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Hello all,

A friend of mine gave me an aloe vera plant and I put it in a pot with 50/50 soil and river sand. Now the leaves are shriveling. When I called my friend she said that she never planted hers in a pot, she just let it sit in a jug of water. I think my poor plant is traumatized. Should I move it back to just water or will it get used to soil?

That is difficult to answer as asked. Let me ask you some questions is the pot much wider than it is deep. That is the general recommendation for growing aloe in a pot. Generally it is potted up in either cacti mix or potting soil with a lot of extra perlite mixed in. Then you water it very, very well and then let it almost dry out and start again in the summer. In the winter you water it very little. I am puzzled why you friend had it only in water. Also was it well rooted when you planted it in the pot. The roots should have been fanned out rather shallowly in the pot. That is the way aloe vera tends to grow. So, there are a number of factors at play here, therefore, there isn't a simple answer.