Why Does Aloe Vera Grow Best in Container of Sandy Clay Loam?

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

I have a bit of a mystery with Aloe Vera. I did a test growing six plants in various container soils, and one of those containers has sandy clay loam soil. It is probably 1/2 sand mixed into a clay loam soil, but the impression on handling it is that the sand content is high. To cut to the chase, the only soil in which the Aloe Vera was growing vigorously was the sandy clay loam soil.

The first problem is that sandy clay loam soil is fine for in-ground planting, but it is not container soil at all. The particles are all too small. And it has a substantial amount of clay. In spite of this, the Aloe seems to love it.

Other soils I was testing against included pure pumice, gritty mix, and various mixes with 2/3 inorganic and 1/3 organic. None of these did well at all. The Aloe all struggle in those soils.

Aside from the sand content, I am guessing what distinguished the sandy clay loam soil is that the clay would give it a high CEC and a lot of mineral content. But Aloe Vera is not a heavy feeder, so that does not seem to explain the result.

Can someone guess why I might be getting this result?

Comments (4)

PRO
CoolAir Inc.
2 years ago
My aloe vera get very well in the regualr soil with fertelizer in a contained big pot.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked CoolAir Inc.
tete_a_tete
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
If someone is going to mix up a medium for their pot, a little bit of clay-based soil is a lovely addition. However, it needs to be done carefully.

There was a time when soil was added to other stuff to give a good potting medium for container-grown plants in nurseries. A mix might have contained peat moss, course sand, a percentage of clay-based soil and whatever else was around and easily had at the time. But times change, fashion changes, marketing looms big sometimes (especially when lots of people have high disposable income) and so recipes change.

I can well imagine that your Aloe vera was happy in your concoction. I think you must have made a nice mix.

Just re-reading your post. This statement: but the impression on handling it is that the sand content is high makes me realise that you did not make the mix yourself. I presume you bought some different mixes to try out.

There are so many variables in a pot containing a medium (height of pot compared to its width, plastic pot compared to unglazed terracotta, size of sand used, amount of sand etc etc) that it's very hard to make any quick response.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked tete_a_tete
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westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
2 years ago
@tete_a_tete A gardener mixed this soil for me years ago based on my direction. I have forgotten the formula, but it was roughly 30% native clay loam soil, 50% sand, and 20% "something else I do not remember". When the soil is dry, you can easily sink your hands into it, so it has no hardening tendency. The "feel" of the soil matches my memory of a soil that was substantially sandy loam soil.

I have spent a lot of time studying and experimenting with container soils. A container soil purist would never use any clay at all because the particle sizes are too small. So it is a real discovery to me to find specific genera of plants - such as Aloe and Sempervivum - that seem to thrive in container soils that have a small amount of clay loam soil.
tete_a_tete
2 years ago
westes, I think I would have liked your gardener friend. Soil is something I really like, for some weird reason. (Soil, that is, not potting mix.)

I disagree with the comment: A container soil purist would never use any clay at all because the particle sizes are too small. I think a purist would love a container soil containing a bit of clay-based soil. Not clay, probably, but clay-based.

I've got a bucket of clay-based clay I reckon, from under the house. It's unimproved clay soil. The house was built in the '60s. I'm going to do some experimenting with that, but not in containers. Too clayey.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked tete_a_tete

Why Does Aloe Vera Grow Best in Container of Sandy Clay Loam?

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Why Does Aloe Vera Grow Best in Container of Sandy Clay Loam?

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