Live dangerously. Re-pot it, deeper, and cover the bare stem with soil. Perhaps it will grow roots from the stem and be better off. Some plants can take planting more deeply and others can't. And some you think couldn't possibly cope, but then someone tries it and... VOILA! I know of a case where some pot-bound Eucalyptus were planted very, very deeply (up to their necks) along a river bank. They were tubestock, left in their pots for too long, and should have been thrown out. However, it is very good that they were planted by someone who wanted to give it a go, because now they are stabilising that river bank. The covered stems grew roots (adventitious roots) and it worked very well. Then they all got married and lived happily ever after.

Sorry to say it, but mushy on an Aloe tends to be rot & fatal. If there's part of the central crown that isn't mushy, maybe a chance to save it, but if the central part of the plant is mush, it's a goner -- sorry. I wouldn't take off the leaves, I'd just set it aside somewhere, NOT water it & see what happens in a week or so.

See ... you have tomatoes setting even though the flowers are "twisted". Patience with the fruiting process ;-) In my opinion the time to prune a plant you are having difficulty with is when the suckers are small, or not at all. The plant has expended a lot of energy to create them and if they are near the flowering stage this flowering/fruit preparation is all lost. If you pinch them off when they are shorter than your thumb, you minimize the energy lost. If you have a very healthy plant, there can be plenty of excess energy to spare and it is not so crucial as it is continually producing new foliage. Your tall plant does not look healthy to me. You suggest heat damage. It might be ... I don't think that can be determined from the picture without knowing the history of how you cultivated that potted plant. On the bright side of things, I don't think you should be concerned about the petals not completely opening and thrusting the anther cone and stigma forward like a shooting star. This may have to do with the heat and variety. But you have set tomatoes, so I think heat is not the principle problem. I believe you may have a fetilizer imbalance. The self watering container in the desert is very tricky business due to the high evaporation rates leaving fertilizer residue behind to concentrate like in a salt flat on land. It doesn't look to me like this is happening for all the nutrients in yours but I think some may be deficient (the "deficiency" can be caused by excesses of others which prevent the uptake of those in lower concentrations). Also, even though you are in a warm climate, and have not said anything about the plant, the plant looks like mine when they are grown in too much shade. The plant should get direct sun exposure in the morning and plenty of water. The fertilization program is most convenient with controlled release fertilizers like Osmocote. You can get more information on growing in containers in the Container forum (see link), but generally 3 gallons will not give you room for error in fertilization and watering in a 5 foot tall plant and I think this is you major concern to address. Best gardening PC Here is a link that might be useful: Container Gardening

FWIW - I really don't like the goofy names this Retro Series sales gimmick is giving the plants. It is difficult enough to ID some of them. They should stick to the Latin botanical names. I'll take your word for it that these are more prone to rot, especially during the winter. My winters are quite mild, so I can't compare the experience. But as for water during the summer, mine did fine outside in the ground through our very soggy summer rains. I have dry, sunny winters. I keep all my plants in a gritty mix. I even fill the holes with gritty mix when I plant them outside. I figure it gives them a leg up for drainage during those wet months, even though the area is elevated. I probably don't water more than once a month in the winter. If it has been really hot (like this year in the 80s) and dry, I will water more often. I would take the plant out of the pot and look at the roots. They should be firm and whitish. Remove any that look slimy or dead. And while doing that, go ahead a repot in a good, well draining mix. Be sure to remove all of the old soil from the roots. It can cause problems later. Don't water for at least a week after repot. If you wait until spring, it may be too late.