Growing an Aloe Vera (or most other Aloe species - there are more than 300 of them!) is not a difficult matter, if a few basic rules are followed: If grown in a pot, allow the root ball plenty of room to grow; aloes are voracious growers, and having space to do so is necessary. When you repot, allow a growing area three to five times the size of the root ball. Use a well-draining soil. The number of soils A. vera will grow in is quite large, but a basic cactus mix available at home improvement centers is quite suitable. You may wish to experiment with other soils, but one thing it needs is to be well draining, so even a home-made concoction of 1/3 sand, 1/3 soil, and 1/3 pumice/gravel is better than straight potting soil. Aloes don't like to be cold and they don't like wet feet. Pot up your aloe in soil up to the root ball. Use top dressing (gravel/pebbles) on top of the soil to give it a finished look, hold down the dirt, and reduce evaporation. Do not water a newly repotted aloe for a few days. This gives it a chance to get used to its new home, as well as allowing time for any roots that have broken to seal themselves. After a few days, a light watering, perhaps with some B-1 in the water, is recommended. Most aloes grow vegetatively from April to October so water regularly with that in mind. The rest of the year, watering twice a month is sufficient. Water when the soil is dry - rainwater is the best - so that may mean twice a month, or once a week, or some combination thereof. Aloes are very forgiving and they can go a long time without water, but they grow best with it. If in doubt about watering, don't water. Don't forget - they shouldn't be cold and wet. Some aloes will withstand a freeze, but many will turn to mush. No one wants a mushy aloe! Fertilize from April through Septrember, twice a month, with a low-nitrogen fertilizer, heavily diluted. You can try Miracle-Gro 15-30-15, diluted to about 1 to 5. Many aloes produce 'pups'. When the pup is fully formed, detach it from the mother plant, let it callus over for a few days in a cool, dry area, and pot it up. If it has roots, pot as you would a regular aloe, allowing for the fact that it is smaller and should be in a suitably sized pot for its size. If it has no roots, let it callus over, place the cut/broken end ON the soil, and support it with top dressing. DO NOT WATER IT-it has no roots, so watering the soil will likely cause rot. Instead, mist it every few days. Roots should start forming within a month. When growth is evident, it can be watered. Aloe vera flowers are yellow, but others flower in hues of pink/red/orange/white/gray. They start as a spike that gradually gets larger and finally opens, lasting a long time. Aloe flowers are beacons for hummingbirds, so be prepared to be buzzed by these lovely creatures if you are amongst your aloes when they are flowering. For more information, seek out fellow succulent plant people, join your local/national society, and take advantage of the advice and experience they are able to offer. Stop by our Cacti and Succulents forum for tips and friendly conversation. Lastly, these are not ironclad rules. What works for others may not work for you. Experiment a little if you think that's what is needed as your growing conditions are likely different. Aloes are very adaptable creatures, within limits, of course.

The yard does not have to look like a recycle salvage- the cheap/recycled pots can be camouflaged with the much nicer wood planters just like garden nursery pots. In the case of using the square storage bins or kitty litter buckets, they fit/fill a bit nicer into a square wooden box surround than round pots can. Garbage cans don't have to look garbage either- there are attractive ones out there. Or at least ones that more decorative or meant to be seen and look like pots and don't necessarily need to be hidden. They can also be handy for container growing stuff with deep roots. I container grow horseradish and salsify, and just couldn't find any pots that were big and deep enough till I found a nice trio of plain round heavy plastic garbage cans- they look a lot like the big pot on the left in the OP pic, only they came in black.

No repotting into bigger pot pls. In 2 years, plant should be bigger and/or have some pups. Does the whole pot feel heavy? Leaves seem to be water-logged. It looks like it is in soil that retains water, and there is possibility that it could be rotting. If my plant, I would take it out of pot and get all soil off the roots. Take clear photo and post for us to see their condition.

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