Aloe like the heat and go dormant is So. Callif. in October they do not like the cold, most of them anyway. Many start to put on a flower show in Dec.-April, and I have one in flower at this time, they grow after they flower, and we break up a clump after they have flowered.
That is going to be a lovely plant. Norma

Thanks Norma, how old is your plant? What do you mean "break up the clump"?

Aloe pillansii is a tree aloe as i understand it. And a rare one to get.From what i have read it is more tender than A. barbarae and much more than A.dichotoma. Not likely to ever be found for sale in a bay area nursery. Slow growing by soucal standards.In comparison, I imagine the inner bay area summers would slow it down to a crawl. Caudex's summers are almost centra valley. Just what the doctor ordered.

The leaf tips of my Aloe pillansii planted in the ground suffered only a little during the cold spell in January '07. While A. barbarae froze down totally and A. dichotoma didn't show any damage at all.
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Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:578983}}

Hey,that's surprising about A.pillansii cold tolerance. Never having grown one, From what I read I thought it was tender.Doesnt it come from an area with a more tropical habitat than most tree Aloes?.
Good looking plant with a very nice color C.J.

btw,I have A.barbarae up here in the frigid northwest..It was by far the most stressed Tree Aloe from the cold of 07. Aloe "medusa" not at all.

Stan: A pillansii is endemic to the Richtersveld, a mountainous desert in Namaqualand. Namaqualand itself is a vast arid region on the western coast of South Africa. The Richtersveld is far from being a tropical location, given its minimal humidity and extended droughts. It is however a fascinating habitat, providing our hobby with an array of rare plants. One of my favorites from the Richtersveld is Pachypodium namaquanum or, going by its incredibly cool common name: the "Half-Man" plant.