I'm about 100 miles south of dfw and mine gets bit badly every year, but I do nothing to it to protect it. I'm thinking it'll die in z7 without protection. I would think not watering it would be the worst thing you could do for it if you want it to survive.

Aloes can't survive our freeze. They can live in the garage I place mine in there and it does fine.

I too have an aloe in a pot, it is huge and goes into the garage as well. I am in the DFW area.

I meant to add that Aloes don't go dormant. It takes years for one to get large. Mine is so heavy I can't move it DH has to use the two wheeler to move it into the garage.

My Aloe vera sat inside on a windowsill through previous winters but won't fit there now - thanks for suggesting the garage.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

greenhouse for mine

There are so many types of aloes. Some are from winter rain areas and some are from summer rain areas. So wether to water it or not could be different from one aloe to another. I think Aloe vera likes more water than others but i would still slow it down during the cold. It is not a cold hardy aloe.

I live in 7B, 40 miles NE of Dallas. Aloe "leaves" are 95% water, so they freeze sooo fast. This year I covered them with leftover hay from a horserescue site....because they are in flower beds and I cannot and don't want to transplant them. But I planted some of the sprouts in smaller pots that I am keeping on shelves facing south. Just in case!

I'm in HOuston, so anything I say about wintering aloes may not sound relevant. However, I 'started' farming aloes while in Dallas and then 8 years in Tyler, due east of Dallas. This was when my aloe herd got to be over 300 plants, when I stopped counting.

I found some plastic "trim" strips at Home Depot that are 8 feet long, about 1/4" x 1/2" and very flexible, for about a $ each. I bend them over my aloe bed and poke in the ground then tent over them with a plastic sheet. I anchor the edges of the sheet with old boards and bricks. I try to seal the edges as best I can, but the biggest concern is for the wind ripping it off.

I usually only put the tent on them when the forecast is for less than 33degrees overnight lows, but if the forecast is for 34 to 36 for a week I might tent them just because the forecast can be unreliable.

Since doing labor in cool/cold weather is painful, I often leave the tent on too long. When I take it off I usually find at least one of them is flowering.

Here is a link that might be useful: my aloe ranch