How to Grow Aloe Vera Both Indoors and Outdoors
Seven Tips Tricks for Raising and Caring for Healthy Aloe Vera Plant
Aug 7, 2009
Growing Aloe Vera is fairly easy both indoors and outdoors depending upon one's climate zone. If one lives in an area which experiences drastic temperature changes and/or receives snow during the winter; it is best to grow Aloe inside. Aloe grows well in warm and moist climates; it is native to Africa and has adapted to survive in high heat or drought conditions. This article will provide seven tricks and tips to remember when growing and caring for Aloe both indoors and out.
Choose the Correct Soil to Grow Aloe Vera:
Plant Aloe in well draining soil; use a cactus soil mix as a growing medium if planting indoors in a container. If one chooses to plant outdoors it helps to mix a small amount of gravel into the soil to aid in drainage for the plant.
When and How to Fertilize Aloe Vera:
Fertilize the plant with a liquid fertilizer that is high in nitrogen and phosphorus once a month during spring/summer and once every four weeks during fall/winter. Use the fertilizer as prescribed and feel free to pour it directly on to the foliage of the plant. Aloe Vera benefits from foliar feeding; it can absorb water and fertilizer through its leaves as well as its roots
Avoid Over watering Aloe Vera:
One must allow Aloe Vera to dry out completely in between watering. Do not be afraid of under watering Aloe; it is extremely hardy and may be revived from the most desperate of situations. Water Aloe only after the soil has dried to a depth of four inches and then saturate the soil. Remember: Aloe is native to a desert climate where drought and monsoon are typical weather patterns.
How to Help a Dying or Browning Aloe Plant:
One may notice that the foliage of his or her Aloe plant is beginning to become less brilliant in color or starting to brown; perhaps the tips of the leaves have dried up and become paper thin. If this happens to your plants, do not fret; simply water the affected plants two or three times a day until the plant restores itself. See tip number five to fully understand this solution.
Aloe Vera Will Root in Water:
One may not be aware of it, but some plants may root only in water while others require the protection of soil. Aloe is one of the plants that root in water producing several advantages. First, one may propagate new plants by placing the babies directly into water and allowing them to grow before planting them. Also, one may solve a lot of common problems that happen to Aloe plants by fortifying the plant with water and liquid fertilizer.
Use Aloe Vera for Medicinal Purposes:
Aloe Vera is an extremely valuable plant to own because of its wide array of medical benefits. The fresh juice of an Aloe Vera leaf is amazing for ones skin and may be applied to any scratch, abrasion, minor burn and, most commonly; sun burn to relieve pain and speed healing. The juices contain over 200 chemical compounds which are beneficial for one’s skin.
Reproduce the Aloe Vera for Profit or Gifts:
A healthy Aloe Vera plant will produce approximately twenty “babies” which are offset from the mother plant and may be harvested after reaching a height of three inches. Curiously, Aloe Vera plants (and most succulents for that matter) reproduce the fastest when the plant is root bound. Therefore, the longer one’s plant has lived in the same pot, the more babies it will produce. For more information regarding the meaning and/or characteristics of a root bound plant please click on this link to an article addressing this topic: learn about root bound plants.
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