A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion New Members hi. i'm new, in uk, looking for aloe vera help.

hi to everyone or anyone

i'm new and unsure how you all regularily chat on here. but hi, can anyone help with info to help save my aloe vera plant? life saving advice is surely needed. i did write about it in another of these boxes but i now realise that thats appeared on a subject list of hi from kentucky of something like that. i'm now sure where i am meant to write or say hello to ya'll. so sorry if i'm comminting faux pas .

hi to all anyway. regards, zero.

Hi Zero, great name! Although I'm sure it's not entirely accurate.

Is the plant indoors? They are very susceptible to frost damage. During winter, it shouldn't require very much water, and needs to be allowed to dry in between watering. Do you have any photos of it?

Good luck with the plant! I'm sure you will be able to get the right advice here.

hi stevie g

thanks for the reply. i assure ya, the name is appropriate.(thanks for the compliment though) also, zero spelling skills and zero willingness to spend time with spell check unless its work related. but hey ho, its not my spelling thats killing my plant. its me.

i cant put in a pic because ive no idea how to do one. i'm zero web skills too i'm afraid. (so ive been super impressed by the pics on here, even moving ones too)

as for my sad little dying plant...its indoor. in bathroom on window sill. i'd liketo say its been happy there but i wouldnt actually know what a happy aloe vera looks like. i just know i wasnt worried about it untill this pot smashed era. and its subsequent abandonment in the litter tray. there it has 'turned' from a plant that i needed advice to help re pot and support since it had a wobbely stick of a base that stood 6 inces above soil before leaf things began.i neer did know what i should do with it. now its in need of major rescue....life saving efforts to bring it back from the very very brink of too late....it couldnt stand if i tried. so its laid flat in the litter tray, like on a cheese board, but gently tilted up at one end so it sees light and a small amount of water can sit in the corner of the tray at the bottom of what is the pot shaped lump of soil that its been living in. it holds it togeather without its pot , simply by its roots having been bound in pot. but it doesnt look tooo pot bound..i dont think. its the laying down on the tray that i think has killed its will.

if it were an animal, i know it needs intensice care, the fluids are not going in. it would need warmth, love , coaxing to eat tiny mouthfulls of finger fead chicken and fish. antibiotics, or steriods of anything else the vet may offer. but its a plant, there is no hospital, and i have no idea.

any tips would be gratefully receieved.

(can ya tell, i'm banging the typing out due to the stress of trying to save a plant. ...if only i knew before how important this poor little limp thing is)

i'll shut up now. reguards ..zero

Yeah, like you, I hate to see plants die, and I never give up on them till it's obviously too late.

The plant will obviously need support, maybe from 2 sticks, one either side of the plant, with something soft like a length of stocking running between the sticks and around the stem of the plant. A slightly bigger pot than the previous one will be required, and some good potting mix, and it's at the outer edges of this new pot that I would put in the 2 supporting sticks. Sounds like a 2-person job; you need someone to help hold it till the supports are in place. I guess the idea is that once the plant recovers and strengthens, you could remove the unsightly supporting system.

Will it still fit on the window sill in a slightly bigger pot? If so, I think the sill is a good spot, if it gets a good amount of sunlight there.

Photos can be uploaded to photobucket, and then copied to this site, but I won't hassle you with details of that just at the moment, as you are probably more worried about sorting out the aloe!!

welcome from me too!