Growing Aloe Vera

How to Care for Aloe Vera Plants

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The aloe vera plant is an easy, attractive succulent that makes for a great indoor companion. Aloe vera plants are useful, too, as the juice from their leaves can be used to relieve pain from scrapes and burns when applied topically. Here’s how to grow and care for aloe vera plants in your home!

Aloe vera is a succulent plant species of the genus Aloe. The plant is stemless or very short-stemmed with thick, greenish, fleshy leaves that fan out from the plant’s central stem. The margin of the leaf is serrated with small teeth.

Before you buy an aloe, note that you’ll need a location that offers bright, indirect sunlight (or, artificial sunlight). However, the plant doesn’t appreciate sustained direct sunlight, as this tends to dry out the plant too much and turn its leaves yellow, rendering them subpar for use.

Keep the aloe vera plant in a pot near a kitchen window for periodic use but avoid having the sun’s rays hit it directly.

Please note: The gel from aloe vera leaves can be used topically, but should not be ingested by people or pets. It can cause unpleasant symptoms such as nausea or indigestion and may even be toxic in larger quantities.

Planting

Before Planting

It’s important to chose the right type of container. A pot made from terra-cotta or a similarly porous material is recommended, as it will allow the soil to dry thoroughly between waterings and will also be heavy enough to keep the plant from tipping over. A plastic or glazed pot may also be used, though these will hold more moisture.
When choosing a container, be sure to pick one that has at least one drainage hole in the bottom. This is key, as the hole will allow excess water to drain out. Aloe vera plants are hardy, but a lack of proper drainage can cause rot and wilting, which is easily the most common cause of death for this plant.
Select a container that’s about as wide as it is deep. If your aloe plant has a stem, choose a container that is deep enough for you to plant the entire stem under the soil.
Aloe vera plants are succulents, so use a well-draining potting mix, such as those made for cacti and succulents. Do not use gardening soil. A good mix should contain perlite, lava rock, chunks of bark, or all three.
A layer of gravel, clay balls, or any other “drainage” material in the bottom of the pot is not necessary. This only takes up space that the roots could otherwise be using. A drainage hole is drainage enough!
(Optional) To encourage your aloe to put out new roots after planting, dust the stem of the plant with a rooting hormone powder. Rooting hormone can be found at a local garden center or hardware store, or bought online.

Aloe vera. Image by cgdeaw/Shutterstock. — Photo by cgdeaw/Shutterstock

How to Plant (or Repot) an Aloe Vera Plant

If your aloe plant has grown leggy, has gotten too large, or simply needs an upgrade, it’s time to repot it. Here’s how:

Prepare your pot. After giving the new pot a quick rinse (or a good scrub, if it’s a pot you’ve used before) and letting it dry thoroughly, place a small piece of screen over the drainage hole; this will keep the soil from falling out the bottom and will allow water to drain properly. A doubled-up piece of paper towel or newspaper can also work in a pinch, though these will break down over time.
Prepare your plant. Remove the aloe vera plant from its current pot and brush away any excess dirt from the roots, being careful not to damage the roots.
- If your plant has any pups, remove them now. (See the “Care” section of this page for instructions on removing and potting pups.)
- If your plant has a very long, spindly stem that won’t fit in the pot, it is possible to trim the stem off partially. Note that this is risky and could kill the plant. To trim the stem: Cut off part of the stem, leaving as much as possible on the plant. Next, take the bare plant and place it in a warm area that gets indirect light. After several days, a callous will form over the wound. At this point, continue with the repotting instructions below.
Plant your plant. Fill the pot about a third of the way with a well-draining potting mix, then place your plant in the soil. Continue filling in soil around the plant, bearing in mind that you should leave at least ¾ of an inch of space between the top of the soil and the rim of the pot. The bottom leaves of the aloe plant should rest just above the soil, too. Do not water after planting.
Ignore your plant (temporarily). After you’ve placed your aloe in its new pot, don’t water it for at least a week. This will decrease the chance of inducing rot and give the plant time to put out new roots. Until the plant seems to be rooted and happy, keep it in a warm place that receives bright but indirect light.

