Aloe Vera Not Growing Roots?

[DogInTheDisco]

I'm a first time aloe owner and am very confused.

I bought this plant already grown, and very soon after noticed that it seemed as though the plant was almost uprooting itself. The leaves were so delicately balanced in the soil I just gave a tiny pull and some came up!

Since then I have repotted in a larger grower and used a mixture of compost and gravel/grit. However, once again it's happening and it seems that the leaves that I've plucked out barely even have roots.

Any advice would be VERY appreciated!

xo

[DogInTheDisco]

A pic of the whole plant:

[applestar]

I know there are folks here who have more expertise than I do with aloe, but to me the growing mixture you are using seem not quite right, especially for a plant with root system that is not established. I feel the pebbles are too big — I would only use them on the surface to help support the plant until roots grow. And compost maybe too moisture retaining or too much in the mixture ratio.

I don’t know if your purchased plant was only recently rooted cuttings and lost what little it had, but now you will have to start from beginning.

For growing medium, I would use 1/3 sand, 1/3 soil.coir/peat moss, 1/3 grit or perlite. I think aggregate should be finer because it will be difficult for roots to grow past large pebbles. Once you have more established root system, the aggregate could be made up of larger material.

I think I would peel off the dried-looking and spoiled leaf or leaves. You may need to cut any questionable/browned end with sterilized knife or razor, then allow to dry/callus, then root in the moistened rooting medium. Keep less dry than too wet.

...hope I got that right.

[Gary350]

When I lived in Arizona Lowe's & Home Depot sold Aloe in pots. Pots were well drained sandy soil with small rocks on the surface to make them look cute. I had trouble growing aloe in pots they did not like the uneven soil moisture. Too much water made the roots rot off. Aloe did very well planted on the east side of the house in the yard between the house and a 6 ft tall cement block fence where they only got 2 hours direct sunlight every morning 9:30 am to 11:30 am the coolest part of the day. Plants did well in 114 degree summer weather and 21 degree winter weather. My Aloe plants were 2 and 3 ft tall in 18 months and I never fertilized them.

Someone I knew said, put 3" of potting soil inside a glass fish tank stick aloe leaves in the soil with a lid in about 30 days they will grow roots. I never tried that with Aloe but I did with African Violets. I pulled all the leaves from 1 plant and within a year I had 100 new African Violet plants. They root quicker with rooting powder.

Some plants can tolerate the worse soil and worse weather and survive, if you get them perfect conditions they grow faster than weeds.

[imafan26]

I think the pot is too wet, it is the only thing I can think of that would make the roots look like that. Cactus roots are fibrous and they are designed to capture and hold moisture so you need a well drained mix, but not rocks. Try planting in cactus mix instead. Water well when you water. Use your finger and poke in the soil, if it still feels a bit damp wait until it is almost dry to water again. No saucers under the plant filled with water. If you must have a saucer use pot feet and siphon off any excess water that drains into the saucer. Aloe can handle more water than most succulents, but they don't need much.

Since I tend to over water anyway, I always use a terracotta or cement pot because they breathe and I underpot. If you have too much media in a pot with small plants or a small root system and your plant does not need a lot of moisture, it would do worse. Size your pot according to the mass of the roots not the size of the top. I would use a smaller pot just big enough for a couple of inches growth. I put the pots that fall over into a larger empty pot for stability. Actually, when mine fall over it is usually because they need a bigger pot.