mrjawfree
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Location: San Francisco

Possible to Recover Aloe Vera Plant?

Hi, I failed in properly caring for my Aloe Vera plant. I live in San Francisco and I have 6 other housemates living with me. Sometimes my aloe vera plant gets knocked over and the stalks get bent. I tie it up with other stalks or leaves so it can restrengthen itself (Not sure if that's a good idea). I've had this plant for 7 months now and it's still alive (I think).

Last week, I left it out on the patio in full sun (at least 12 hours) and it was severely sunburned. It became an ugly brown color. I also over-watered it. I'm not sure if soil has nutrients for the plant. Very important thing to mention is that this plant has no roots. Oh and it's been used for medicinal purposes too because I've burned my hand a couple times.

My aloe vera plant now lives indoors and I have not watered it in a week. Amazing thing happened: It's getting greener! Still no roots though.

I will share images so you have a better idea on how to help me with this plant.

I think it also needs to be repotted in a bigger pot, but I'm not sure how the soil should be. Any help is welcome! Thanks!

[img]https://pularaft.com/aloe/01_medium.jpg[/img]
I'm amazed it has survived this long.

[img]https://pularaft.com/aloe/02_distance.jpg[/img]
Better perspective of my beaten up plant.

[img]https://pularaft.com/aloe/IMG_0254.jpg[/img]
Close up of plant damage from getting knocked over. BTW it's green and recovering. Notice the side stems that have a brownish and not as radiant color: that's the sunburn.

[img]https://pularaft.com/aloe/IMG_0255.jpg[/img]
Another perspective. Never saw these black spots before until now.

[img]https://pularaft.com/aloe/IMG_0256.jpg[/img]
Not sure why this side of the stem is light green. Could be the result of overwatering?

[img]https://pularaft.com/aloe/IMG_no_root.jpg[/img]
See, no roots! How is this plant still alive? How is it recovering?

I apologize if these images offend you. Please have pity on one who doesn't know how to garden container plants. I am willing to learn how to properly care for this plant and welcome any advice! Thanks for your help!

Best,
Jeoffrey

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froggy
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Location: Toronto, ON, zone 5a

Hi Jeoffrey,

Sadly, I am no expert on Aloe plants, so this is just General advice...

A wider pot might help with he tipping over issue - if it's a top- weight issue ( I find my orchids topple over when hey are top heavy) maybe plunk a big rock in the bottom of he pot. Just make sure there is enough well draining soil left and the rock doesn't clog up the bottom...
I am not sure if aloe has lots of roots or how it recovers from damage, but if you are worried about losing the entire plant, maybe chop off the injured leaf, cut it into sections and root them for new plants... I think that's how they are propagated anyways... People will let you know if I am wrong though.

Good luck

Karin

mrjawfree
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Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 9:42 pm
Location: San Francisco

froggy wrote:Hi Jeoffrey,

Sadly, I am no expert on Aloe plants, so this is just General advice...

A wider pot might help with he tipping over issue - if it's a top- weight issue ( I find my orchids topple over when hey are top heavy) maybe plunk a big rock in the bottom of he pot. Just make sure there is enough well draining soil left and the rock doesn't clog up the bottom...
I am not sure if aloe has lots of roots or how it recovers from damage, but if you are worried about losing the entire plant, maybe chop off the injured leaf, cut it into sections and root them for new plants... I think that's how they are propagated anyways... People will let you know if I am wrong though.

Good luck

Karin
Thanks Karin! I'm definitely going to repot it in a wider pot. Still need to work out a good formula for the soil.

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Kisal
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My advice would be NOT to repot it. If there is too much soil around the stem, it won't root, it will just rot. Without roots to absorb water from the soil, it won't dry rapidly enough.

Is the end of the stump firm and dry? If it feels spongy or soft at all, it's beginning to rot. You might be able to salvage it, if you can cut the end off, back to firm tissue. Don't plant it right away, just lay it aside for 24 hours, or even longer, until the cut surface is dry and hard. This is called "callousing", and is necessary to prevent rot and to encourage the formation of new roots. Once the end is calloused, you can plant it in slightly moistened soil. (Remember, it has no roots yet, so can't absorb much in the way of water from the soil.)

