At the swap in San Antonio , I was asked a lot about hardiness issues for aloes. This info is talked about on the succulent form but not always in conjunction with a Texas view point. I grow in the Hamilton Pool area. I am about 1350' above sea level on rocky soil. So make your judgements to your personal situation.

I am always jealous of the little bit of warmness that the San Antonians enjoy, especially those in the urban heat bubble. Many aloes are possible for you there and south. Even the ones north of there get the cold temps for a shorter period of time. I guess that is how DFW people feel about Austin and where I live. Even a few degrees makes such a big difference. I know That I grew things in the Austin Heat bubble that I can not grow out here.

Anyway I find the site listed below a great resource for looking for aloes that I PIG (Put In Ground). I grow them throwing a frost cloth over them and I build up soil beds of very fast draining soil.

COLD + RAIN is the killer. especially for aloes like A. Any rain below 40F should be taken seriously and when there are a couple of rains at this temperature, even more so. variegate. A big pot over it during a large amount of rain. Raised bed with pumice or expanded shale. Aloe variagata, even though cold hardy is very water shy at certain times of the year. IT really needs the raised soil bed. It likes to rot its roots in our spring rains (just after it flowers) sometimes. I just pull it out when I feel it is like a rotten tooth and let it dry out and then put it back in and DO NOT water it till it has formed roots.

Some I keep in pots and bring in under cover because they get marks on their leaves from the cold wet combo. Aloe capitatta is this way. and so was my A. karasbergensis last winter. This confused me because it is a A. striata relative with is a very hardy aloe.

These are a list of aloes that I grow in the Ground. A. maculata, Aloe striata, Aloe grandidentata, Aloe dinteri, Aloe zebrina, Aloe greatheadii, Aloe greeni, Aloe aristata, I have kept these aloes in the ground with a frost cover thrown over. I will throw leaves under them on the really bad cold fronts or a towel to double the coverage. Leaf stuffed black pots are a good deal. Often I do not cover them when we flirt with freezing by a couple of degrees, but when it gets close to 26, I start getting nervous. OH, I do a lot of carrying inane out of all my obviously tender aloes. I am obsessed.

Aloe nobiles seems to rot at the top of the rosette from the cold touching through the cover, so maybe a some leaves or a washrag there will suffice. It is on my questionable list. I am tempted by Aloe brevifolia with is advertised as cold hardy to 20F.

This year I am experimenting Aloe humilis, Aloe boylei, aloe longestyla. They do need to be covered well and growing these here is a cr@p shoot and for those with a tough stomach. I do find that a little care in the winter buys me a care free summer.
What is your experience with aloes? Please tell me the species that you have grown PIG and where your land is so I can see if this will pertain to me (such a self centered human that I am).

When reading this list, It is only a guide in a dry and perfect world of quick drops and quick rises. There might be leaf damage that the next years growth will grow past. I have had aloes grow back from their roots. There are many ways of reading this list and what it tells us. I still find it a good resource. I think Brian Kemble grows aloes in Southern California , succulent heaven and his judgments must be weighted with that in mind. Californians do have a wet winter, but wet might mean something al together different to them than to us.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hardiness Aloe list