Aloe vera plant

Care

How to Care for an Aloe Vera Plant

Lighting: Place in bright, indirect sunlight or artificial light. A western or southern window is ideal. Aloe that are kept in low light often grow leggy.
Temperature: Aloe vera do best in temperatures between 55 and 80°F (13 and 27°C). The temperatures of most homes and apartments are ideal. From May to September, you can bring your plant outdoors without any problems, but do bring it back inside in the evening if nights are cold.
Fertilizing: Fertilize sparingly (no more than once a month), and only in the spring and summer with a balanced houseplant formula mixed at ½ strength.
Repotting: Repot when root bound, following the instructions given in “Planting,” above.

Watering Aloe Vera

Watering is the most difficult part of keeping aloe vera healthy, but it’s certainly not rocket science! The aloe is a succulent plant that’s accustomed to arid environments, but its thick leaves still need sufficient water nonetheless.

Water aloe vera plants deeply, but infrequently. In other words, the soil should feel moist after watering, but should be allowed to dry out to some extent before you water again. If the soil stays overly wet, the plant’s roots can rot.
To ensure that you’re not overwatering your plant, allow the top third of potting soil to dry out between waterings. For example, if your plant is kept in 6 inches of potting soil, allow the top 2 inches to dry out before watering again. (Use your finger to test the dryness of the soil.)
Generally speaking, plan to water your aloe plant about every 2-3 weeks in the spring and summer and even more sparingly during the fall and winter. One rule of thumb for fall and winter watering is to roughly double the amount of time between waterings (as compared to your summer watering schedule). In other words, if you water every two weeks in summer, water every four weeks in winter.
When watering, some excess water may run out the bottom of the pot. Let the pot sit in this water so that the soil absorbs as much as possible. Wait 10-15 minutes, then dump any remaining water.

Removing & Replanting Aloe Vera Offsets (Pups)

Mature aloe vera plants often produce offsets—also known as plantlets, pups, or “babies”—that can be removed to produce an entirely new plant (a clone of the mother plant, technically).

Find where the offsets are attached to the mother plant and separate them using pruning shears, scissors, or a sharp knife. Leave at least an inch of stem on the offset.
Allow the offsets to sit out of soil for several days; this lets the offset form a callous over the cut, which helps to protect it from rot. Keep the offsets in a warm location with indirect light during this time.
Once the offsets have formed callouses, pot them in a standard succulent potting mix. The soil should be well-draining.
Put the newly-potted pups in a sunny location. Wait at least a week to water and keep the soil on the dry side.

Aloe vera flowers

How to Get Your Aloe Vera to Flower

Mature aloe vera plants occasionally produce a tall flower spike—called an inflorescence—from which dozens of tubular yellow or red blossoms appear. This certainly adds another level of interest to the already lovely aloe!

Unfortunately, a bloom is rarely achievable with aloes that are kept as houseplants, since the plant requires nearly ideal conditions to produce flowers: lots of light, sufficient water, and the right temperature range. Due to these requirements (mainly lighting), aloe flowers are usually only seen on plants grown outdoors year-round in warm climates.

To give your aloe the best shot at flowering:

Provide it with as much light as possible, especially during spring and summer. Aloes can be kept outdoors in full sun during the summer, when temperatures are above 70°F (21°C). If nighttime temps threaten to drop below 60°F (16°C), bring the aloe inside.
- Note: Don’t move your aloe from indoors to full sun right away; it needs time to adjust to the intense light or it may sunburn. Allow it to sit in partial shade for about a week before moving it to a brighter location.
Make sure the plant is getting the right amount of water—enough to keep it from drying out completely, but not enough to drown it! If the plant’s being kept outdoors, make sure that it’s not getting consistently soaked by summer rains.
Give your aloe a proper dormancy period in the fall and winter. Aloe tend to bloom in late winter or early spring, so giving them a period of rest consisting of less frequent watering and cooler temperatures may encourage them to flower.
Don’t be surprised if it still doesn’t flower. Despite our best efforts, indoor conditions just aren’t ideal for most aloes, so don’t be surprised if yours simply refuses to bloom!

