Just coming across your post now. I live in Silver City New Mexico. A few years ago ago our area - as far as Las Cruces and possibly beyond - experienced a cold snap of minus 17 degrees for several hours and temps near zero for two few days. Pipes all over town froze and it was bonanza time for the area plumbers. A number of years before the freeze I had acquired a few Aloe variegata plants from a friend in El Paso. I planted them along the south side of my house in Silver City and I had given a few to my mother, in Las Cruces, who planted them in front of a south facing stone wall. After the freeze the aloe had extreme damage, especially to the tips, but the plants survived. This year you would never know they had been damaged. The damaged leaves were shed by the plant and they are doing their thing - sending out little babies and growing into new clumps. I will send a picture if you would like. Just thought I would let you know how cold the Aloe variegata can actually survive. Jane Spinti