Hi, Anna - I just came across your posting and wanted to share my experience with growing Aloe in Zone 6 (NYC). For years, I just could not understand what I was doing wrong with my Aloes. Year after year, new plant after new plant, they all died. Until this last one, that is. I brought home several cacti & succulents from my parents' home in the caribbean - Sort of a piece of home! These were special to me. Here's what I've learned: 1. Never use regular potting soil for any succulents. The soil stays too wet and rots the roots. Double jeapardy during the winter when it's excessively cold in the Northeast - The soil just stays wet. Use a good, quick-draining succulent mix - You've already received excellent advice to that point on this post. 2. For those of us with climates that fall into the single digits, there is a science to keeping our plants intact over the winter. We have radiators & heaters that come on too high in a blast of steam, dryness, windows that leak if not properly insulated, causing humidity problems (and potential problems with spider mites if unchecked), and a host of issues maintaining neutral internal temperatures during the season. 3. Only place your plants on window sills that are properly insulated, with no drafts. Never let your plants touch the glass of your windows. Also, never leave your plants on a sill that is adjacent to a radiator. The heat will kill them. Aha! There is an exception - My cactus love it - Echinopsis, Cereus, Euphorbia - These all do just fine on the window sill that has a radiator right under it - Go figure! They must think they're in the desert. 4. Now for the beloved Aloe. That original sapling I brought home kept dropping its lower leaves, never seemed to grow, and lost all its green color and turned white every time I placed it near a window. Believe it or not, this went on for two years. It was a constant battle, but I HAD to save THAT Aloe - It was from mom's house! Well, ultimately, I understood that this one didn't like its leaves touching soil. I learned to pot it with stones at the bottom for drainage, just its roots in 1/2 pot of cactus mix just to the neck of the base of the plant, then filled in the pot with stones to prop up and stabilize the Aloe plant. That was magic - The leaves stopped dropping off! Water requirements: About 1/4 cup of water once a week during the summer and 1/8 cup once-twice a month all other times - I'm not joking. The leaves will tell you if you need to up the water level. Oh, and NEVER let the Aloe sit in a saucer of water. Now, I took on the daunting task of acclimating that Aloe to indirect sunlight. I brought the Aloe closer and closer to a window until it, again, began to turn Albino. Then I'd move it away. I know full well that Aloes need some indirect sunlight, so I continued this process over a full two year period until, one day, it just said, "Uncle" - Just like that, the plant stopped turning white. Last winter, I left that Aloe on a corner of my livingroom window sill (morning sun only) and didn't touch it. I watered it very sparingly, in droplets, every two weeks during the entire winter and didn't even look at it too much. What happened? It grew and when I looked in there in the spring, there were three large plants and tons of pups. I now have 2 pots of Aloes and have shared 4 with my sibling...a little piece of mom's house! I have traded these same Aloe Chinensis right here on this forum. The moral? Patience & lots of loving care...Also, who the hell really understands plants? They do whatever they want to do. They've been here since the beginning of time and will be here long after we're all gone...still doing whatever they want to do! Isn't that why we love them? They can do some incredible things that allow us to validate our own nurturing skills! God bless!

Asclepiad_fan: I paid EUR 4 for it last week, but then I live in the country where it was grown. Here is the website of the nursery: http://www.smitkwekerijen.nl/. If you go to the "Eden collection" page from the menu and scroll down a bit you can download an English brochure. I have quite a number of plants that have come from this nursery, the quality of their plants us outstanding. Cactusmcharris: by all means. If you'd like me to take a better-lit shot do let me know, this was just a quick snapshot for the purpose of this thread.

I got the feeling the lightest one did get too much sun last summer, but over the winter it had no sun. It seemed to me it was darker at one time but I can't remember. It remains looking like it's bleached. I think the A. junenna has much wider leaves than mine. I didn't do a good job of really showing what it looks like. As I was searching for that, I found A. jucunda which looks a little more similar. Thanks.

It doesnt. Cacti, especially ones like echinopsis, rebutia, mammilaria, parodia,echinocereus , and the rarer dessert cacti absolutely HATE it. How? -easier to rot, more water retaining. - prone to etiolation, due to high nitrogen - attracts pests - fungi in soil - less flowers - weaker to humidity. I have been researching this quite thoroughly for the past year and a half, so trust me when i say, for the"good stuff" get a gritty mix.