Pests/Diseases

Aloe vera plants are most susceptible to the usual indoor plant pests, such as mealybugs and scale.

Common diseases include:

Root rot
Soft rot
Fungal stem rot
Leaf rot

Avoid overwatering to keep these conditions from developing or worsening.

Harvest/Storage

Aloe Vera Gel

To make use of the aloe vera plant’s soothing properties, remove a mature leaf from the plant and cut it lengthwise. Squeeze the gel out of the leaf and apply it to your burn, or simply lay the opened leaf gel-side–down on top of the affected area. Learn more about aloe vera’s healing properties.

Do not ingest the gel, as it can cause nausea and other unpleasant symptoms.

Aloe vera gel

Recommended Varieties

Especially attractive Aloe include:

Tiger or Partridge-Breasted Aloe (Aloe variegata) – A compact aloe characterized by short, smooth leaves with uneven white stripes.
Lace Aloe (Aloe aristata) – A small plant with white-spotted, finely sawtoothed leaves.
Blue Aloe (Aloe glauca) – A larger aloe species with silver-blue leaves.

Wit & Wisdom

Aloe vera will decorate a kitchen shelf with quiet grace while doing double duty as a self-regenerating first-aid kit. Read more about the natural health benefits of aloe vera.
One of aloe’s most famous uses is to soothe sunburnt skin, and it can be also used for cold sores.

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Reader Comments

Any type of growlight bulb

Any type of growlight bulb should do the trick. If you have a lot of pots try an 4 foot long ordinary shoplight with growlight tubes or 1 cool white and 1 warm white bulb to imitate a full spectrum of light.

Hi I've never grown aloe

Hi I've never grown aloe before, mine is looking healthy but it's quite floppy in the pot. The inner leaves are upright and the outer ones are virtually horizontal. Is that normal? Thanks

Hi, Abbie: This is almost

Hi, Abbie: This is almost always caused by too much water. Gently tie up the floppy leaves with a piece of panty hose or light string for now. Stop watering for three or four days and see if it begins to get stronger. If not, you will need to very carefully remove it from its pot, discard any rotting or unhealthy-looking roots, discard the present soil, clean the inside of the pot, and then repot with succulent (aka cactus) soil mix. Lightly water one time to begin. Then water only when the entire pot is close to dry. This should do it... thanks for asking!

Droopy leaves

Mine Has droopy leaves as well is that from over watering and I have one that wants too go sideways .... please help..... the big one it's new leaves stand straight but after growing awhile they start too droop

hi everyone, I have an aloe

hi everyone, I have an aloe that is about 15 years old and it is in bad shape. I moved recently and i accidentally decided to put it in full sun for an afternoon to help it out. Since than it's old leaves have been burnt, they have dried out and are floppy. There is abundant new growth which is very healthy but it is growing up. So what i have is a ling stem with a bunch of floppy old leaves and some really healthy growth at the end. I want to cut off the old leaves but than it would make the plant look really weird. Can i trim the old and than repot the stem root back into the dirt so it doesn't look too pathetic? Can i cut the stem and than just plant it back in the dirt? Can i cut the root ball as well? Will be taking out the baby shoots too btw.
Also, it is in decent light (was never really in full sun in its life and still grows well), and i water it about once every 2 weeks.

Remove any dead or damaged

Remove any dead or damaged leaves. Remove the pups as well, to help the mother plant focus on new leaves--you can replant the pups. What is left might be a top-heavy mother plant with a leggy stem. If so, wait a few weeks so that any cuts from removing leaves or pups have time to heal over. Then you can repot the plant in a slightly larger container, sinking the plant in the soil up to just under the first set of leaves. The leggy stem, now buried in the soil, may form roots (some species are more fussy). Be aware that it might take a few weeks to months for your plant to adjust. Also, there may be a risk of rotting if this is not done properly; be careful as to how often you water, and repot only when the plant is growing; not when it is dormant. Good luck!

