aloe care advice requested. :)

[liv]

Hello everybody,
I'm brand new here & just lost my original post so I will try to repeat it!

Attached are a few pictures of my aloe plant which I bought maybe 7 years ago as a tiny plant. Maybe 4 years ago I re-potted it (using regular potting soil, not cactus soil). I keep it indoors next to a wall of windows where it gets bright but indirect light all day. I water it maybe once a month, and only with about a half cup of water. The soil typically stays very dry.

I am wondering why the new leaves that grow from the inside stand straight up, but eventually they fall to the sides and droop and/or bend. Also, why I have never gotten pups with this plant. I don't know what kind of aloe it is.

Thank you for any help!!

[NancyJo]

I'm no expert, but I have some aloe plants. when mine start to get wonky I will stop watering for a few weeks and that seems to toughing the spikes up again. Also if if the spikes hit the edge of the pot their in, they will start to crease and droop down. If it was my plant I would re pot and lightly water and leave it be a few weeks.

[Sweyn]

It would be better off if you changed the pot to a porous, clay one and, the soil to a cactus soil.

[liv]

Thanks, I will try re-potting to a clay pot and changing the soil to cactus soil. I only water it once a month, so if anything, it is not getting enough water.
I'm not sure whether the leaves are supposed to droop like they are (instead of all pointing upwards), so maybe I will "harvest" the leaves on the bottom. I saw a YouTube video where the guy harvested the bottom leaves of the aloe plant, which causes the stem to look bare, so he pulled up the entire plant, cut off the root bulb, and re-planted the aloe stem deeper - sort of shortening the plant by bringing the new leaves down closer to the soil. And the plant grew new roots, so it wasn't a problem.

[Sweyn]

liv, it's important to use an unglazed, clay pot. Smooth ones like in your photographs, don't let water drain fast enough for succulent plants and therefore, keep soil wet. This kind of plant does not like soil that stays wet. Unglazed, clay pots allow the soil to drain enough.

Cactus soil also helps because it does not stay wet, in such a pot.

[liv]

After trimming off 7 of the bottom leaves (and cutting out the gel to use! ) , I uprooted the plant to re-pot it in a clay pot using Miracle-Gro "Cactus, Palm, & Citrus Potting Mix". the old soil I had was so hard & dry, it was probably much better than this new nutrient-filled moist soil. I don't trust it.
For better or worse, I cut off the roots of the plant, hoping they will re-grow. I planted the roots in a separate clay pot hoping for a 2nd aloe plant! I hope this all wasnt a big mistake....
Anyway, attached is the trimmed much smaller plant.

thanks!

[NancyJo]

It looks good. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. I never would have had the guts to cut off the roots. LOL But I guess trial and error makes one know for certain what works and what doesn't.

[liv]

Thanks Nancy!

[Sweyn]

The little dish under the pot, is a good idea. Is your plant getting a lot of natural light? It seems healthy, even though the leaves droop down under their own weight.

[imafan26]

If you can gradually move it into better light or supplement the light, the leaves will be a little stiffer. Low light tends to make softer growth. That being said, my larger succulents do have their lower leaves droop when they get long from their own weight. The leaves are full of water so they are heavy, so I think part of the drooping may just be natural. Otherwise your plant looks like you have been taking very good care of it.

[liv]

Thanks Sweyn & Super Green! It does get a lot of natural light since it sits next to a large wall of windows, but it never gets direct sun, so I guess that would be considered the equivalent of shade if I had it outside.
I will look for a lamp that mimics sunlight if I can find one that's not too expensive.

[Endlers]

The energy saver bulbs (spiral CFL ) in bright white (not sunlight) are fantastic no heat low energy bulbs which get green and red plants to grow very nicely .

I had a small Aloe Vera inside and it grew great with 2 of those bulbs . It went from 3 inches to about 8 rather fast .

It is now outside and large plus putting out babies but if I was going to keep plants inside I would use those bulbs.