How To Care For Your Aloe Vera Plant

Written by Savannah Toal

One of the most widely sold succulents across the world, the Aloe vera plant not only looks beautiful as a potted plant it also serves a purpose in your household!

Aloe vera has been grown in households for thousands of years and rightfully so. This plant can be used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes.

The plant to our right is my grandmas. It has been growing in this spot for over 30 years! It's cascading bundles are mesmerizing and unlike anything I have ever seen. Her tip for growing her Aloe like this is allowing the plant to get a bit root bound in its pot. She waited for the plant to grow into this pot and she hasn't repotted it since. In other words..."wow".

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My Grandma's 30+ Year Old Aloe Vera Plant

What is Aloe Vera?

Aloe vera is a succulent with thick, tapering leaves that are usually arranged in a rosette form. These plants are called century plants because they have been used for medicinal purposes in several cultures: Greece, Egypt, India, Mexico, Japan, and China.

I mean the Egyptian Queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra would use it as part of their regular beauty routines. Alow vera mainly grows in the dry regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, and America.

Now that you know what Aloe vera is let's talk about how you care for these amazing houseplants.

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How to Care for Aloe Vera

Aloe vera or True Aloe is fairly easy to care for if you just give it the right light and water.

Watering Your Aloe Vera

Aloe is a succulent so you need to make sure that you allow the soil to dry completely between waterings before you water again. It's really that simple. These plants store water in their leaves, so you will be able to kinda tell when they need a good watering.

It's also important to have good draining soil or a cactus mix. This will give your plant aeration and allow the soil to dry out quicker. This is important because you don't want your Aloe sitting in wet soil for long periods of time. If you notice that your plant is taking a while to dry out between waterings, switch your soil. You will see a drastic improvement.

Light Requirements for True Aloe

Aloe vera needs bright light and ideally about 2 hours of sun a day. I would suggest giving it more morning sun rather than the hot afternoon sun. If you live in coastal areas, you might be able to get away with more sun throughout the day.

Ideally these guys like a sunny East, South, or West Window however they can survive in a North facing window. As always y'all just check up on your plant and see if they like the light you are giving them. If they look stressed or have sunburn I would slowly acclimate them to a less sunny spot.

Hot Tip: If you are going to move your Aloe to a new spot, slowly acclimate it. These plants can easily be stressed out by being moved from outside (where they are getting a lot of sunlight) to inside (where they are probably not getting that same amount of light).

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Propagating Your Aloe Vera Plant

Aloe vera have offsets, which can be taken from the base of the plant. These guys basically shoot out babies from their base where you can trim them off and plant them up. Because rooting these babies is kinda hard, you should wait until they have roots and have the rosette pattern.

Hot Tip: Allow them to get a bit root-bound. They like to be in a smaller pot. This will make them shoot out new plant babies like it's their job.

Quick Care Tips

Light:

Bright light. Ideally in a sunny East, South, or West window. Can survive in a North facing window.

Temperature:

Average house temperatures in winter. They will suffer below 55° degrees.

Watering:

Like most succulents, it's best to allow the soil to completely dry out...like bone dry before watering again. Water more liberally during active months (Spring and Summer) and less during the winter months!

Fertilizer:

Can be fed all-purpose all year. I would suggest not feeding new plants for the first two years.

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Having an Aloe vera plant in your house not only looks beautiful but also serves a purpose. I love a plant that can do both ;)!

As Always Happy Planting,

Savannah