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Cacti & Succulents

Aloe vera help!!!

hippeastrumadmirer

15 years ago

Hello, I was wondering i bought 6 aloe vera plants all in good health and put them in a self watering pot with pure black earth and a load of rocks, the aloe vera plants were dry when i unpotted them and undid the root ball, But the black earth was wet, Now my queston is do you think if i don't water them for 2-3 months at a time they will be ok? Thanks alot guys and girls!

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Comments (5)

prayerrock
15 years ago
I would just water them when the soil dries out but water sparingly dont make the soil wet just damp. Aloe is a succulent they need water that is what makes the leaves so fleshy is the retention of water. But like any succulent or cacts just water sparingly. If I let my aloes go for 2-3 months they would die.
User
15 years ago
Aloes are very much the WRONG plant for self watering pots. Aloes do not want frequent watering & would do better in terra cotta pots than plastic.

This arrangement is likely to kill your plants, it smacks of overwatering. Sorry to say, but you could not have picked a worse arrrangement for an Aloe.

I have no idea what pure black earth is, but likely it's no good for Aloes either.

What these Aloes should have had is a small pot, not much larger than their rootball(s), a cactus & succulent mix, low on peat & with extra perlite or pumice (abt 30% more at least) & a terra cotta pot. They should be give as much light as possible, which you did not mention at all.

Am sorry to tell you this, but the arrangement you have is likely to rot the plants w/ the black soil that's too wet or die of thirst if not watered for 2-3 months.

I don't mean to be discouraging, but perhaps read around a bit about Aloe care & then undo your arrangement & repot accordingly.
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I've heard different things about being able to grow a new aloe plant from a leaf, so I thought I'd try it myself. Some say it can (like a typical succulent) and some say it can't. My one attempt with 5 leaves (as a test) all failed, but I also may have had too much moisture and learned more since, so I'm going to try again this season. You can do it 1,2, or 3 all in one pot, depending on the pot size and how many pots you want to be taking care of. The soil type is not optimum but I would leave it as it is what the roommate wanted. Though if you can contact the roommate and ask about changing the potting soil, then go ahead. The plant has been doing OK in that pot probably because the roommate knew about it and would water infrequently, but for the sake of learning and putting that learning to use, then moving it to a proper soil would at least eliminate any future problems.
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Looks like the real species to me, and yes the back of the leaves turn brownish. Not to worry, keep it out of the shade. It needs sun. If the leaves turn up that is great, some of the bottom leaves will turn down and they may be getting ready to take off. No need to trim the tips, that is the way they grow, and gives the insects, bugs, an opportunity to come in an infect the plant. Water in the morning but not the leaves about once a week when very hot and dry, water the soil around it. They do best in the ground with very rocky soil. Norma
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I suspect too much moisture in the soil. If you have some bamboo skewers at home you can stick one in there to see if the soil is wet. Even if it seems dry on top, it could be soaking wet on the bottom, which will lead to root rot. The sand will only contribute to this by holding water between the grains, keeping the soil wet for longer. If you find that it's really wet, I would unpot the whole thing and get as much soil off as possible, and then let it dry out for a couple of days. If you see a lot of black or reddish-brown, squishy roots, or hollow roots, then that's the beginning of rot. Try to get as much of those off as possible, too. If ALL the roots are rotten, cut them all off (and the stem too, if it's rotten). It can grow new ones. In the meantime, you can read some posts here in the Cacti and Succulents forum, and also in the Container Gardening forum, about "gritty mix". Basically, you'd want a soil made of bigger pieces, not small dusty particles. Bigger spaces mean that water can't get trapped, and won't sit in contact with the roots for too long. Good luck! It was my own pot of "inherited" aloe vera plants that led me here in the first place. Now those original plants are having pups of their own!
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It does look like mechanical damage. The reason it is deflating around the hole - the plant is sealing off the damage so it will not loose any water/fluid. Perhaps the plant was poked by a neighboring plant before you purchased it. Or maybe it got poked when you transported it home or when you repotted it. And I won't eliminate the cat possibility, either. LOL On the up side, new growth should be just fine and will eventually replace the damaged leaves.
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
15 years ago
Pirate is right. Drainage is key!

My sister and I both grow aloe vera (mine, being pups from hers). My aloe is in bark and gravel, in a small container, and never seems to be happy. I have to water constantly and monitor sunburn. I managed to freeze three other aloe vera to death early this winter. Ah, well, no great loss.

When I re-pot my aloe next, I will add a touch of fine, pine bark fines (bonsai potting mix) to increase the moisture slightly. I will also use more perlite, and less gravel.

My sister, on the other hand, has her aloe in huge containers in potting soil, often over-watered, with a layer of gravel on top......let me see if I can scare up a pic or two.....
Tall, healthy plants. Go figure....

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User
15 years ago
Hey Josh,

Maybe try replacing some of the bark (I wouldn't use that w/ Aloes) w/ some C&S mix or soil of SOME kind.

You could also experiment, try one in pure pumice. I've tried that to re-root some Aloes & some Sans & it went VERY well.

As to your Aloes ... ahem ... would you mind if I said that those taller Aloes (1 in left front pot, the other in right front pot) I don't believe those are Aloe veras, their stem (trunk) is too tall & multi-ringed. Mind you, I can't suggest which Aloe it IS, but not A. vera. Vera doesn't grow that kind of stem or trunk (as far as I've seen or know), just a short stem w/ a rosette division. At least that's what I think.
prayerrock
15 years ago
Thank you for sharing that pirate girl..I was thinking the same thing..I have never seen aloe vera like that and sisnt think it was that but wasnt sure...now I am convinced it is not an aloe vera bt wold be neat to see what kind it is.

PR

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