


Flopping aloe vera leaves can happen for a multitude of reasons, ranging from watering habits, to lack of drainage, pests, stress or a sudden change of temperature. However, the outer leaves can sometimes crease or bend, causing your aloe vera to look droopy. For that reason, aloe do best near a southern window where they will receive a good amount of sunlight.Ī healthy aloe vera will normally grow upright and have thick, sturdy leaves. They will grow big and relatively fast if they receive at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight every day. Aloe vera are easy to grow: they are very forgiving, even you forget them for a few weeks, making it the perfect plant for beginner gardeners or anyone who doesn’t want to commit to a frequent watering schedule.Īloe vera plants do however require a lot of light to thrive. It’s not only beautiful, but it is also a useful plant, known for its medical benefits. Water your aloe any time the soil starts to dry out, and give it a dose of high-phosphorous liquid fertilizer once a year, in the spring.Aloe vera, or Aloe Barbadensis, is a popular plant to have around the house.
#Aloe plant stem full#
Once your aloe is established, keep it in a spot where it gets full sun 8 to 10 hours a day. Place the pot in a warm, sunny spot, then water it again after about a week. Fill in the soil around the base of the plant, then add enough water to make the soil damp, but not soaking wet. If you like, dip the roots of the offset in rooting hormone before setting it in the hole. Get a pot with drainage holes and fill it with cactus soil, then make a small hole in the soil that’s deep enough to cover the offset’s roots and the bottom ¼ of its leaves.

Replant the rest of the aloe and put the offset aside for a few days so the cut starts to heal over. Make sure there are some roots attached to the offset, or it probably won’t grow. Use a sharp knife sterilized with ethyl alcohol to carefully slice the offset off of the main aloe. If you spot one of these little plants, pull the whole aloe out of the soil so you can find where the offset attaches to the main plant. An offset is a smaller aloe plant that grows from the roots of the parent plant. For a greater chance of success, try growing an aloe from an offset instead of a leaf cutting. If the rooting is successful, your new aloe plant should be established within about 4 to 6 weeks. Any time the soil starts to dry out, water your aloe again. Put the pot in a warm, sunny spot, and check the soil regularly to make sure it stays moist. About 1/3rd of the length of the leaf should be under the surface of the soil. Dip the cut end of the leaf in rooting hormone, then stick it in the soil with the cut side facing down. You can also put a little gravel at the bottom to improve drainage, which will help prevent your aloe from getting too soggy. When you’re ready to pot the leaf, take a plant pot with some drainage holes at the bottom and fill it with cactus soil. Place the cut leaf in a warm place and leave it there long enough for a protective film to form over the cut. Use a clean, sharp knife to cut the leaf off close to the base, cutting downward at an angle towards the stem. Start by selecting an aloe leaf that’s at least 8 cm (3.15 in) long. Growing an aloe plant from just a leaf is challenging, but with a little care and patience, it is possible.
