Aloe snowstorm is a fabulous hybrid succulent. It is in fact a tropical plant and tends to grow in a compact manner. Further Aloe snowstorm belongs to family Asphodelaceae and to genus Aloe.
As they grow, you will see how they spread out their beautiful fleshy leaves and grow. Their flowering is one more added advantage of these plants as it will be even more pritter when they are in their full blossom. They would be an absolute stunner for any succulent garden.
How do I identify an Aloe snowstorm?
You may identify the aloe snowstorm by looking at their leaves. They would consist of rigid leaves which would carry white or darker colored contrasting bands.
Aloe snowstorm leaves have a densely made white coating which makes them look like a snow flurry. Moreover they would consist of white teeth on the margins as well.
When it comes to flowering, they would produce flowers along with a long flower stalk and the flowers would look like a bel.
Further the colors of those blooms would be orange. Pollinators such as hummingbirds are quite attractive towards them. This is another feature to identify these plants.
If you expose them to bright sunlight, Aloe snowstorms will go through stress, and they will come up with rich chocolate hues.
Size of the plant
You could expect them to rise up to 6 inches while their diameter would also be around 6 inches.
Growth rate
Aloe snow storms usually tend to have a domed habit of growth. Literally as the plants grow older, their rosettes would also enlarge depending on the pot size.
Further they would grow in an upright manner as well. They are not fast-growing plants either.
One look care guide
| Botanical Name | Aloe ‘snowstorm’ |
| Common Name | Aloe snowstorm |
| Plant Type | Succulent |
| Mature Size | 6 inches |
| Sun Exposure | Full sunlight to partial sunlight |
| Soil Type | Well-draining |
| Soil pH | pH around 7.0 – 8.5 |
| Bloom Time | Spring |
| Flower Color | Orange |
| Hardiness Zones | USDA hardiness zones 10a-11b |
| Native Area | Mexico |
| Toxicity | Non-Toxic |
| Average price | 20 USD |
15 ways to care Aloe snowstorm?
Light Requirement
It is important that you provide bright and natural sunlight for the Aloe snowstorm to grow well and vigorously. That will help the leaves to appear nice and plump.
As such if you wish to grow them as houseplants, make sure you place them somewhere where they get exposed to bright sunlight.
Further when you grow them indoors, you should make sure that the entire plant gets sunlight evenly.
You should be vigilant to expose them for more sunlight particularly during winter where there will be low light levels and shorter daytimes.
On the other hand, avoid exposing them to intense sunlight as it could harm the plant leaves, particularly during summer.
If you find it difficult to provide bright sunlight indoors , you should ideally grow them outdoors. Ideally, they should be exposed for full sunlight to partial sunlight when you grow them outdoors.
However, when you expose them to bright sunlight, ensure that you acclimate them to bright sunlight gradually unless chances are that your plants will be traumatized.
Temperature and humidity
These plants would love to grow in temperatures around 70 – 80 degrees Fahrenheit (21- 27 degrees Celsius).
Having said that, they can thrive in temperatures up to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.Usually, Aloe snowstorms will not withstand temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius / 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
On the other hand, Aloe snowstorms would thrive in low humidity levels too. You should avoid misting them during the winter period unless it could lead to rot.
Is it cold hardy ?
Aloe snowstorms are not cold hardy plants. As such avoid exposing them for frost conditions. Ideally if you have grown them outdoors, you need to shift them indoors during winter conditions.
USDA Hardiness Zone
Aloe snowstorm is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 10a-11b ( -1.1 degrees Celsius (30 degrees Fahrenheit).
Watering Requirement
It is important that you water these plants properly when taking care of them well. Once you take care of them well, they will grow as flourishing plants.
Aloe snowstorm has typical water requirements just like the rest of other succulents. As aforesaid, watering them properly will have a greater impact in keeping your plant healthy.
Hence it is important that you avoid over watering them at any given point of time. Do not leave them stranded in waterlogged situations either.
Literally, when you water the Aloe snowstorms, you should first check whether the soil is dry and only then you need to resume watering them.
You need to be mindful of the weather conditions and change your watering pattern depending on that.
For example, you could consider watering them more often than watering them in winter. I recommend skipping watering them during their dormancy.
Soil Requirement Type / pH
If you wish to grow them in the right soil mix, it should ideally be a soil mix which has good drainage so that excess moisture will not retain within the pot.
Further, it is important that it has good air circulation as well. it would be better and convenient for you if you could grow them in a succulent soil mix or in a cactus soil mix.
Avoid growing them in a regular potting mix since that would not help the plants to thrive well.
When it comes to the pH of the soil mix, ideally it needs to have a pH around 7.0-8.5.
Flowering and Fragrance
Aloe snowstorm produces flowers in bright orange. Their flowering season would usually fall in spring.
Pollinators such as hummingbirds are quite attractive towards them. Those blooms will appear on a long flower spike and they would resemble a bell shape.
Pot size Potting and Repotting
When it comes to selecting the correct pot size, it should ideally be a pot which is slightly larger than your plant.
Further you may proceed with a porous material pot to grow these wonderful plants. You could ideally go ahead with clay pots or with terracotta pots.
In terms of repotting these plants, you need ideally wait until their dormancy ends. Further it is not essential to repot them frequently.
You could consider repotting them once every two to three years. You may continue with the general practices when repotting them.
