The krantz aloe is a valuable garden asset, it has large beautiful flowers, attractive foliage, decorative form, and it is easy to grow. It is also a ‘must-have’ for anyone wanting to stock their herb gardens with indigenous healing plants.
The large colourful flower spikes are borne in profusion during the cold winter months (May-July), brightening up a drab winter garden.
Deep orange is the most common colour, but there are also pure yellow forms, and an unusual bi-coloured form of deep orange (almost red) and yellow. The inflorescence is usually unbranched, with two to several arising from a single rosette.
As with all the aloes, the flowers produce nectar and are attractive to many kinds of birds, in particular the small and colourful sunbirds, which flit from flower to flower in search of nectar. The flowers also attract bees.
The Zulu people use the leaves of this plant, dried and pounded into a powder, as a protection against storms. Decoctions of the leaves are also used in childbirth and in treating sick calves.
