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Cacti & Succulents

Aloe vera looks wonky

ChatanoogaChooChoo

13 years ago

My mother's Aloe vera looks wonky, It's very crooked and it has a section of bare stalk underneath about 7" long where leaves either don't exist, or dry up at the center of the plant and eventually break off. What do you think is causing this problem and how do we fix it? The only thing i can think to do is to remove the leaves that have severed themselves and bury the plant deeper in the soil up the the strong leaves. What do you think I should do? Also my A. vera are starting to turn very light and weak at the base of the leaves until the leaves turn to mush and fall off, eventually the whole plant will succumb to this. How do I also fix that? Could it be that they aren't getting enough light? They do fine in the spring/summer when I can put them outside. Are they too cold?

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Comments (3)

binlin
13 years ago
Does it look something like this?
If so then it's not getting enough light.
{{gwi:477641}}
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ChatanoogaChooChoo
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, it does! So is there anything I can do for it other than put it in better light?
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Karen I certainly agree. I want to remind Britta, that this species grows in hot country, and will not like cold weather either. She should follow your lead as to where to grow the plant. Please tell her how often to water, and make sure that soil drains well, do not let the pot sit in water. As it grows then she can increase the size of the pot, that cutting looks huge. Any small rocks will aid drainage, it also make the pot heavier, and helps hold the plant in. This plant naturally comes from the east coast of Africa so it a good one to grow indoors and it likes more water than the species that grow in the deserts. Karen, does your Aloes grow mostly in the Winter, mine seem to flower when my temps. cool down here. Hugs, Norma
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Bumping down as there's an identical post that is being responded to. Planto
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Thanks for the reply. I've just repotted it and the roots are about half way down I reckon. They were quite long and fiddly so I had to move them about! It was originally in cactus soil and I have just repotted it into cactus soil again. Here is another pic
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is this Aloe Vera plant??? Or other type of aloe plant?
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Comments (4)
Pic 4; wish I would know how to post multiple pictures at the same time. Aloe Vera ??
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binlin
13 years ago
Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do short of providing better light for it. A plant grown in sufficient light should be stocky and have fairly thick leaves.
{{gwi:477642}}

It should be easy to buy a new aloe vera in a store, but if you want to rescue the plant you could always root a cutting. Just cut off the top with a couple inches of stem, let the cut callous over and then root it in well draining potting mix. That won't stop the plant from becoming etiolated again, but it will shorten the stem and keep it from flopping over for a little while. If you can take a cutting and provide better light for it, you'll get a more compact plant once it starts growing again too.
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