids being sold even by the so called authentic sellers. In most cases, it is very difficult to identify an aloe unless it blooms and when grown in a different zone, even blooms may appear in a different time of the year. So not very easy to keep a track of correct id and I guess you are doing a wonderful job on this account.
Browsed through Kissy Front website and they have a wonderful collection of aloes. I wish I could buy these plants easily but have to pass through a difficult process of shipping them to a friend in EU and he brings them to Islamabad. I lose many plants in transit but this is how I have grown my collection of specie aloes over the years.