Hi I just bought a new alo

Hi I just bought a new alo vera plant she was very root bound but also had 2 pups when i bought her i transplanted her right away but left the pups where they were as didnt know had to remove them and the roots were so intertwined i dont think i could have even gotten to cutting them off without damaging them so i repotted her with her pups with Miracle-Gro Potting Mix watered her with some plant food she seemed to be doing ok for the first few days but now the leaves are starting to go flat one of the smaller leaves turning brown while other leaves like i said are going flat in some places so they look kind of bumpy whats going on and how can i fix this

A common cause of aloe leaf

A common cause of aloe leaf problems is overwatering--make sure that the soil is dry down to an inch below the surface before watering, usually once every week or two; in winter, even less. When you do water in summer, give it a good soaking each time, so that water drains out the bottom of the pot; be sure to let the soil dry out between waterings. Also check that there is a drainage hole at the bottom of the pot, and that it is not sitting in water. Be sure that the soil is a cactus mix or one that has plenty of sand for good drainage. It could be just that the plant is adjusting to its new space, and going through shock; if you think this might be the case, check all conditions (light, temperature, water, etc.) and adjust as best you can.

Adding to part if the ? replanting the pups away from the mother

I read in one of the post above that you should let the let's sit out a day or two before you replant them. Sorry about my terminology but if you use your search function on this great page simewhere above then maybe you can find the correct verbiage that I am lacking. Sorry. Running into an appointment and don't have time to go back and copy/paste. Just wanted others to be aware of this if they read this post. I am a newbie to Aloe. So take my opinion lightly. Haha

Hi Marina, you should only

Hi Marina, you should only give the Aloe Vera and it's pups about 2 shot glasses worth of water and only when the top 2in. of the soil are dry, this will help encourage new root growth. Also, they should be kept indoors in a light room outside of direct sunlight, this prevents the leaves from being sunburned. I hope this helps you keep your plants happy and healthy as it did mine

Is it or is it NOT possible

Is it or is it NOT possible to plant an aloe vera plant i orchid soil

Sure, many folks use fine

Sure, many folks use fine orchid mix. We'd add some perlite. A more common soil is potting soil made for cacti, another desert plant.

Hello Almanacians!! I have

Hello Almanacians!!
I have had my Aloe Vera for sometime now. Over the past year my plant had babies as it usually does but I failed to repot it. Although I continue to water sparingly, the leaves have gotten thin as if they have dried out. some of the leaves have becoming purplish on the tips, but overall my Aloe Vera is still its beautiful green color. I repotted my plant today and gave it a generous amount of water. I am hoping that this encourages the leaves to become full and healthy as they once were.

Hi, One of my plants just

Hi,
One of my plants just recently started to get a lot of tiny brown dots on the tips of its leaves. Im not quite sure what thy are, as they do not look like bugs or holes.
I dont have it planted in a succulent potting mix, just some dirt from my yard. Could this be the problem? And is it not good to use?(im using a really light and almost dusty feeling dirt.)
Anything insight you have you be great, thank you.

You may have a small

You may have a small infestation of scale bugs (small brown bugs) although they might look like part of the plant they can hurt/kill it in a small amount of time. Try getting rubbing alcohol on a Q-tip or paper towel and rubbing the area of the leaf that contains the brown dots, that should get rid of them.

my aloe has grown a 16" stem

my aloe has grown a 16" stem from the center atop which its got a weird flower peachy in color. when the flower dies should i cut off at base or will the entire stem die. Never had an aloe quite like this one: ~7 10" branches w/very thorny edges that grow upward. very exotic but not sure how to care for it.- it is outside in shade for summer as direct sun almost killed it.

My Aloe Vera plant flowers

My Aloe Vera plant flowers every year. The stem will die off and come back next year.

This Cactus sounds like a

This Cactus sounds like a Bromliad.

I have an aloe plant that the

I have an aloe plant that the stems are fat and are almost see through.But its 2 plants that where one. I just wanna know how to take care of it so it wont die

and i have a devils ivy that the leaves are turning brown and dying what can i do for it i've had thia plant fora little bit over 6 years. i really don't wanna lose it. can you help me?

If you have two plants it's

If you have two plants it's best to seperate them. Carefully remove the plants from the pot and see if you can gently pull them apart. Make sure the roots look healthy. Plant in seperate pots in new fresh soil.

