Aloe requirements:
water: allow soil to dry completely before watering; reduce
watering in winter
temperature: warm (to 86 degrees F)... usual house temperature
light: bright; direct sunlight is good
humidity: tolerates dry air
potting medium: use pot with good drainage; use a mixture of sand
and commercial potting soil (e.g., 1:1)
With the proper care you can keep this reminder of your grandmother for
many years and pass it on to your children. Thanks for sharing the story.
If you continue to have problems with the plant, take it to the nearest
garden center/greenhouse or you might try taking it to the nearest
university with greenhouses. You might also look for a garden club in your
community and ask one of their members for help. Our public library has a
list of those kinds of community resources. Good luck!
>I inherited an aloe plant from my grandmother. The plant sat around in her
>house for six months before I saw it and decided to see if I could take care
>of it. I'm not really good with plants, and I haven't been able to find a
>lot of information on the internet about taking care of aloe plants. The
>information that I have found is very vague.
>>This aloe plant had overgrown the bounds of its planter and had a lot of
>dead leaves bunched up in the center. The soil was really wet, and I assume
>aloe plants are supposed to be dryer. I repotted the aloe, using the soil
>it was already in, but loosening it up, and then I removed all the dead,
>wilted leaves that were attached to any living leaves, and separated the
>plants into sections which each their own independent roots.
>>The soil has dried out some, but now it has a layer of mildew or something
>on the soil, and a lot of the leaves are starting to wilt at the edges. I
>have no idea what type of soil its potted in, and really don't know anything
>about soil types or what to buy to try to repot it again. What can I do to
>help these sections that are left of this plant survive? This is one of the
>few things I have left of my grandmother, and I really don't want to see it
>die. I keep begging my mom to let me take it to a nursery or plant expert
>nearby, but she keeps saying that we should handle it ourselves (my mother
>is notorious for killing any plant she gets her hands on). Please help!!!
>>Thanks,
>L.J.
>>lswann at mindspring.com
Dr. David W. Kramer
Department of Plant Biology
Ohio State University at Mansfield
1680 University Drive
Mansfield, OH 44906-1547
(419) 755-4344 FAX: (419) 755-4367
e-mail: kramer.8 at osu.edu
