Contents
In this post, we will give you complete information on mastering Aloe Vera plant care and How to propagate Aloe vera from a single leaf. We will also look into some important care tips, DO’s and Don’ts and some simple tricks for automatic multiplication and propagation of aloevera plant.
Introduction
Aloe Vera is a gorgeous wonder plant that can be easily grown indoors as well as outdoors. Given the proper plant care, these amazing aloe vera plants can live for many, many years.
This is a complete guide on Aloe Vera plant care, please do not skip and section and read till the end.
Basic Information On Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is basically a cactus-like succulent plant, and this is just one of hundreds of different types of aloe plants, and the most common type is commonly called medicinal aloe vera. Aloe vera is a stemless or very short-stemmed plant and can grow up to 100 cm tall. It’s either grown as an ornamental plant for its beautiful look or as a medicinal plant to extract aloe vera gel from its fleshy leaves.
Aloe Vera Plant Benefits
We will not go into details of this topic. To mention a few, most people are already very familiar with the medicinal and healing properties of aloe vera plants. These days you’ll find aloe vera gel in everything from skin and haircare products to drinks, supplements, and food products. Another great benefit of growing aloe vera as a houseplant is that it helps to purify the air in our homes. I have discussed NASA-recommended air purifier plants in a detailed post.
Important Tips For Growing Aloe Vera Plant
There’s really not much to it, and guess what – your aloe vera might just do better if you ignore it. Yes! They thrive on neglect. But, still, there are a few things you need to do to keep your aloe vera growing and multiplying at its best. The two most important parts of aloe vera plant care are proper watering and lighting.
How Often To Water Aloe Vera
The most common mistake people make when it comes to aloe vera plant care is overwatering. In nature, aloes grow in desert climates where they hardly get any rain. Aloe vera succulent plants hold water in their leaves, so they can go a very long time without water. Overwatering will cause root rot, and eventually cause the stem of the plant to rot, killing the whole plant from the bottom up. Aloe vera plants like to be watered more during the summer than in the winter months. It’s best to allow the soil to dry out completely between waterings. The best method to water aloe vera is using the Finger Dip method. Dip one inch of your finger into the soil to check moisture. Water it if it is completely dry. When you water it, do it thoroughly, allowing all of the excess water to run out the bottom drainage holes. So, the point to remember is thorough and infrequent watering is the rule for aloe vera and all succulents and cacti.
How Much Sun Does An Aloe Vera Plant Need?
The second most important thing about aloe vera plant care is proper lighting. Aloe vera plants will grow their best when given lots of light. Outdoors, aloe vera can be grown anywhere from full sun to partial shade. They tolerate any amount of light, but it’s better to avoid direct noon sunlight. When it comes to shade and indoors, they generally tend to get leggy if they do not receive adequate light. They also do well under LED grow lights if grown indoors. If you don’t have enough sunlight in your home, then you should definitely get a grow light for your aloe vera. You can check details on these topics on indoor plants here.
Best Potting Mix For Aloe Vera Plants
The best soil or potting mix for aloe vera is one that drains very quickly and doesn’t hold water. You can either use commercially available succulent and cacti mixes, or you can prepare your own DIY succulent soil mix. One such recipe I use is:
- Any Good quality Garden Soil – roughly about 30 to 40 Percent.
- Sand: You can use River sand or Construction Sand, not sea or beach sand, which is high in sodium chloride (salt). The proportion to use is about 30 to 40 Percent. You can also use Coco peat or Peat moss instead of sand for aloe vera, but it’s not recommended, especially for succulents, because it retains moisture, and some succulents have a risk of rot.
- Gravel chips or pebbles, or even small marble or granite chips. This can be roughly about 10 percent.
- Compost: This is actually not required for succulents because the natural habitats of most succulents and cacti are deserts. But still, adding 10 percent of compost like vermicompost, leaf compost, or cow dung powder is beneficial. Also, consider adding about 5 – 10 percent of Neem Cake Powder, which is really effective in preventing rot from fungus and other harmful pathogens.
- Perlite + charcoal like wood charcoal pieces or biochar pieces: These ingredients keep the soil very loose and well-aerated. Charcoal also has some antifungal properties to prevent root rot. All these mixed to about 10 percent can be added to the recipe.
Best Fertilizer For Aloe Vera
Aloe vera plants don’t really need to be fertilized. But like most plants, they will certainly benefit from being fed once in a while, especially during their active growing season like spring through summer. I recommend using organic plant fertilizer on your aloe vera rather than chemical stuff – especially if you plan to harvest and use the gel. Compost like vermicompost or decomposed cow dung – a handful of it once a month is more than sufficient for aloe vera plants. This can also help to encourage flowers in aloe vera plants.
How To Propagate Aloe Vera
The mother Aloe vera plant will grow offsets (a.k.a aloe vera pups) around the base of the plant, and these babies can be carefully removed from the mother plant and potted up on their own to create a new plant. It’s as easy as that! But how do you encourage the production of more babies or offsets from the mother plant? A simple trick or solution to this is using a wide container for growing the future mother plant. Plant this at the center of this container, and you should see a lot of offsets coming soon. Aloe vera roots do not grow too deep, hence shallow wider containers are preferred when you are repotting.
You can also grow aloe vera from seeds. The mature aloe plant produces flowers once in a while. This mother plant produces once a year, but you need to provide full sunlight to induce flowering. You can collect its seed pods and grow new aloe plants from these seeds.
Can you grow aloe vera from a single leaf or leaf cuttings? I have tried this many times but was completely unsuccessful. Let me know in the comment box below if you have rooted an aloe vera from a leaf.
Video Tutorial on Aloe Vera Plant Care
Please Watch a detailed video below showing all about how to care for Aloe Vera plant.