Aloe Vera Plant; How to Care for This Easy Succulent Indoors
The Aloe Vera plant care indoors is quite easy.
As a matter of fact, it should be a no-brainer, as long as you leave your succulent alone!! (I learnt this the hard way myself!)
Native to the Arabian Peninsula, the Aloe Barbadensis, is an evergreen perennial succulent that is considered an invasive species in several world’s regions.
It can lasts up to 12 years indoors and can live two decades outdoors if well cared for.
It is rare for an indoor Aloe Vera to produce their flower stock, and even outdoors, the conditions need to be right.
With over 300 different species, the Aloe Vera, (the Aloe Barbadensis Miller is the most common one), is widely distributed all over the world, both as an ornamental plant, and as a topical plant used to treat certain skin conditions.
There is a large scale production of this plant to support the cosmetic industry in many countries.
Although this blog article is focused on the Aloe Vera plant care indoors, it is worth mentioning that this plant is successfully grown outdoors in tropical regions and Zones 10-12. As most succulents, the Aloe Vera, does not tolerate any cold drafts, nor temperatures below 55F/13C.
In addition to being an extremely easy plant to care for, the Aloe Vera is also intolerant to most insect pests, making it one of the best Pest Resistant Plants.
The downside of it, which is hard to believe, considering all of its medicinal benefits, is that this Succulent is Toxic to Human and Pets if ingested!
Without any further ado, let’s now dig deep into the Aloe Vera plant care indoors!
Aloe vera PLANT care indoors - light
This lovely plant thrives in lots of bright, indirect light.
Exposure to direct sunlight can damage its stems. However, a few hours of morning sunlight are acceptable.
On the other hand, keeping this plant in dark areas without enough bright light, will eventually damage it.
Ideal locations for the Aloe Vera are either South facing windows with some hours of morning sun, or, Western facing windows, provided that the sun is screened by a sheer curtain.
I keep mine by a South facing window.
My Aloe Vera in its younger days, when it was still small in size!
aloe vera PLANT care indoors - humidity & temperature
The Aloe Vera is a wonderful Indoor Plant For Dry Homes.
40% humidity is ideal for this plant. However, it adapts well to any indoor conditions, provided that it is not placed in an overly humid kitchen or bathroom.
As mentioned before, this plant does not tolerate any cold temperatures or drafts.
Keep it away from any cold sources, such as doors, windows and vents.
Make sure it is not exposed to any chilly nights with temperatures below 55F/13C.
Sometime, even a plastic pot with drainage holes kept inside a decorative pot can create too much humidity within the soil and promote root rot.
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aloe vera PLANT care indoors - Water & fertilizing
The biggest cause of Aloe Veras death is definitely over-watering.
Over-watering, in combination with poor drainage and insufficient light are lethal for this plant.
This plant is actually extremely sensitive to this combination of factors. I’ve experienced it personally.
I had my Aloe Vera in a plastic pot with draining holes inside a decorative ceramic pot, placed on a console table in a South facing room, with plenty of light.
I paid too much attention to this plant, watering it on schedule, until I realized that its health was deteriorating rather than improving.
Its fleshy stems were loosing vigor and the whole plant was flopping to one side.
A close inspection of the roots revealed that they were rotting away.
So I figured that I needed to remove the damaged roots, change the soil and pot, as well as its location and watering schedule.
I placed my plant into a terracotta pot with a cactus mix and placed the Aloe Vera right by the window to dry out and recover. A bright South facing room is not bright enough for this Succulent, it does need the window!!
Within a month it started to improve and grow bigger.
Lesson learnt!
The Aloe Vera needs great drainage in order to thrive. A pot with drainage holes is not enough. It need a porous pot like terracotta that allows the soil to breath and dry out completely between waterings!
It needs very little water and it needs to dry out between waterings.
I water mine once every two-three weeks in Summer and once every two months in Winter as the Aloe Vera goes dormant during the cold season.
Aloe Veras grow in very nutrient poor soil in nature. For this reason, they do not need fertilization.
However, it is a good idea, to fertilize it once a year or when you repot it with a liquid plant food.
This is an example of a location that is not bright enough for the Aloe Vera to thrive.
aloe vera PLANT care indoors - repotting & propagating
The Aloe Vera has a shallow but wide root system, which explains why these plants always flop one way or the other in their pots.
They simply don’t have roots deep enough in their pots to anchor them down straight! (Their stems are also quite heavy as they are very fleshy!).
Like other succulents, the Aloe Vera doesn’t have a big rootball, so you shouldn’t rush repotting it, unless it’s planted in a non-porous pot without drainage holes.
When you notice roots poking out of the drainage holes, you know it’s time to upsize your Aloe Vera pot.
I recommend a wider, rather than deeper pot for this plant. And of course, it has to be be a draining terracotta pot.
As mentioned in the previous section on watering, the terracotta porosity allows the soil to breath and dry out, preventing root rot.
In nature, the Aloe Vera grows in poor soil conditions and sandy slopes with lots of drainage. Use a Cactus mix combined with perlite to add even more drainage. (4 parts soil to 1 part perlite).
You can only propagate the Aloe Vera when it grows offsets, (pups) in its pot. This doesn’t happen until the plant reaches maturity, which is around 4 years of age.
In order to propagate offsets, you simply need to cut the taproot that connects them to the mother plant. Dig deep into the soil to find the closest point that connects the offset to the mother plant and make the cut.
Allow the offset to dry out and form the callous in a very bright area for approximately a week before planting in soil.
Allow the new baby plant a couple of months to develop its roots and grow.
This is the same Aloe Vera in the pictures before. It grew quite a bit and I repotted it into this terracotta pot.
aloe vera PLANT care indoors - what you need to know about its topical use.
The Aloe Vera has been used as a skin treatment in traditional medicine for centuries.
These days, this succulent is used in many commercial products such as; beverages, skin lotions, cosmetics, ointments and gels to treat minor skin burns.
Two substances are used to manufacture Aloe Vera commercial products; a clear gel, and a yellow latex.
The gel is used to treat skin conditions like burns, wounds, dry skin, and rashes, while the latex, mixed with other ingredients, can be ingested to treat constipation.
Aloe Vera juice is also sold to support the digestive system health.
There is, however, very little scientific evidence, lots of controversy, and ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of Aloe Vera as a treatment for wounds and burns, as well as the safety in using such products. (Let’s not forget that, if ingested, Aloe Vera stems are toxic to humans and pets!).
There is no reason to panic though.
Any product containing Aloe Vera that is available for purchase on the market has been approved by the FDA, otherwise it wouldn’t be stocked on big box stores shelves.
Just keep an eye out for those home made remedies that have not been tested and approved by a competent government agency.
I do amuse myself decorating some of my plants around Christmas time…
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