Spekboom is a CAM plant: it opens its stomata at night to save water, which is why it survives where most garden plants give up.
Spekboom in short
Spekboom is a CAM plant: it opens its stomata at night to save water, which is why it survives where most garden plants give up.
How to get it right
- Water deeply, then let the soil dry out completely before watering again.
- A newly planted spekboom needs help for its first summer; an established one lives on rainfall.
- Potted plants dry out faster than garden plants — check the top 5 cm before reaching for the can.
Where most people slip up
- A daily light sprinkle, which keeps the topsoil wet and the roots shallow.
- Treating it like a lawn plant during a wet Garden Route winter.
Living and growing plants in the Garden Route
AloeRoots grows and sells spekboom and aloes from Wilderness in the Garden Route. Every plant we send out is grown here, in this climate — the same wet winters and salty wind your garden has to live with.
Get plants or ask a question
Tell us what you are planting — a hedge, a rockery, a pot on a stoep — and we will point you at the right plants and the right size.
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