Aloe Vera Care: The Medicine Plant

Aloe Vera Care: The Medicine Plant

I killed my first Aloe Vera by loving it too much. Watered it every few days like it was some sort of tropical houseplant. The leaves turned to mush within three weeks, and I was left with a soggy disaster in a terracotta pot. That was six years ago, and I have learned a lot since then.

Aloe Vera is one of those plants that everyone assumes is foolproof. It’s a succulent, right? Just stick it on a windowsill and forget about it. Except that’s not entirely true. While Aloe is more forgiving than a fiddle leaf fig, it still has specific needs. And when those needs aren’t met, you’ll notice the plant either flopping over, turning weird colors, or just sitting there looking sad.

This plant has been used for centuries as a topical remedy for burns and cuts. I keep one in my kitchen specifically for that reason. When I accidentally touch a hot pan, I snap off a piece of leaf and squeeze out the gel. It works better than any store-bought cream I’ve tried. But to keep your Aloe healthy enough to actually harvest from, you need to understand what makes it tick.

Why your Aloe is flopping over

The first time I saw an Aloe plant with drooping leaves, I assumed it needed water. I was wrong. Most of the time, floppy Aloe leaves mean the plant is getting too much water, not too little. Overwatered Aloe becomes soft and loses the firm, upright structure that healthy leaves should have.

When Aloe roots sit in damp soil for too long, they start to rot. Once the roots go, the plant can’t support itself. The leaves droop outward instead of standing tall. If you press on a leaf and it feels mushy rather than firm, that’s a red flag. You’ve probably been watering too frequently.

The fix is simple but requires patience. First, check the soil. Stick your finger down into the pot. If it’s wet more than an inch below the surface, stop watering immediately. Let the soil dry out completely before you water again. This can take a week or even two depending on your climate and pot size.

If the roots are already rotting, you might need to take more drastic action. Pull the plant out of the pot and inspect the roots. Healthy Aloe roots are white or light tan and firm. Rotten roots are brown, black, and slimy. Cut away any rotted sections with a clean knife or scissors. Let the plant sit out of the soil for a day or two so the cut areas can callous over. Then repot it in fresh, dry cactus soil.

Another reason for drooping is insufficient light. Aloe needs bright, indirect light to grow upright. If your plant is in a dim corner, it will stretch toward the light source and become leggy. The leaves will thin out and flop over because they don’t have the structural integrity that comes from proper sun exposure. I learned this when I moved my Aloe from a south-facing window to a shelf across the room. Within a month, the leaves were bending at odd angles.

Move your Aloe closer to a window if this is the issue. Just don’t put it in direct, harsh afternoon sun right away if it’s been in low light for a while. Aloe can sunburn just like we can. Gradually acclimate it to brighter conditions over a week or two.

Harvesting gel without killing the leaf

I used to cut Aloe leaves halfway down the middle because I thought that’s how you were supposed to do it. The leaf would turn brown along the cut edge and eventually die back. It looked awful, and I was wasting perfectly good plant material.

The correct way to harvest Aloe gel is to remove an entire leaf from the base of the plant. Choose an outer, mature leaf. These are the largest and oldest ones. Use a clean, sharp knife and cut as close to the stem as possible. You want a clean cut, not a jagged tear.

Once you have the leaf, rinse it off. Then slice it lengthwise to expose the clear gel inside. You can scoop out the gel with a spoon or just squeeze it out like toothpaste. I usually get enough gel from one large leaf to fill a small jar, which I keep in the fridge for up to a week.

The plant will heal itself where you made the cut. It might ooze a yellow, slightly sticky substance called aloin. This is normal. Aloin is what the plant uses to seal wounds and deter pests. Just leave the plant alone and let it do its thing. The cut will dry and callous over within a few days.

Do not harvest more than one or two leaves at a time, especially if your plant is small. Aloe can recover from losing a leaf, but if you take too many at once, you’ll stress it out. I try to only harvest when I really need the gel, not just because I want to experiment with it.

According to research from the University of Maryland Medical Center, Aloe Vera gel contains compounds like polysaccharides and glycoproteins that have been shown to promote skin healing and reduce inflammation. That’s why it works so well on minor burns. But those benefits only matter if the plant itself is healthy enough to produce good gel.

Above: A close up look at the symptoms.

Separating ‘pups’ from the mother plant

Aloe produces babies. These are called pups or offsets, and they grow from the base of the mother plant. When I got my first pups, I had no idea what to do with them. I left them attached for over a year, and the pot became so crowded that none of the plants were thriving.

Pups should be separated when they’re about one-third the size of the mother plant. At that point, they have developed their own root system and can survive on their own. If you try to separate them too early, they won’t have enough roots to establish themselves.

