PlantFiles: Tilt-head Aloe
Aloe speciosa

Like most of the hardier tree aloes, this plant is an absolute star in the garden, given just a little of the attention it deserves. With its fat leaves and gorgeous glaucous/pink red toning, not to mention the spectacular flowers, its one of my faves.
Relatively fast growing given regular watering, it takes wind, salt spray, quite a decent frost, so uncomplainingly! Water well to avoid the worst of the brown leaf tipping, which is its only drawback. Here in coastal Otago, NZ, it flourishes in a soggy winter which is apparently the opposite of its native conditions, so give it a go. No bad habits, always looks exotic, deserves to be much more widely planted. I find it is a little more frost hardy than A Barberae; I have had leaves frozen quite solid that have recovered without apparent damage.
Just an update- Im finding these guys intriguingly hardy, especially when kept in pots. This crappy winter of 09, despite its lack of startling frosts, has resulted in some surprising aloe failures (striata, sinkatana, a large maculata hybrid) due to long periods of lower than usual ground temps. That said, the speciosas aren't turning a hair, and the driest was left out with it's leaves half frozen! When planted low to the ground, the nontrunking aloes suffer far more than their statuesque cousins, it seems.

This is one of the more beautiful tree aloes commonly grown in the Southwest. It has brilliant , long, tubular non-branching
simple flowers and very soft, flat, succulent blue-green-silvery leaves. The flowers are very attractive to humingbirds. Older plants tend to branch and can become quite top-heavy. Seems to be more prone to insect infestations than most other tree aloes, at least in southern California

Temps into the mid 20s do not appear to be much of a problem for this species in southern California, but temps in that range will kill the flowers.

Called the tilt-head aloe for a good reason... often the heads tilt laterally, and sometimes even point down toward the ground a bit. Either a solitary or branching aloe. Many hybrids with this one have been created, and nearly all spectacular.