A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Cacti and Succulents Indoors my aloe

i have an aloe vera plant that is well established in my garden and i went to check on it yesterday and saw that it was flat layed out on the ground all shrivelled up
before our first frost an obviously not so good source now
told me to just put some type of straw around the roots of it at the base to keep the roots warm and it will be fine
but now it looks like its dying
could someone plz plz plz help me

well wont it eventually kill it if i am back and forth bring it in for cold weather and then planting it back outside for the hot seasons?

and plus the stores up here that are still carrying plants for sale have a few that look the same way, HOW CAN THEY SALE SOMETHING LOOKING LIKE THAT?

I was given an aloe plant and it spent the summer outside and I brought it in for the winter. I was goint to repot it but never got around to it. I took a look at it yesterday and the darn thing has sent up a flower stalk. I have never seen one bloom and I can't wait to see what it looks like.

Can anyone tell me if soft, spongy aloe leaves mean too much or too little water? Also, if the leaves turn a purple color, what does that mean?

thanks,

if they are too soft, but full, then it is too much water. and the purple color can come from more sun than they are used to. but they do turn a darker color, not really green, if they are in full sun.

Thanks for the response -- when you say "full," they're actually drooping -- what are they like when they haven't received enough water?

they get flat and dry up then fall off. if you could post a picture that would be great!

I always kept mine in big pots. Then I would set t hem out in the later spring/summer & bring them back in in the fall..

Good Afternoon All:

I got hooked on Aloe about 8 years ago. My Family attended a local Fall Fair and I met up with a vendor who was selling Aloe. She was an elderly lady and she was selling them out of a old wash tub. They were planted in sand and there must have been thousands of 4 to 8 inch seedlings in the old tub. I asked her how hard they were to grow. She said water them every other month and as long as the river sand holds out, they will too. I leave mine in the green house during the winter and the best ones are kept in our home. The others are scattered throughout the yard, other than winter. Our winters here in South Georgia are mild. I experiment each year and leave some out in the yard in my plant hospital area. I have never seen any of this variety survive in less than 40 degree weather. As the others said, they just dropped over and went to aloe heaven. I think they do best as described above. Hope this helps.

I just potted some aloe that was given to me. I used a bag of purchased "topsoil". Is this too rich?

Good Morning:

Like I said, I am just an old Farmer. They have worked well for me during the last 8 years in River Sand only. I guess you could use purchased masonry sand and sterilize it, to keep all the scientists happy. But, don't take these remarks lightly, I have a somewhat large greenhouse operation, in the building stages, and I have to listen to the College boys and girls routinely. I know this sounds like I am going in circles, but I have to remark that my cactus and Succullent Mix has always been 50% Builders Sand, 25% Peat Moss, 25% Perlite and Vermiculite mixed equally. It works for me. The Aloe Mix has always been pure Washed River Sand. It works for me. I have not seen much disease. Of Course, I do not sell Aloe to the Public. So, Is your mixture to rich? I do not guess so. You could mix 50% builders sand to your mix. Giving you 50% Sand and 50% Soil. Thats just my personal opinion. I like potting soil rather than topsoil.

I planted some aloe my mother gave me in regular potting soil and it's been growing fine. at one point, the room i had it in last summer was VERY hot and humid and a lot of the plant died (leaves got flat, turned brown and wilted). i pulled a couple of small sprigs from that pot and planted them in potting soil -- and moved :). it took some time, but now the plant is thriving. i dont even keep it in bright sun now and it still is doing well. so in my experience, this plant is pretty resilient. i water maybe a day or two after i notice the soil is dry to the touch.

im not a plant expert by any means, but i started out with succulents because they seemed "easier" to take care of. i always have felt that when i overwater my succulents, it seems like they retain less water. i guess i assumed this was because they are built to retain water to account for drought.

you have it right. i've always put mine in either potting soil or potting soil mixed with sand. they do ok.

I HAVE MINE PLANTED IN NOTHING BUT SAND, ITS DOING GOOD IN IT
I WOULD THINK TAHTS THEIR NAT HABITAT, SAND
I KNOW MINE GOT REALLY MOOSHY N TURNED PURPLISH N THEN BLACK N STRATED LAYING DOWN N THAT TO ME IS A SIGN OF DEATH - TO - ALOE!!
BUT I MULCHED IT N KEPT IT WARM THROUGH WINTER N NOW ITS BACK TO ITS OLD SELF AGAIN CEPT FOR THIS::
I HAD TO CUT OFF THE DEAD STEMS N IT HAS NEW ONES growing UP THE CENTER BUT ITS NOT growing AS FAST AS IT WAS SO I SUGGEST TO MYSELF THAT I PUT IT IN A ROMMY POT N WHEEL IT INSIDE N OUTSIDE DEPENDIN ON WEATHER
I DO NOT WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT ANYMORE
I COULD HAVE SWORN I WAS GONNA LOSE MY ALOE
THANK THE GOOD LORD I DIDNT!! (AND BOY IS HE GOOD)
WE LIVE IN THE COUNTRY SO WE BURN ALOT OF WOOD WHILE WE CLEAR CUT STUFF, THIS WEEKEND WE'RE BURNING 2 HUGE HUGE BURNPILES THAT HAVE BEEN SITTING FOR CLOSE TO A YEAR WE DONT WANT TO ATTRACT SNAES, SPIDERS, MICE, ETC THIS SUMMER SO . .

ANYWAYS AS YOU CAN PROLLY SEE, WE USE ALOE ALL THE TIME!!
I MEAN ALL THE TIME!!

BUT I DUNNO IF YA'LL KNEW THIS OR NOT BUT THERE IS ANOTHER succulent TAHT HAS THE SAME EFECTS TO BURNS N SCARTCHES N STUFF LIKE ALOE DOES, ITS CALLED ::
HOUSELEEK, I THINK??

Hi all,

I am experiencing a similar problem with my aloe; I repotted it recently into a larger pot and used a commercial potting soil blend. However, I discovered tonight that I am losing some of the leaves. They turned brownish-purple, flat and just plain dead! So, I removed them from the plant. The location of the plant hasn't changed-it still sits in front of the same window.

I am under the impression it is having shock in it's new planter (?) I was wondering if anyone can give me any tips to spruce it up? Is it too late to add some perlite and sand to the mix? Should I put it outdoors now that the warmer weather is here?

Please help! I was so proud that my aloe was thriving, but now it seems to be drooping :(

maybe too much water? did you transplant into a much larger container? I leave my aloe out all year here, but our temps don't get below 32 but 2-3 times during the winter ( and for short periods of time, at that) I would say, gradually get that sucker outside. I would wait till it stabilizes to change the soil. but yes, it would probably like more of a sandy perlite mixture.