Top aloe breeder Leo Thamm is one of a handful of aloe experts who has taken advantage of the fact that aloes produce thousands of seeds. In doing so, he has managed to breed an entirely new range of hybrid aloes and smashed traditional myths that suggest aloes only have red flowers and need no water.
“Locally bred aloe hybrids now come in shades of red, orange, yellow, white and pink, as well as some incredible colour combinations, known as bicolour,” says Thamm, who lives in Johannesburg. You can even combine varieties that flower throughout the cold winter months and have colour in your garden from April to August.
While aloes do have drought-resistant properties, most thrive in a sunny spot in the garden where the soil is slightly alkaline, well drained and composted.
In the heart of winter, when there is very little colour in the garden, indigenous aloes bring a blaze of fiery colour into the garden and provide bold architectural shapes that add focal points to any landscape.
Unlike roses, apples or peaches, the “new age” aloe hybrids are individually pollinated and grown from seed. This means that plants are botanically unique and the seeds from hybrids never produce plants that are identical to the parent.
“Aloe hybridisation is a 100 percent South African initiative,” Thamm says.
Interested in seeing the new range of locally hybridised aloes? Visit Leo Thamm’s private aloe garden which is in full flower.
The garden will open as part of the Golden City charity fundraising initiative. Saturday, June 25, 9am-4pm. Venue: 336 Vine Ave, Ferndale. Entry: R15. Plants on sale. Contact Peggy on 011 678 2328 or 072 193 4616. www.sunbirdaloes.co.za - Saturday Star