Blue elf is a hardy, compact aloe that blooms in the winter when little else is blooming. Here’s everything you need to know about planting and caring for this carefree desert plant.
Blue elf aloe (Aloe x ‘Blue Elf’) is a petite hybrid aloe that has deservedly become a very popular landscape plant known for being unusually tough, colorful, and easy to grow.
In later winter it sends up a showy 2-foot flower stalk covered with bright orange-red flowers that lasts several months and contrast beautifully with the plant’s silver-blue leaves.
Blue elf aloe is an extremely hardy and low-maintenance plant. It is more cold hardy and heat resistant than other aloes and tolerates urban pollution.
It benefits from some irrigation in the summer but none is needed from November through March.
It doesn’t require pruning, other than to remove spent stalks in the spring.
And a final benefit is that while any aloe can get aloe mites, blue elf is particularly resistant.
Why I Like This Plant
- Attractive all year long
- Long bloom season
- Takes extreme heat and cold in its stride
- Low maintenance, needs little water and only yearly dead-heading
- Attracts hummingbirds and bees
- No thorns, no litter, non-toxic
Things to Watch Out For
If your blue elf aloe is turning purple, that means it’s stressed. The usual culprits are too much reflected sun or heat, or too little water.
Optimal Growing Conditions
If you’re thinking of adding a blue elf aloe to your garden, you need to find a suitable place that will keep your plant healthy and looking good… while minimizing maintenance for you.
Here are the key factors to keep in mind.
Temperature
Blue elf aloe should be grown in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 – 11. It is more resilient to temperature extremes than most aloes. It will survive temperatures down to 20℉ and up to 110℉.
Plants reportedly can suffer heat stress when the temperatures exceed 112℉, especially when planted near heat-retaining coarse gravel, river stones, or boulders.
Sun Exposure
Most aloes don’t tolerate full sun in the desert, but blue elf will grow in any sun exposure from full sun to full shade, but dappled shade is ideal.
When grown in full shade, you can expect that plants will be shorter, greener, and have few, if any, flowers.
Size and Growth Rate
Blue elf aloe is considered a moderate-growing aloe that reaches a mature size of 18 inches tall by 2 feet wide. But since it grows by sending up new offsets called pups, it can spread out. When planted en masse, it makes an excellent ground cover.
Soil
It will grow in any native desert soil, as long as it’s well-draining, but it prefers sandy soil to clay.
If you plant it in a pot, make sure it has drainage holes and use specifically formulated cactus soil.
Other Location Considerations
Because it has no thorns and is non-toxic, it’s a plant you can feel comfortable growing anywhere it might come in contact with pets and people.
Because it is compact, upright, and low-litter, it is a good choice for lining walkways or driveways, or for putting near a pool.
It also makes a great container plant.
Blue Elf Aloe:
The Essentials
| Common Name | Blue elf aloe |
| Scientific Name | Aloe x ‘Blue Elf’ |
| Origin | Southern Africa |
| Plant Type | Evergreen succulent |
| USDA Zones | Zones 9 – 11 |
| Cold Hardiness | To 20℉ |
| Flower Color | Orange-red |
| Flower Season | Winter, early spring |
| Mature Size | 18” high x 2’ wide |
| Growth Rate | Moderate |
| Sun Tolerance | Full, part sun |
| Water Needs | Low |
| Pests & Diseases | Root rot if overwatered Resistant to aloe mites |
| Garden Friendly | No thorns, no litter, non-toxic |
| Wildlife | Attracts hummingbirds, bees Deer, rabbit, javelina resistant |
How to Plant
Dig a hole as deep as and twice as wide as the nursery container. It’s generally recommended that you not add any soft fill, gravel, or fertilizer, just native soil. So if you know your soil is slow draining, amend with coarse sand or small gravel until you have a loose, well-drained mix.
When to Plant
Most landscape succulents (cactus, agave) should be planted in the spring, but winter-blooming aloes are an exception. They do most of their growing in the winter and establish best when planted in early fall.
How to Care for Blue Elf Aloe
Whether you’ve recently planted a blue elf or have an existing plant in your yard, here’s how to take care of it to keep it healthy and looking its best.
How to Water
You’re probably used to giving a plant a good soaking immediately after transplanting, but that isn’t the best practice with aloes and other succulents.
Counterintuitively, it’s best to not water agaves for one to two weeks after planting.
Then, water twice per month spring through fall. No supplemental water is necessary during the winter, provided there have been winter rains.
Skip watering when freezing temperatures are expected.
Should You Fertilize?
There is no need to fertilize blue elf aloe if planted in the ground, they get all they need from the surrounding desert soil. But if you keep it in a pot, fertilize lightly a few times a year when it’s actively growing.
How to Prune
Aloes don’t need pruning, but you can remove dead or damaged leaves any time you see them.
You’ll probably want to remove flower stalks after they’re done blooming. You can cut them or let them dry out and then simply give them a tug.
How to Propagate
To keep blue elf aloe’s sprawl in check, you can remove pups or dig up clumps and divide them in the spring after they’ve finished flowering.
Dividing them every 3 years or so prevents overcrowding and keeps them looking their best.
Don’t Confuse Blue Elf Aloe With…
There are hundreds of aloe species, but the one you’re most likely to encounter is Aloe vera, well-known as “medicinal aloe.”
The reason it’s important not to get them confused is that medicinal aloe, as the name implies, is a natural remedy for treating burns and other skin conditions.
While blue elf aloe is not toxic, it does not have the same beneficial properties as aloe vera so you should not be applying it to your skin or taking it internally.
Plant Lover Facts
No one seems to know for sure where blue elf aloe originates. It’s believed to be a hybrid of Aloe humilis (commonly called spider aloe or hedgehog aloe), a small native found in the Cape area of South Africa.
The genus Aloe has over 500 species. When you see an aloe, you can know for sure it’s not native to the desert southwest since all aloes are native to the eastern hemisphere.
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Author Bio
Deane Alban is the creator of Southwest Gardener. She is a science writer with a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of South Florida. Gardening is her lifelong passion. She’s been gardening in Tucson for 15 years.
Photo Credits
Arizona State University’s Virtual Library of Phoenix Landscape Plants
Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons