Aloe Vera is available from us as a container plant or houseplant. In the apartment, the plant needs a warm place in full sun. Ideally, this is a south or southwest facing window. If you have a winter garden, this is where aloe feels best. In summer you should put the real aloe outside to benefit from better light conditions, but at the latest when the first cool nights with falling temperatures arrive in September, bring the pot or container indoors . You can also place it in a warm, bright place for the winter. Temperatures of at least 15 degrees in winter are ideal for heat-loving aloe.
The Right Soil for Aloe Vera
As a substrate, Aloe Vera prefers soil low in humus which provides sufficient nutrients. A high proportion of sand is favorable, because the plant needs permeable soil. It does not tolerate excess water and does not tolerate permanent humidity or stagnant water at all.
If you repot your aloe, use, for example, cactus soil available in specialized stores. You can also mix potting soil with sand, adding one part sand, perlite or granite to two parts soil. Add a little carbonated lime. A blend like this offers everything aloe needs. Young aloe plants grow quickly if cared for properly. Repot the plant every two or three years. With age, growth is slower. Older specimens can therefore stay up to four years in the same pot and the same substrate.
Tips for Repotting Aloe Vera
When repotting you need a little skill, especially for large plants. The leaves are sensitive to pressure and if you are too rough with the plant they may break. Prepare for repotting by first letting the soil dry. Gently grasp the base of the plant and remove the root ball from the pot. Avoid putting pressure on the leaves.
Choose a pot that is no more than two sizes tall. This means that you transplant, for example, an aloe from a pot of 12 into a pot of 16. In the new pot, the hold is a little wobbly. Until the aloe has taken root, it needs help not to topple under its own weight. This help is provided by two or three wooden stakes which hold the aloe in place and prevent it from toppling over.
Propagation and sowing: take aloe vera shoots
The easiest way to propagate aloe vera is to use cuttings. These are therefore small, almost complete plants that the mother plant forms. Make sure the children are about 5cm tall when you remove them from the mother plant. The children already have roots and are planted in a small pot that you fill with the substrate described above. Allow some time between taking from the mother plant and planting, so that the interface can dry.
Alternatively, cuttings are usually successful. For this purpose, cut a leaf from an older plant, preferably in spring. Let the cut surface dry well before placing the cutting one or two centimeters deep in sandy soil. Secure the cutting with two wooden rods so that it does not fall. You must now wait for the first roots to form. You will recognize it by the fact that the leaf continues to grow. As soon as the young plant has taken root in the pot, you can replant it in a larger growing pot.
You will also find aloe seeds to sow commercially. You need a growing medium on which you scatter the seeds. Water the seeds and place everything in a warm, bright place. As soon as the young shoots have become small plants, remove them from the growing medium and transplant them into individual pots filled with potting soil for cacti or succulents. Make sure that the substrate is not too humid, the small aloe plants will then thank you with healthy growth.
Tips for Watering and Fertilizing Aloe
When watering the aloe, prevent the rosette of leaves from receiving water. This encourages the development of rot and can, in the worst case, lead to total loss of the plant. As its natural location indicates, aloe requires little water. Given the risk of rot, do not pour the water from above onto the root ball, but fill it in a saucer.
When it comes to fertilization, less is more. Especially immediately after repotting, the substrate has sufficient nutrients for a few weeks. When you begin fertilizing, add a commercial cactus fertilizer to the water every two to four weeks during the growing season, depending on the type of fertilizer used. Dose according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In winter, stop fertilizing completely.
Aloe Vera: typical diseases and pests
The main pests of aloe vera are woolly aphids and gray aphids. They appear mainly in winter. Typical diseases also include the consequences of excess moisture, namely shoot and root rot.
