How to Grow and Care for Aloe Vera

An aloe vera plant is a succulent that is very easy to grow. These plants can be used in so many ways due to their antibacterial properties and their ability to treat minor cuts and sunburn. Aloe vera plants enjoy lots of sunshine, though can be grown indoors in a well-lit area. Read on to learn how to grow and care for aloe vera.

Aloe Vera Plants

Known for its narrow, fleshy green leaves, the aloe vera plant is made up of over 90% water. With their gorgeous architectural flower spikes, these are the perfect plants to grow in dry gardens. If left, these plants will multiply, giving you plenty of leaves to harvest for the precious and healing gel.

This evergreen plant forms a cluster of leaves rising from the base. Sometimes, the leaves will feature small white spots and stripes on them. Each leaf is thick and fleshy with a run of small thorns along each side. The clusters of yellow to orange flowers grow on an upright flower stem from the middle of the plant.

Not all of the 500+ species of aloe are cultivated for growing at home. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, some have thorny leaves, while others are trailing or climbing. If grown in the proper environment with the required care, an aloe plant can live up twelve years indoors and over twenty years outdoors.

Growing Aloe Vera

This hardy succulent is easy to grow. As it is drought tolerant, it is a great plant to grow in any Australian backyard. Even though they enjoy the sun, they are best grown in part shade when outdoors as the hot Australian sun can burn and yellow their leaves.

These plants need to be situated in an area with well-drained soil. In ideal conditions, this plant can grow up to half a metre in height.

This low-maintenance plant can be planted all year round. Preferring a sub-tropical or tropical region, though will grow in cooler climates as long as there are no frosts as they don’t take too kindly to really cold weather.

If you live in a wet area, try growing in a raised garden bed with coarse gravel for good drainage. Adding these small rocks or gravel around the roots of the plant or the bottom of the pot, when planting, will help with good drainage and promoting excellent growth.

Growing Indoors

Aloe vera also do well when grown in well-lit areas indoors. They do best in north or west-facing windows.

If growing in a pot to use indoors, use a wide, deep container with cacti or succulent potting mix to ensure good drainage.

Plant the aloe vera in a pot made from terracotta or a similar porous material as it will allow the soil to dry thoroughly and it will also be heavy enough to stop the plant from tipping over. If you do use a plastic or glazed pot, be mindful of how much moisture the pot is holding. You will need to make sure to use a pot that has drainage holes in the botttom to allow the excess water to drain out.

Growing Aloe Vera from Cuttings

Aloe vera can be easily propagated from the small plants that form around its base. As they are dormant during the cooler months, this is the perfect time to repot and thin the plants.

As these plants have a travelling root system, they should be repotted every couple of years, using a slightly larger pot each time. By doing this, you are preventing stunted leaf growth and wilting leaves. These young shoots make great gifts for the neighbours or friends.

These ‘pups’ can be separated from the main plant using a pair of pruning shears or scissors. Pot in a cacti or succulent potting mix or placed in a sunny, well-drained position in the garden. Gently water immediately after repotting.

Be careful when replanting this plant aloe vera grows from the middle out, so you don’t want to damage the central growing point.

Flowering Aloe Vera

Mature aloe vera plants can produce a tall flower spike which containers loads of tubular yellow to orange blossoms. Ideal conditions are needed to produce these flowers, therefore you will find that an indoor aloe vera plant will rarely bloom.

Aloe plants tend to bloom in late winter or early spring. To give your plant the best conditions to bloom;

Provide it with as much light as possible
Make sure it is getting just the right amount of water.
Allow your plant its proper dormancy period in autumn and winter. To do this, they need a period of less frequent watering and cooler temperatures
Remember, even with the best conditions, your aloe plant may not bloom.

Caring for Aloe Vera

If the leaves of your plant begin to bend or break, it is a signal that your plant is not getting enough light. It is time to move your plant to a brighter spot to help it get the light it needs to form stiff, healthy leaves again.

Insects

Aloe vera is also prone to being attacked by the odd insect. Watch out for any small, sap-sucking insects such as scale and aphids and treat as necessary. You may find mealybugs congregating at the base of the plant. These can be easily wiped away with a soft cloth after spraying the plant with water. For mites, you will need to prune the infected leaves to keep the plant safe.

Watering

The most important part of caring for an aloe vera plant is not to overwater it as overwatering can cause disease as well as pests. Consistently wet soil causes root rot and mushy leaves, which can lead to bacteria or fungus, which in many cases can not be treated.

When watering, drench the plant in water, then wait for it to dry out before watering again. A great way to check is to the dryness of the soil with your finger. Generally speaking, these plants will need water about every 2 – 3 weeks during the warmer months. Place the pot in water for about 10 minutes so that the soil absorbs as much as possible. Then dump out the remaining water.

During the winter months, these plants need very little to no water as they are in a dormant stage. Once a year, just before the main growing season, feed your plant with a balanced, controlled-release fertiliser.

Using Aloe Vera

Aloe vera has been used for thousands of years for their healing properties. They are also known for purifying air quality, so having one growing indoors is also a good idea.

Aloe vera can be used for:

Minor cuts
Reducing Acne and Wrinkles
Soothing sunburn / minor burns
Insect bites
Moisturising dry skin
Reducing redness that comes with psoriasis and other skin conditions

Oral use of the gel from the aloe vera comes with a host of side effects including diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, so do not injesting any part of this plant. This goes for both people and pets.

To use to treat many conditions, cut off a leaf, remove any spikes and gently rub the gel on.

To do this, try to use leaves that are taller than four inches in height and cut it off with a sharp knife. The leaf can also be cut down the centre when you will find more gel inside. Squeeze this gel out of the leaf and apply to your burn or wound, or lay the opened leaf gel-side down on the affected area.

How to Grow and Care for Aloe Vera - leaf pieces and gel

More Garden Resources

Learning how to grow and care for aloe vera is easy. When tended to properly, they can grow and thrive and, in some cases, become very large. The rewards of owning an aloe vera are many. Once you start growing an aloe vera plant, you may wonder why you did not do this sooner.