Further spring would be the ideal season to conduct repotting. You could consider repotting them when you spot them outgrown from their pots and stopped growing any longer
When you transplant them ensure that you are replanting them in a fresh well-draining soil mix. further if you are repotting a larger plant you could divide the root ball gently.
Where to Plant
You need to plant the Aloe snowstorm somewhere where they can gain strong sunlight. If you grow them as houseplants, a windowsill will suit them the best.
On the other hand, if you grow them outdoors, it could possibly be a place where they can gain bright sunlight for 6 hours and partial sunlight for the rest of the day.
Aloe snow storms would love to grow in Warmer weather conditions. They would further prefer to grow in USDA hardiness zones 10a-11b (1.1 degrees Celsius/ 30 degrees Fahrenheit).
However, if you live in colder weather conditions, you could ideally grow them as houseplants.
If not, you may plant them in containers and place them outdoors during summer and bring them in during winter conditions.
It is imperative that you provide bright sunlight so that they can thrive well and grow to their fullest potential and become vibrant in their colors as well.
In addition to that, you need to be mindful of the pot type you are growing too. As aforesaid it has to be a porous material pot which could possibly be either a clay pot or a terracotta pot.
Fertilizer and time of year
Aloe snowstorms do not depend on fertilizers heavily. Having said that, you should consider feeding them during their actively growing season so that the plant’s growth will benefit from that.
It would help them to grow vigorously. You may use a balanced fertilizer to feed them. However, when you apply fertilizer, you need to adhere to the labelled instructions.
Dormancy
Aloe snowstorms are winter dormant plants. You need to avoid watering and feeding them during their dormancy since it will be their relaxing period.
Other plants Pairs Well With
Other Aloe plants pair well with Aloe snowstorm plants. But avoid more than one plant in a small pot. They need space to spread their leaves.
Can be toxic to pets
Aloe plants are toxic for pets. You can find more about aloe toxicity here.
Common bugs and illnesses
Chances are that you may come across discolored leaves when you expose them to intense sunlight for prolonged periods.
Whenever you come across such a situation, you need to immediately shift them to a place where they will be protected from intense sunlight.
Further if you spot any wrinkled leaves, that could be a sign of an under-watered Aloe snowstorm plant. To remedy this you may start watering them for a few days.
Having said that, make sure that you do not saturate the compost and do not let it be stranded in waterlogged situations also.
On the other hand, if you spot any pale or yellow-colored leaves, that is an indication of over watering or lack of enough sunlight.
Not only that but also, if you see any brown or mushy leaves that would be an indication of over watering.
Apart from the above, you may encounter issues with the scales insects as well. In that case, you need to apply an appropriate organic insecticide.
Aphids could also invade the Aloe snowstorm plants particularly during seasons like in late spring or in the beginning of summer.
Last but not least, mealybugs could be another irritating bug which could create trouble for these plants.
Root rot is another major issue that these Aloe snowstorm plants would go through. The faults you do when watering them significantly impact this condition.
In other words, if you end up over watering your Aloe snowstorm plants, that will make the plant more vulnerable for root rot.
It could even kill your plants. Hence why it is important that you water them properly.
Special Care tips
You do not have to do anything special to take care of them. Instead ensure that you fulfil its basic growing requirements and provide them the right growing conditions as well.
Literally if you provide them sufficient sunlight levels and water them properly and if you have grown them in a well-draining soil mix, they would thrive well and grow vigorously.
How to propagate aloe snowstorm
You could propagate the Aloe snowstorm using several methods. They are by using cuttings, leaves, offsets and seeds.
Propagation of Aloe snowstorm through leaves
You may continue with the general practice when propagating the Aloe snowstorms by their leaves.
Literally you need to obtain a healthy leaf from the mother plant. If you use damaged leaves, you will not succeed with the propagation process.
Further make sure you obtain the full leaf from the plant and check whether there are any leftovers of the leaf remaining on the mother plant.
You need to keep the leaves in a warm and dry place so that they can become callous.. Next you simply have to plant them in a well-draining soil mix.
Propagation of Aloe snowstorm through cuttings
If you use the cutting method to propagate these plants, you need to cut a leaf from the mother plant whilst using a clean pair of scissors or a knife.
Once you make the cutting allow it to become callous and then go ahead and plant them in a well-draining soil mix.
Propagation of Aloe snowstorm through offsets
You should remove the offsets from the mother plant using a clean and sharp knife. Once you remove it, first get rid of the older soil around them.
After that, you have to leave them in a warmer place where they can become dry and develop callous. Finally you could grow them in a well draining soil mix.
Propagation of Aloe snowstorm through seeds
These are slow growing plants. Hence, I would recommend skipping this method and instead use any of the aforesaid methods to propagate these plants.
But if you really want to plant aloe from seed Follow steps in here.
Aloe snowstorm plants benefits
Aloe snowstorm plants are quite useful as great houseplants. In addition to that you could use them for succulents’ gardens as well.
Conclusion
To sum up the things we covered in this article, literally if you make sure that you fulfil their growing requirements, they will flourish and grow as a beautiful set of plants.
You could easily maintain them as well. Trust you are now well aware of how to propagate them and how to take care of them as well.
They are an absolutely wonderful set of plants which anybody would love to have. So hurry up, grab your Aloe snowstorm plant and enjoy growing them!
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