The solution for a top-heavy plant with few or no roots is to plant it in a small pot --the one it's in is fine -- and place it, pot and all, inside a wider -- but not deeper -- container. Look for something like an "azalea pot". You could even get a decorative cache pot for it. If you do that, be sure to remove it from the cache pot whenever you water it. Never, ever allow the plant to stand in water.

Aloes are desert cacti, and although they aren't as picky as some cacti, they will do best in a potting mix designed for cacti and succulents. Such a potting mix will contain a lot of small gravel and fine grit, and not a lot of peat moss or other organic material. It will be neutral to slightly alkaline in pH.

HTH! :)

mrjawfree
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Kisal wrote:My advice would be NOT to repot it. If there is too much soil around the stem, it won't root, it will just rot. Without roots to absorb water from the soil, it won't dry rapidly enough.

Is the end of the stump firm and dry? If it feels spongy or soft at all, it's beginning to rot. You might be able to salvage it, if you can cut the end off, back to firm tissue. Don't plant it right away, just lay it aside for 24 hours, or even longer, until the cut surface is dry and hard. This is called "callousing", and is necessary to prevent rot and to encourage the formation of new roots. Once the end is calloused, you can plant it in slightly moistened soil. (Remember, it has no roots yet, so can't absorb much in the way of water from the soil.)

The solution for a top-heavy plant with few or no roots is to plant it in a small pot --the one it's in is fine -- and place it, pot and all, inside a wider -- but not deeper -- container. Look for something like an "azalea pot". You could even get a decorative cache pot for it. If you do that, be sure to remove it from the cache pot whenever you water it. Never, ever allow the plant to stand in water.

Aloes are desert cacti, and although they aren't as picky as some cacti, they will do best in a potting mix designed for cacti and succulents. Such a potting mix will contain a lot of small gravel and fine grit, and not a lot of peat moss or other organic material. It will be neutral to slightly alkaline in pH.

HTH! :)
Thanks Kisal! This is really helpful. I was thinking that the roots may come out if I just water it. I never thought if the stub was rotting or not. It's actually spongy so I will take your advice on cutting it back to firm tissue.

In regards to the new soil formula, should I add anything else to the potting mix designed for cacti and succulents?

Thanks again!

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Kisal
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Unless you have a lot of other desert cacti, the simplest thing would be just to buy a bag of potting mix specifically designed for them. My favorite brand is Whitney Farms, but when I can't find that, I buy a brand called Nature's.

You could probably get by with regular potting mix, if you added enough perlite, sand and fine gravel, except for the peat moss in the regular mix. That tends to make the soil more acidic than desert cacti really like. IMO, anyway. :)

mrjawfree
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Kisal wrote:Unless you have a lot of other desert cacti, the simplest thing would be just to buy a bag of potting mix specifically designed for them. My favorite brand is Whitney Farms, but when I can't find that, I buy a brand called Nature's.
I'll give it a shot, thanks Kisal! I'll share an update for my aloe plant next week.
Kisal wrote:You could probably get by with regular potting mix, if you added enough perlite, sand and fine gravel, except for the peat moss in the regular mix. That tends to make the soil more acidic than desert cacti really like. IMO, anyway. :)
Wow aloe vera is very interesting. It is definitely different from my herb garden. I wouldn't have compared it to cacti at all. Not many sites mention Aloe Vera as a cacti either, at least the ones I've read. Any guesses on how long it may take for aloe vera roots to come out in cacti soil?

BTW, once my plant starts growing again, I am thinking about "multiplying" it: [url]https://www.aloe-vera-and-handy-herbs.com/How-to-multiply-aloe-vera.html[/url]

Anyone ever tried that before? success? how long does it take for aloe to split like this?

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Kisal
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Absolutely. Aloes are almost always started from pups. They take quite awhile to grow from seed. :)



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