A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 a little help with aloe

I bought an aloe, thinking that it was something other than an aloe vera. The poor thing was absolutely waterlogged, in a glazed ceramic pot with one of those little plastic pots stuck down inside it. When I say waterlogged, I mean that the ceramic pot was full to the top with water, and the entire plant was sitting partially submerged (about an inch or so).

The plant resembles an aloe vera, but the leaves are not as fleshy. This may be due to the condition in which the plant had been kept.

I plan to post a picture of it soon (if I can figure out how) so someone may help me identify it. For right now, the problem is that when I went to repot it I discovered that there are absolutely NO roots. Also, the smell was horrible. I'm assuming that is from sitting in stagnant, rotten water for who knows how long. Is there hope for this plant?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Melinda

Oh, yes, there's hope. Clean off the bottom of the plant under running fresh water and leave it unpotted in bright but not direct light for 3-4 days. This will let the end callouse over to keep further rot from happening. In the mean time, get an unglazed terra cotta pot and some cactus soil or regular potting soil with added drainage material. When the plant is ready, put it in the soil ~1/4 to 1/2 inch deep. You'll have to provide support. Then water it as if it had roots; about once a week until the water comes through, then remove ALL excess and let it dry out. It will either die because there was too much damage, or grow new roots and then start on leaves. Probably the second. Aloe are quite forgiving. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Melinda- Margaret knows what she is talking about...I accidentally almost killed my aloe by overwatering and she helped me bring it back by doing this exact thing...now it is doing wonderful! Good luck to you!

Hi guys. When I removed the large aloe from its watery home, I noticed a baby! I was amazed since it was under so much stress that it was actually reproducing. I didn't notice it before because it was completely under water. The part where it was attached to the mother plant was really mushy, but it actually had a few roots, so I separated it from the mother. Should I let that part callous over like the mother, or put it directly in cactus soil? Thanks for all your help.

P.S. I think I caught my aloe fever from you, Margaret!

Thanks,
Melinda

My guess would be that it should callous over like the mother...but you may want to get the go-ahead from margaret on that...

Tonya, you make me sound like I know what I'm doing! But, yes, let the baby sit out for a few days, too. Good that it had a few roots, good that the mom put it out. I know, it just feels weird to leave a bare root/unpotted plant sitting around, but it's really ok. Cacti and succulents are different.

Hi again. Just wanted to let everyone know that I think my little guy is going to make it! The very center is looking more healthy and greening up a bit.

I think some of the lower leaves were probably damaged too badly to recover, but the newer ones are looking really good. I've been looking around to try and figure out what kind it is, and I THINK it is an aloe zebrina...but I'll be posting a picture as soon as I can figure out how so all you experts can tell me for sure.

Thank you so much for your help!

Melinda

Joy!