is there hope?

[crunchymum]

i am not the worlds greatest plant person, though i love them! my sister gave me this beautiful, lush aloe plant, oh, a year or two ago?



this is what it looks like now:


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/mamamolly/apartment%20pictures/IMG_0180.jpg



can it be saved? what do i do???? it's sad, isn't it....
and if it can be saved, how the heck are you supposed to care for an aloe? :hissyfit

[Mama Calidad]

Were you in zone 9b, the answer would be to plant it outside. Our neighbor has a beautiful aloe plant and there are aloe farms on my morning commute. Ever seen an aloe farm? :lol

As a houseplant, I don't have any constructive advice. :shifty

[godsgracegiven]

Oh my gosh I love aloe, and I do think there is hope. :) First, thing I would do is see if the roots are growing out of the bottom. If so I would separate them in to two different pots or put them in a bigger pot. Sometimes, they get rootbound and putting them in a bigger pot helps a lot. Aloes also need wide pot because their roots, are short but they spread outward (hope that makes sence.) Then I would put soil all the way up to the base of the plant. Then I would pinch off any dead parts. Keep the plant in indirect sunlight. When watering it let the soil become dry before water again. Then empty the drain pan after watering it so it isn't sitting in the water. HTH, if it comes back share a picture. I am sooo missing my house plants. I gave them up because I didn't have time to care for them...sigh..but I love playing in the dirt, inside and outside :)

[Punkie]

I have the BEST book ever on houseplants, called "How To Grow Fresh Air" and it says this:

Light: Full sun to semi-sun
Water moderately in spring, summer, and fall; water sparingly in winter. Feed once a month in spring and summer. Do not feed in fall and winter.
Use a standard commercial potting soil that drains well.

It also says its perfect for a bedroom because it releases oxygen and absorbs CO2 at night :)

[crunchymum]

oh, thank you! you guys are angels!!!! :mrgreen so, normal potting soil is ok? and when you say up to the base, do you mean to the top of that brown part? :lol (i told you i wasn't very good at this!)

i've been pinching off the dead stuff, but i feel like it just keeps getting taller and wanting to fall over.... but i guess if i can put dirt up further, it will be ok... ?

well, i was able to save an african violet we got for a wedding gift that i thought for sure wouldn't make it under my care, so maybe there IS hope...

thanks again, you ladies! i'll let you know how it goes! :)

[cobluegirl]

I agree with everyone else.....I don't have an aloe right now. I inherited a few philodendrans today..they all need new soil. Then they need to find a good place for them in my house....grrr...put more hooks in the ceiling....lol

[godsgracegiven]

Oh, ITU about the hooks, those are a drag!

[cobluegirl]

yeah but not as bad as trying to find space elsewhere....lol


ps. Lucretia...you can ad me to your yahoo list now..I downloaded Trillian...one that has all the im programs on it...lol

[tempus vernum]

Okay so a little late but that looks how mine looks and mine always looks like that in the winter - maybe its our climate and it goes somewhat dormant? The reason I say this is because this winter, my aloe plant had babies - a lot of them. But if yours dies, I'd happily pass on 4 aloe babies (usually one of 4 makes it IME).

In the spring, I usually replant it in a larger pot but this year I am going to have to try my hand at splitting it or move it to the floor which I am not interested in doing.

I also pinch off the ickies and I don't water my aloe but maybe once a month in the winter. It's kinda like a cactus as far as care goes - doesn't need much at all.