Can incorrectly removing pups

Can incorrectly removing pups compromise the mother plant?
I had a plant that was doing well and I removed the pups and have repotted them. But without being watered the mother plant started to show signs of rot. also, the plants are inside but we are having a very unusually wet spring here in Texas (record breaking rains, cool temps and cloudy days for weeks). Is it possible that too much moisture in the air can cause this? Or was it the removing of the pups?
I'm not new to aloe but this has thrown me for a loop. I've never known my plants to be so fussy before.

I was printing this article

I was printing this article to pass out along with the plants I'm giving to co workers. I'm not an expert. I just have a green thumb. It sounds to me that your problem started with the weather and most likely the new soil. Damp, cool soil leads to root rot and fungus growth. I would avoid buying bagged soil in the spring for immediate use. I'm referring to the "they just bought several pallets for the garden center sale" bags of soil. Try to find a bag that has been inside a store and sitting around for a while. That bag will have finished the composting cycle. Buy and store the bulk sale for future uses.

I would suggest re- transplanting in new soil. Remove all rot and allow the plant to heal for a week or longer. A tip I learned from my gma - unprocessed honey! Dip the area that will be below the soil line in a light coating of honey before planting. It will feed the plant until it establishes roots. It also helps to protect the transplant from diseases in the soil. Place transplant in a warm, indirectly well lit area until rooted.. Lightly spray mist some water on leaves and soil as needed.

I have seen my gma pull pups off the mother like she was weeding a dandelion. There are gentler ways. I doubt there is a wrong way.

I hope this helps.

I recently repotted my first

I recently repotted my first aloe plant. I've read that they need to be kept in the shade for a period of days so the plant can get used to the new soil. Is this true? If so how many days? It has been 2 days so far and the ends are starting to curl a bit and there are a couple of brown spots that have showed up.

i have a aloe plant that a

i have a aloe plant that a friend gave me it is turning brown i dont know what to do i have never tried growing one before please help i want to try and save it if i can

Tanya, There are lots of

Tanya, There are lots of reasons why plants fail to thrive. Here are a few things that you should check: Aloe vera thrives in poor but well-draining soil (cacti mix is good; use no compost or mulch) and with very little water. Water only when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. Water it well but never let it sit in water. It likes bright sunlight, like that of a south or west facing. Does this describe your plant's conditions?
If conditions are they should be, you might ask your friend what her "secret" is.

I have already used a mulch

I have already used a mulch blend for my aloe plant should I just start over or my plant has a chance of life

If it has trouble start,

If it has trouble start, repot it in cacti medium. I had one years ago that did fine in a regular potting soil mulch but I put b it in with it's own soil around it. We used wood heat so air tended to be dry and was in a well lit, busy area by the kitchen. Different plants may need different care depending on stressors and environment and previous conditions.

Based on another article I

Based on another article I read your aloe plant is getting too much sunshine.

I was given a small baby aloe

I was given a small baby aloe vera, which I potted up and stuck in my conservatory last year. He seems very, very happy ;) as I notice he has his own babies and has produced a beautiful orange flower. Question is what do I do now the flower has finished? I have a long stem with dead petals now. Do I de-head it? Do I remove the stem? Or do I leave it alone. How do you encourage it to flower and can they flower every year?

Greetings.. I am very sad as

Greetings..

I am very sad as my neighbour lady had asked a couple of leaves of my big healthy Aloe Vera Plant to make some medicine. Today while I was not home and when I came back I found that from both my big plants she has taken a whole big bunch of leaves right from the centre of the plant. She has cut them with a sharp knife so brutely that the rest of the plant is looking so dull and badly treated.
I am worried, will those big bunch which she has cut right from the middle making a bigh 3 inches circle by cutting them, will that regrow back or not??? :( :( :(

Also while observing the remainder of my plants I found two or three new baby plants in the same pots. How should I handle those new baby plants?

I shall be very grateful if you help me with this as this is the first time I was trying to grow Aloe in my balcony in pots and I fell in love with them both.

Waiting for your reply.

Anuradha