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Aloe Vera: should I cut it or leave it alone?

15 years ago

Over the summer I took an Aloe Vera plant home with me as a souvenir of my trip to California. So far it seems to be doing fine, but one of the leaves has always had a thin spot in the middle where I believe it was bent, causing it to flop over instead of standing upright, and another one now does the same since it was bent during a recent move. I've been wondering if it's better for the plant to just cut off the top of the leaf at the spot where it was damaged, or if it can recover from the injury if I leave the leaf propped so it retains it's normal shape instead of flopping over. If anyone could provide any insight I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

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Comments (2)

blutarski
15 years ago
I don't think it will heal, but, if you wanted to leave them the way it is, I don't think you're going to hurt the plant.

I've heard that, if you want to get rid of those leaves, to cut a nick into them. This will cause the plant to pull the moisture back into the plant, and withering the leaf. The withered leaf can then be removed without damaging the plant. I've never tried this though.

If you decide to cut the leaf off, I suggest sprinkling some cinnamon on the cut afterwards, it acts as an anti-fungal agent.
User
15 years ago
I doubt it'll harm the plant either way. I'd just take the whole leaf off if it bothers you; won't harm the plant at all.
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Aloe vera vs aloe vera?
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There seems to be some confusion again with common names - Aloe vera is Aloe vera :-) Although that term is sometimes used to refer to ANY kind of aloe, there are not two species of true or common, aka medicinal aloe. There ARE many species of aloe....as many as 400 have been registered but true aloe, Aloe vera (formerly Aloe barbadensis), is the one noted for medicinal purposes. There is some documentation that Aloe arborescens also has similar medicinal properties but as the species name suggests, this has a much more tree-like growth habit and develops a distinct stem or trunk. The difference in growth habits between the two plants shown in the pics is simply due to age and maturity. Aloe vera will form a full rosette if given sufficient time and proper growing conditions. Check the Wiki photo linked below. The smaller ones that appear to only grow laterally rather than in a round rosette of leaves are just young, immature plants (offsets or pups) and hampered from full development by lack of time and indoor growing conditions. Here is a link that might be useful:
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They'll grow as fast or as slow as you allow them to. If you want the plant narrower, cut the bottom-most leaves (if that's something you don't find aesthetically displeasing. A mature Aloe vera will be about 3' tall and about as wide. If you want it to grow smaller, I'd suggest getting rid of it and getting a miniature aloe. You could start over with the pup, which is fine, since you already know what the end result will be (it will get too large and you'll have to do the same thing) but you'll have the fun of growing them up (and perhaps giving the mature one to a friend who does have the space).
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they're probably getting fried on that west window. the insides (gel) is the plant's water reserves. you need to give them time to establish themselves. start them out in partial shade, or put a piece of light colored cloth on your west window. i dont remove the pups off my large aloe till they're 5-6 inches tall and has decent roots.
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Yes and yes. Don't overwater it - only when it appears thirsty and the weather is warm (if still outside).
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