jwyx
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what is wrong with the aloe vera?

I have an aloe vera in a pot with regular potting mix. since last 2 months at the start of winter the outer leaves are turning reddish colour and curling.

- I water every 3 weeks
- it's at the sheltered porch and gets direct morning light
- there are enough drainage holes
- there's new growth from the center and pups appearing

am I doing something wrong? is this normal part of the plant's cycle?

thanks in advance
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LawnDad
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Location: Southern Utah

You need to replant it in a pot with a drainage hole. The plant is being overwatered because there is nowhere for the water to go once it is down in the soil, the excess water needs to be able to move out of the soil so that plant can breath. It is being overwater and oxygen deprived if that makes sense. I did a bad job of explaining but definitely use the internet to search the issue.

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rainbowgardener
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umm.... jwx said:

I water every 3 weeks
- it's at the sheltered porch and gets direct morning light
- there are enough drainage holes
- there's new growth from the center and pups appearing

But for jwx, sometimes if you have a flat bottom pot sitting directly on a flat surface the space in between fills up and it ends up not having enough drainage. If so, it helps just to put a bunch of pebbles or small rocks under the pot, to lift it up and keep a better drainage space.

I don't grow aloe but what I have seen written about it says the most common reason for turning red is too much sun exposure. This can happen when the plant is placed in place with full sun and given very little watering (less than once per 4–5 days). The plant’s leaves turn red, then begin to wrinkle. It can recover by itself if given more water or moved to place with partial shade.

Let us know what helps. Best wishes! :)

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Gary350
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I can see from the color plant is getting too much full sun. Plant will do much better if it only gets about 3 hrs of direct sunlight, then shade the rest of the day. Keep your plant in full shade for about 1 month until it turns green again then you can let it have 3 hours of direct sun every day.

I see your plant has out grown the pot. A larger pot will allow more roots to grow this will also allow the plant to grow larger.

Clay pots allow soil to dry out faster than plastic pots. If you like clay pots line the inside with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Aloe grows much better with a continuous soil moisture.

Aloe will do much better in sand than potting soil. Buy child play sand at Home Depot or Lowe's mix in about 10% soil from your yard. Pull your plant out of the pot then knock off most of the potting soil so you can re pot it in a larger pot with different soil. If you pour a cup of water in the pot most of the water should run out the bottom of the pot and sand will stay moist.

When I lived in Arizona I had 1 aloe plant that was not doing well in a pot after planting it in the yard so it only got about 3 hours of morning sun then shade the rest of the day it did much better. It soon made about 15 baby plants that I transplanted. A few months later all the baby plants were larger & made baby plants too. All those 100 baby plants made baby plants several months later. After 18 to 20 months the original plant was about 3 feet tall and the other 400 plants were a lot of different sizes. Aloe grows very fast if conditions are right.

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applestar
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I was going to say too much sun, too.... if you live in the northern hemisphere, the sun is lower in the sky and more sun comes in the window, less foliage shade from trees, etc., maybe?

Also, the sun is rising closer to east, not so much north of east and setting closer to west, not so much north of west, so the STRONGER sun period even though wintry sun could occur in the same spot in the window at this time of the year. (Something else that probably doesn’t apply here — but a window that was getting morning sun in the summer could be getting no sun at all in the winter as well.)

Alternatively, consider if the plant is too close to the window and getting chilled, especially if the plant is located just below the window and cold air is pouring down the window glass even if you have tight non-leaking windows. OR if like most houses, you have heating vent or radiators under the windows, the heat could be affecting your plant.


...now, on the other hand, if you were living in the SOUTHERN hemisphere, different scenario could happen — the sun is rising earlier and same “morning sun” window is getting MORE sun and possibly if the plant is right by the window, then more blistering sun. The point is it’s very important to consider seasonal changes in sun exposure and micro-environment for house plants in the same window.

imafan26
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Mine would also turn red in the sun. But, in my case, it is a lot more sun than you say your plant has been exposed to. It may be relative. If the plant was in a location with less bright light, it may turn red because it is relatively getting more light now. Red leaves are not going to harm the plant. The new leaves that come out will be adjusted to the light levels and should come out the right color. As others have said. Drainage is important for almost all plants. I put my pots on bricks, benches, or I have used pot feet on some. I try to get pots with drainage holes on the sides or at least make sure the drain hole is not blocked so the water can escape.

I get pups coming out regularly because I am always having to cut back the aloe patch. If there is room in the pot, the aloe will make pups to try to fill it. I try to keep my succulents in relatively small pots. One because they need to dry out so the less water holding media the better, and two because succulents have a fine root system and don't need a lot of pot relative to the top. I do have to prop them up though since they are top heavy and if they are not massed together, they will fall over.



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