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House Plants Cacti & Succulents

How can I save this aloe vera- thin curling leaves?

Nancy Sutherland

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

I purchased this a while back thinking I could bring it around. My efforts have failed. I finally got around to checking out the roots and they don't look so great. I don't have any experience with aloe plants so I'm wondering what I can do to revive this poor baby and give it a fresh start.

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Comments (6)

Nancy Sutherland
Original Author
2 years ago
Nancy Sutherland
Original Author
2 years ago
Also, I was trying to wash the dirt off to get a good look at the roots, which is why they look so wet. I usually only water about once per month.
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aloe vera leaves thin and curling
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Comments (1)
The brown leaves are probably because of sun. For the smallest leaves do you refer to the outmost leaves or innermost leaves? When Aloe vera is short of water, their outer leaves will become thin and curved inward first. There can be 2 reasons for Aloe vera being short of water - either underwatered or overwatered. For underwater, just water it more. If the latter, it probably got rotted roots which makes the water in the pot unavailable to the plant. May I ask you what kind of soil or mix you put it in? If that's gritty mix or alike, it's not likely to be overwatered. In case you just put it in potting soil or even Cactus soil, you got to check if the soil is still wet inside. You can push a skewer down into your pot till its tip is closer to the pot bottom, wait a minute and pull it out to see if there's a lot moisture on the skewer. If it looks very damp or to the touch, you potting mix probably is not very fast draining. Got to make some change then.
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Karen it was stated that it is an Aloe Vera, they grow in Africa in hot dry climates, storing water in their leaves. They wait for the yearly rainfall to store water again. If they live in a fog belt they will benefit from the CAM theory. taking in moisture at night. With New Yorks humidity it should be kept very dry and grown in a clay pot with fast draining coarse soil. NO PEAT MOSS. Karen sorry I don't agree with you. They still come from Africa and not from Wal Mart. Came originally from No. Africa and Arabia, but now are bing grown in other countries that have warm winters. Must not have Temps below 32% or live under protection of other trees and shrubs. Go with the directions of more light. They are accurate. If the drooping leaves bother you cut them off as soon as it warms up where you live. Not now, those dead leaves will protect the plant from the cold. Now if you lived here, I would trim all the leaves off that were going down. Get a new pot with proper soil, cut off the head of the plant let dry and just set on top of the soil to reroot. During the begining of the hot summer. Norma
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Comments (15)
The Cacti and Succulent Forum may be the best place to ask your aloe questions. The search function on this forum may answer a lot of questions, too. Folks on the C&S forum recommend a gritty mix and it has worked for me. My pots (I have 12 different aloes) stayed out in the rainy summer and did well - no rotting. MG cactus soil tends to get dried out and rock hard around the roots if not amended with perlite (at least). I have never been successful at rooting an aloe leaf, but that's just me. I have trouble rooting a lot of things. These folks have helped save a lot of my succulent plants. They welcome questions and like pictures! Good luck everyone! Happy gardening!
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Comments (3)
From the way you describe it, your aloe got burned - you took it outside from relatively low light into much stronger sunlight. All plants should be acclimatized to outdoors = introduce slowly to sunlight. MG moisture control soil will retain more moisture, so it isn't really that great for succulents. Many ppl using soil for their mix buy Cactus & Succulent soil and mix it with lots of sifted perlite or pumice. By lots I mean minimum 50% of total and often even more. The fish tank has holes for drainage, but glass doesn't breathe - I don't think that is 'awful' but terracotta pot may be better. I can't see the size of it, but container shouldn't be huge, especially for a plant without roots. Large container = lots of soil = higher chance of water retention (unless using mostly inorganic, gritty mix). Btw, glass lets light on the soil & roots and may encourage algae to grow - this will not kill your plant but doesn't look very good). You didn't take a photo of the root are by any chance? It should be perhaps let to callus in fresh air - outside of any potting mix, for a day or few. Aloes will start growing roots even that way (many succulents will). Edited to add: here is a photo I borrowed from Crenda - she uses this kind of mix; it is MG Cacti & Citrus soil and lots of sifted/rinsed perlite:
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socks
2 years ago
Repot in fast draining cactus and succulent mix in a pot with a hole, not an oversized pot. At least half day direct sun. Don't water on a schedule, water when dry. Was it bone dry when you took it out of the pot?
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 years ago
I'm not sure where you live, but it's probably jumping the gun to repot at this time of the year. That said, and already done, you might consider severing the lower part of the stem with roots attached where it transitions from dark color to tan, and allowing it to callus for a week or so before repotting it. You could also treat the cut end it with a rooting agent, which usually includes an antifungal agent, or dusting it with a fungicide or cinnamon.

You could also make your own grow medium, which, if made well, would undoubtedly be better than most commercially prepared media you're likely to find.

When the plant below was repotted, I carefully removed several of the lowest leaves (4 or 5) that can be seen to be in the process of being shed because of their telltale change in color to a lighter green.

The image below shows the plant after the lower part of the stem was removed and was reset to a more appropriate depth.

Al
woodrose
2 years ago
As Socks said, plant it in fast-draining mix in a pot with a hole. Now, leave it alone. Do not water it for about a week. When you do water it mix some plant food in the water ( Miracle Grow or whatever and follow the instructions for house plants.) Don't give it much water, and don't water just because the soil looks dry. I've killed a lot of Aloe by over watering. Watering on a schedule should be okay, maybe once a week. I have my Aloe and other succulents in a gritty mix and they seem to like it.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 years ago
Watering on a schedule is not to be recommended. Even less so for succulents. Once a week would almost certainly be too often, unless the plant is in a microscopic pot in blazing sunshine.

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