A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 I need help with my aloe!

The history: I recently saved three little aloe vera plants at my office. They were left stranded in the communal kitchen sitting in a vase of water. That's right: no soil, just plopped in a vase of water. The root system was pretty minimal - just a tap root with very little anything coming off them. This was a few weeks ago. When I found them in this sorry state, I (re)potted them in a pot with several inches of gravel in the bottom and a bit of gravel mixed into the soil for drainage. I've been letting the soil dry in between watering. The plant gets a lot of indirect sunlight (large north facing windows). I have another aloe at home that is thriving.

The problem: The plants leaves are wilting. There are black spots that turn into deep bruises and then the entire "leaf" eventually wilts. I'm not sure what to do: help?

Although I'm not an expert, it kind of sounds like they might be rotting from sitting in the water. There are other people that have given me aloe help recently, and I'm sure one of them will see this post and give you info.

Melinda

Are the leaves very soft and soggy to the touch? It could be rotting if thats the case. im not too sure how strong is the light that the plant is receiving in your office but aloe vera typically likes tropical kinda environment. but be careful not to overwater it. Aloe vera, like cactus, typically req very little care, i used to grow them in pots along my corridors and they dont req much maintenance.

Julietan: The leaves are soft only in localized places - only where the brown spot occurs. If the spot is midway up the leaf, the tip of the leaf is still nice and turgid (is that the right word?). Unfortunately, most of the leaves have at least a few of these spots.

hmm... im not exactly sure what causes the soft brown spots but if the softening occurs only in localised areas only then it should not be rotting at the roots part. ever notice the differences in environmental factors btw the aloe at home and this one in office?

Be sure not to overwater the plant. Aloe are very hardy plants. I have one small aloe that i neglected and was placed next to the tv and i havent water it for almost 2 months! of course a couple of the lower leaves dried up, so dont follow this eg. but generally the plant is still ok.

try shifting it gradually to a place with better sunlight and see how it goes. i would think that you think thru the main diff in factors for the 2 aloe that you have and most likely you will find the ans there.