Depending on trauma, space, water availability or even old age, outer leaves will die off, turning golden brown and shriveling away.

Plants reach maturity in three to seven years, again largely dependent on the space, sunlight and water available, at which point they will begin to send out racemes of flowers.

In its natural habitat in southern Africa, flowers are produced from July to September, with offsets being readily formed.In temperate regions it can be grown outdoors during the summer months.

In addition, this was one of the species cultivated in the Dutch East India Company's garden in Cape Town in 1695.

[6] Since Aloe flowers are usually reddish in colour, sunbirds are attracted to them for the nectar they produce, and are likely the plant's main pollinators.