I have been given an Aloe Vera plant, any ideas on how best to grow it?

Question

should i grow it indoors, outdoors, do it need a lot or a lttle water? etc etc

Answer 1

I grow mine indoors.  I have 2 of them right now.  One seems to be thriving on neglect, the other is not doing so great.  My daughter thinks it needs watered as often as her orchids & she is drowning it.  Only water it when it has completely dried out.

Answer 2

Aloe is a very versatile, hardy plant. You can grow it indoors or outdoors. They don't necessarily need lots of sun either. I have two huge pots of aloe on my deck, against the wall of my house. They *never* get direct sunlight, only indirect light as they are shaded all day long. They are a beautiful deep, rich green, and are thriving, with the pots all but overflowing. I have another pot of aloe that sits on the corner of my deck, and gets lots of morning and mid-morning sun every day. It, too is thriving, but is a lighter color than the other two, with a pinkish/mauve tinge to the green. It is doing just as well as the other two pots. I water the one in the sun more often than the other two.

Aloe can stand to be neglected for sometime without suffering. I have gone 2 or 3 weeks without watering them and they still do just fine. If you want to keep the plant indoors, it should do ok as long as it receives some type of indirect lighting.

I actually found a stray piece of aloe still alive in a stack of "empty" flower pots that I had stored one winter. It had survived being in the dark, stuffed between two pots in a stack, with no water, for probably 5 or 6 months. That little wilted piece of aloe is now four 10 inch pots bursting at the seams with aloe vera.

Answer 3

Aloe Vera plants are very easy to care for and easy to grow in frost-free climates – either as houseplants or outdoors. However aloe vera plants do need a lot of sunlight, so it’s best to place them in a sunny spot, or near a window that gets lots of sunlight. A common mistake that many people make is the tendency to over-water. Remember these plants are succulents. They hold water in their leaves and root system to cope with long periods of drought, so they need less water than you might think.

You can buy aloe vera plants at most plant stores and nurseries. Be sure the pot has good drainage and don't water it too often: overwatering aloe vera plants may cause the spongy leaves to rot at the base of the plant. And do allow container grown plants to dry out before you re-water. The plants often become dormant in winter.

Small plants often have white marks on the leaf which disappear as the plant grows. Once the plants are large enough to handle, you should transplant them into larger containers, then increase the pot sizes as they grow larger. It comes to full maturity at about 4 years, although they do grow rapidly. Maybe start with a fair-sized, relatively mature plant which can be as tall as 2 feet.

Some leaves droop on the aloe plant as they age, so you can simply cut the lower leaves away from the stem with a sharp knife. Aloe vera plants also produce many pups – or offshoots of the plant – which tend to grow around the base of the plant. You’ll need to take these out gently and replant them, when they are 3-4 inches high, so they don’t cause the mother plant too much stress. Sometimes the pups can make the aloe plant spread its leaves horizontally rather than vertically. The pups also make lovely gifts for your friends and family.

With a little care and attention, aloe vera plants can live for many years, and provide a fascinating addition to your home or garden, as well as a wonderful source of aloe vera gel.

To obtain this gel, just remove one of the lower leaves, cut it in half along its length, and rub the inner pulp over the affected area of skin

Answer 4

They're pretty easy, just don't overwater it.  They like sun.  I have one I throw outside for the growing season, then take it inside for the winter.  They can actually get pretty big.   Give it a decent sized pot.  That's pretty much it.

Answer 5

I have loads of these now from 1 small plant! I grow them on my kitchen window ledge and only water when dry.