To separate pups, you need to unpot the entire plant. This is messy, so I do it outside or over a tarp. Gently shake off the soil so you can see where the pups are attached. Sometimes they’re connected by a thick root, and sometimes they’re just nestled close to the mother. Use a clean knife to cut through any connecting roots. Be as gentle as possible, but don’t stress if a few roots break. Aloe is tougher than it looks.

Let the separated pups sit out of soil for a day. This lets the cut areas dry and reduces the risk of rot when you pot them up. Then plant each pup in its own small pot with cactus or succulent soil. Do not water them right away. Wait three to five days before giving them their first drink. This gives the roots time to settle without sitting in moisture.

I’ve successfully separated at least a dozen pups over the years. I give them to friends, keep a few for myself, and sometimes even leave one or two attached to the mother if I want a fuller-looking pot. There’s no right or wrong approach as long as the plants have enough space and light.

Why Aloe leaves turn brown/orange

Brown or orange Aloe leaves freak people out, but they’re usually not a death sentence. I’ve had this happen twice, and both times the cause was different.

The most common reason is sunburn. If you move an Aloe from low light to direct, intense sun too quickly, the leaves will turn brown or reddish-orange. This is especially common in summer when the sun is strongest. The discoloration is permanent on the affected leaves, but it won’t spread to new growth as long as you move the plant to a less harsh spot.

I scorched one of my Aloes by putting it outside on my balcony in July without any shade. Within a week, the tips of the leaves were orange and crispy. I moved it to a spot where it only got morning sun, and the new growth came in green and healthy. The damaged leaves eventually got cut off during a routine pruning session.

Another cause of browning is cold damage. Aloe is not frost-tolerant. If temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the plant can suffer. The leaves turn brown and mushy, starting from the tips. This happened to me when I left an Aloe outside in early fall and didn’t bring it in before an unexpected cold snap.

If your Aloe has been cold-damaged, bring it inside immediately. Cut off any brown, mushy leaves. They won’t recover, and leaving them on just invites rot and pests. The plant might bounce back if the damage wasn’t too severe, but it will take time.

A third cause is inconsistent watering. If you let your Aloe go bone-dry for months and then suddenly drench it, the leaves can turn brown at the tips. This is less common than sunburn or cold damage, but I’ve seen it happen. The plant goes into shock from the sudden change in moisture levels.

According to a study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Aloe Vera’s medicinal properties are most potent in plants that are not stressed by environmental factors. So keeping your Aloe healthy isn’t just about aesthetics. It actually affects the quality of the gel.

Above: The tools you need to fix this.

Watering deeply but rarely

This is the single most important thing to understand about Aloe care. You need to water deeply when you do water, but you need to do it rarely. This mimics the natural rainfall patterns in the dry climates where Aloe originates.

When I water my Aloe, I take it to the sink and run water through the pot until it drains out the bottom. I let it sit in the sink for a few minutes to make sure all the excess water drips out. Then I put it back on its saucer and don’t water again until the soil is completely dry.

How do you know when the soil is dry? Stick your finger into the pot. If you feel any moisture in the top two inches, wait. If it’s dry all the way down, it’s time to water. For me, this usually means watering every two to three weeks in summer and every four to six weeks in winter. Your schedule will vary depending on your home’s humidity, temperature, and the size of your pot.

Never let your Aloe sit in standing water. Those saucers under pots can be a death trap if water accumulates and the roots sit in it. I always dump out any water that collects in the saucer within an hour of watering.

The deep watering method encourages the roots to grow down into the pot rather than staying shallow near the surface. Shallow roots make for a weak plant that’s more susceptible to tipping over or drying out too quickly. Deep roots create a stable, healthy Aloe that can handle a bit of neglect.

I also avoid watering on a fixed schedule. I used to water every Sunday because that’s when I had time, but plants don’t care about your calendar. They need water when the soil is dry, not when it’s convenient for you. Now I check my plants midweek and on weekends, and I only water the ones that actually need it.

Aloe is one of those plants that would rather be neglected than smothered. Once I understood that, my success rate with this plant went way up. It sits on my kitchen windowsill now, looking healthy and firm, ready to be harvested whenever I need it. And I haven’t killed one in years.

References

University of Maryland Medical Center. “Aloe Vera.” Medical Reference Guide. Accessed via complementary medicine database.

Journal of Ethnopharmacology. “Pharmacological Effects of Aloe Vera Gel.” Vol. 88, 2003, pp. 3-9.

North Carolina State University Extension. “Succulent Plant Care.” Horticulture Information Leaflets.